Gaining a heart of wisdom
If I had to affix a title to the front of my beat-up journal, I'd call it Two Quarts of Manna. Its scrawled entries echo Moses's instructions to Aaron about preserving some of God's provision as a memorial for the future. My journals contain the evidence of God's faithfulness. Journal-keeping has become a means of… Continue reading Journal Keeping as a Tactic for Self Awareness and God Awareness
At 7, my oldest grandson is already a contemplative, a fellow who asks a lot of questions and registers an opinion on just about everything. Maybe that's a family trait (for better or for worse), but a recent reading of Psalm 131 has given me good reason to rethink the merits of over-thinking and the… Continue reading What If the Key to Rest Is Ordinary, Down to Earth Faith?
In February, I finished my slow read through the Psalms. One hundred fifty psalms should have taken a mere hundred and fifty days, but I'm sure the math wouldn't come out right if one were to check the dates in my journal. My purpose was to pray my way through the psalms, a goal that… Continue reading Embrace the Subversive Practice of Rest. Celebrate Lent in a World of Hurry and Hustle.
Brushing crumbs off the dining room table, I plunk down my portable pile: Bible, journal, devotional book, another Bible, and they all land with a THUD. The pens go skittering across the table, mirroring my scattered thoughts. Then, pushing my mug of tea out of the danger zone, I settle into reading, my favorite of… Continue reading What Are Spiritual Disciplines and Why Are They So Important?
Conversations on a long road trip are often memorable, perhaps because desperation drives us to dig deeper—or at least to try harder. Somewhere on the Jersey Pike, we were talking about healthy habits and the difficulty of sustaining them. We lamented the hard work of Scripture memory and the need for continuous review. Our thoughtful… Continue reading Don’t Wait Around for a Perfect Beginning–Start Today!
When you read the Psalms, what do you do when your eyes encounter the word selah? Do you pause as the meaning of the Greek word suggests? I’ll go first and confess that I usually don’t, and I think I’m in the majority. What if instead of using selah as a convenient mile marker for… Continue reading The True Purpose of Rest: Let It Make a Change in Your Direction
Sunday Scripture and Book Talk Winter has come to this country hill, and the trees stand gaunt and leafless, silent, even in the wind unless a strong gust rattles their branches or snaps a limb. Barren trees in mid-winter brought Nicholas Herman to faith, dramatically, in 17th-century France as he considered "that with a little… Continue reading Let the Power and Providence of God Change the Way You Practice Your Faith
Sunday Scripture My not-quite-two-year-old grandson has an extensive vocabulary, and one phrase that is serving him well these days is, "Do it self." Instead of holding his mother's hand on the slide: "Do it self." Climbing the stairs or building a block tower with Bam: "Do it self." Clearly, he is both loveable and capable!… Continue reading What is the Meaning and the Method of True Rest?
When the Cambridge Dictionary announced their word of the year for 2021, I did an enthusiastic double take. Their choice of perseverance may have been inspired by the name of the space rover that landed on Mars in February 2021, but it is also a noun form of my own word of the year: PERSEVERE.… Continue reading A Prayer for You as We Persevere through the End of a Long Year
Sunday Scripture Conversations at our house tend to follow a pattern. We make a plan, and my husband assumes that all will be well. That's my cue to begin thinking about the details and coming up with at least five things that could (and probably will) go wrong. I've been honing my catastrophizing skills for… Continue reading How to Fight Fear and Anxiety by Hitting Your Mental Reset Button
Living Our Days 