Gaining a heart of wisdom
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!
I hope manna will be on the menu in the New Earth--not because it sounds particularly delicious in the biblical account. On the contrary, it sounds pretty bland, and if you put any stock at all in the Israelite's reviews of this bread from heaven, it was quite monotonous fare. I like to picture the… Continue reading Hunger Is an Effective Teacher (And 6 Cheap and Easy Meal Plans with Recipes for Your Family)
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 and Book Talk How much does worry weigh? By my observation, enough to round the shoulders, slow the step, and lengthen the daily darkness. Worry absorbs energy, steals sleep, and dampens conversation. My time spent in public school classrooms warns me that even our children are not immune to worry, for it's not… Continue reading A Great Alternative to Worry and Two Resources to End Your Ceaseless Striving
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?
Sunday Scripture Late autumn temperatures in the northeast United States require a certain fortitude of speech to continue naming the cold "autumn" when, clearly, the chill in the air and the snow underfoot are speaking the language of "winter." My giant sunflowers bowed their heads in October, the pumpkins moldered in the compost pile long… Continue reading How You Can Celebrate Light in the Darkness of Winter Solstice
Sunday Scripture When I showed up at her door with muffins, I had no idea how sick she had become or how short her precipitous decline would be. In hindsight, I'm grateful for the memory of that last visit with a friend, with her flitting between table and kitchen counter and me working hard to… Continue reading How to Cope with Frustration, Disappointment, and Fear at Christmas Time
Sunday Scripture Sunday morning at Spruce Head Community is a sociological patchwork. Members with advanced degrees worship cheek-by-jowl with high school dropouts. Successful businessmen toss their offering into the same receptacle as welfare recipients, and the octogenarian great-grandmother grins at the antics of tiny, scampering escapees from the nursery. I can't help but picture our… Continue reading No Longer a Divided Space, Now It’s a Celebration Place!
Sunday Scripture One of my earliest Christmas memories is the sadness of learning that for baby Jesus there was "no room in the inn." Adding to my distress was the mistaken idea that they had no source of water either--a simple misunderstanding of the Christmas carol, Noel--interpreted by pre-school ears as "no well." Jesus's earliest… Continue reading Are You Making Room for Jesus in Your Advent Celebration?
Living Our Days 