Gaining a heart of wisdom
Sunday Scripture When my sons were all small, they loved playing Hide and Seek. Sometimes it was a big, summer-time game with the whole family hiding outside in the bushes, sometimes just a simple one-on-one at bedtime, but one son in particular would get so overcome with excitement he couldn't contain the secret. "I'm 'hind… Continue reading The Reason Why We Can Sing “Joy to the World”
Sunday Scripture This week, I started listening to Christmas music on the way to work. Our 24/7 Christmas music radio station plays everything from crooning Bing to the musical equivalent of an ugly Christmas sweater. One frosty morning, fresh off my Isaiah Advent reading and a mug of hot tea, the radio wished me a… Continue reading Are You Singing the Song of the Servant this Christmas?
Sunday Scripture Not to resurrect an unpleasant topic, but one huge lesson I'm trusting for in these days following Election 2020 is that God's people do not need to be powerful culturally or in power politically to be obedient to him and to accomplish his purposes in the world. All we need to join the… Continue reading On What Do You Rest this Trust of Yours?
Scripture Sunday On this second Sunday of Advent, I'm already noticing my tendency to process life based solely on what I can see. If there are three pairs of shoes and a half bushel of dog fur on the dining room floor, I must be a terrible housekeeper. If no one in the house has… Continue reading The More You See: God’s Advent Surprise
Sunday Scripture We're half way through November, and maybe, like me, you're wondering how this has happened. Somehow, even with all the things we're NOT doing because of the pandemic, life has managed to fill itself up with activity and distractions that keep us in full-steam-ahead mode most of the time. One of the first… Continue reading Invite Vigilant Gratitude to Wake Up Your Prayer Life
Sunday Scripture According to the Apostle Paul, gratitude is more than a pumpkin-spice-feeling. It is a matter of obedience to the will of God. Author and poet Wendell Berry put words into the mouth of a fictional, elderly widow named Hannah Coulter who, in addition to being a crackerjack farmhand when needed and probably making… Continue reading Gratitude: A Matter of Obedience to the Will of God
Sunday Scripture Ready or not, soon we will be immersed in Christmas scenes and memes, countdowns and shopping guides, and among them will be the exhortation to believe in the magic of Christmas. Every year, snowy backdrops and Santa hats inspire us with the single word: Believe... John's Gospel sets the word believe on center… Continue reading What Do You Mean When You Say You Believe?
Sunday Scripture The 1971 Broadway musical Godspell was controversial among Christians in small town New England, but a brave choral conductor dared to have her high school ensemble sing selections from it at a concert I attended as an elementary school student. Remember cassette recorders? My parents recorded everything with ours, and I nearly wore… Continue reading See, Love, Follow: What Keeps You from Seeing Clearly?
Sunday Scripture If eyes could wear out a page, there would be a hole in my old maroon Bible where Isaiah 41:10 lives: "Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God;I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." Anxiety was my default… Continue reading Why You Can Trust the Promises of God
Sunday Scripture Autumn has landed in the Northern Hemisphere, and with this seasonal change comes early darkness, chilly mornings, and the subtle warning that winter is on its way. Of course there's the compensatory aroma of apple pie and the eye-popping beauty of bright foliage, and the truth is, I have a choice to make… Continue reading You Are NOT at the Mercy of Your Feelings!
Living Our Days 