Gaining a heart of wisdom
Food preparation and clean-up run like a perpetual conveyor belt through my kitchen and through my life, so for me, the bigger challenge of hospitality is always logistics. I feel overwhelmed as I gather chairs from the far corners of the house. I forget to dust the top of the piano or spend too much time perseverating… Continue reading Hospitality: The Power of Authentic Connection
Every fall, when I plant the garlic, I am overcome with awe. Somehow, those small, pale bulbs not only survive a Maine winter in the ground with nothing but a blanket of earth and dry leaves. They actually flourish and start sending up green shoots in early spring, long before I would dare to plant… Continue reading Make the Choice to Stay in a Thankful Mindset
September always feels like a new beginning to me. No wonder, after so many years of homeschooling! Give me a few sharpened pencils and a clean, unsullied notebook, and I'm ready for a fresh start, focused and impervious to distractions. Christianity is all about new beginnings. Salvation is the starting line for everyone (there are… Continue reading Avoid Distractions When You’re Running the Race of Faith
A pair of seven-pound weights is part of my everyday exercise routine. I realize that's not a very impressive-sounding load, but I definitely notice the difference between them and my very cute pink five-pounders. I also notice (with some alarm) the difference between my weights and the growing heft of the two granddaughters who most… Continue reading A Look at My Not Very Impressive Training Regimen
I keep hearing this statistic, and it's like a pebble in my shoe: Regular Scripture reading is the most consistent factor contributing to spiritual health. It ranked higher than anything else, and it makes abundant sense when we realize that God has promised to speak to the believing heart through his Word. Regular Scripture reading… Continue reading Come Close To The Story: A Free Lenten Devotional
Prayer is hard. Let's just be honest about it. For me, prayer continues to be the most difficult of all the spiritual disciplines. Maybe it's hard for you, too, and you're thinking, “I don’t like to talk about this, but prayer is awkward, and I don’t know what to say. I don’t know how to… Continue reading Prayer Doesn’t Need to Be Awkward
In his iconic poem "How to Be a Poet," Wendell Berry sums up all of creation in one lovely sentence: There are no unsacred places; there are only sacred places and desecrated places." He cuts directly to the chase of our persistently false categories and my own personal tendency to desecrate the sacred by forgetting… Continue reading The Importance of Prayer in a Sacred Life
In a fit of sleep-deprived stubbornness, one day I just stopped reading the Bible. I certainly still believed in God, because I told him quite directly that I had no intention of reading his recycled words. It seemed to me that the prophets and apostles had no idea what it was like to bear and… Continue reading How to Stay Motivated and Excited About Reading the Bible
One summer, I was responsible for a team of high-school-age summer missionaries. They were helping with children's outreach opportunities through area churches, so I would drop them off at the church on Sunday evening and pick them up after their last kids' club on Friday. After a few weeks of regular contact, I began to… Continue reading 8 Encouragements to Grow Your Appetite for God’s Word
The insistent tone of my cell phone’s timer carried through floorboards to our basement schoolroom--another call to prayer unanswered. I sighed, turned the page, and continued with my sixth-grader in a lesson on fractions. I had been reading about the historical practice of praying the hours, setting aside intentional moments throughout the day at specific… Continue reading Holiness in the Here and Now
Living Our Days 