Gaining a heart of wisdom
Sunday Scripture Spring is still a bit hard to notice here on the hill. Luci Shaw would say that it's "a promise in the closed fist of a long winter," and the chunk of snow still melting on the north, shaded side of the house would attest to that poetic description. Even so, there is… Continue reading Do You Need Encouragement to Keep on Singing?
Even with a ham in the oven and the house mostly presentable, my Easter bonnet is all askew this year. Is it possible to celebrate Easter in isolation? Can we really observe the highest holy day of our church calendar without rousing hymns and communal breakfasts and the perfume of Easter lilies in the sanctuary?… Continue reading A Reasonable Response to the Miracle of Resurrection
Sunday Scripture In his classic book, Orthodoxy, G.K. Chesterton described paradox as an affirming of the white and the red but never the pink. Two seemingly opposing truths stand side by side, but never blend. The following life is a call to embrace paradox. We affirm the truth of the incarnation in which Christ remained… Continue reading The Lion, the Lamb, and the Colt
Sunday Scripture One minute you've lit a candle, settled yourself into your favorite chair, and invited the Spirit to settle your heart. Beginning the day in peace and trust, you've made promises to yourself and to God about how the coming day will be. Then, life arrives with a roar, and suddenly you are Wile… Continue reading Why is Peace so Hard to Come By?
Sunday Scripture Really? What were they thinking? The Sunday school lesson for my fours and fives featured the life and ministry of John the Baptist. "Perfect," I thought. "He's Jesus's cousin, and two of my little guys are cousins. They'll love that. But what about this...?" "Repent!" That was John's message, and an abstract concept,… Continue reading Do You Have the Right Facts but a Wrong Heart?
Sunday Scripture The only possible downside I can see in exposing young children to classic hymns and great works of music is that sometimes they mange to misinterpret the lyrics and completely miss the point. Handel's great rendering of Isaiah 53:6 in The Messiah landed on my youngest son's ears as "Oh, we like sheep,"… Continue reading Is There an Upside to Being a Sheep?
Sunday Scripture In the practice of mothering, we become fairly adept at knowing when to step in and help our kids with their struggles. As "The Finder of Lost Things," the sounding board for pondering important decisions, or even as a baby-sitter of grandchildren for tired parents who need a break, we love our children… Continue reading The Every Day Grace of a Burden Bearer
Sunday Scripture The day I arm wrestled with one of my sons, it was apparent on which side of the table the real strength lay. Amused, he let me struggle for a bit--rather than flattening me in a heartbeat, which he could have easily done. I'm not the same girl who could once whoop all… Continue reading Looking for Strength in All the Right Places
Sunday Scripture We don’t know who he was because he didn’t sign his name. Was it fear that drove him to anonymity in an age of persecution? Or was it humility? Whoever wrote the letter we now refer to as “Hebrews” certainly knew the Old Testament scriptures, and in chapter eleven he’s connecting the dots… Continue reading Can I Walk by Faith if My Faith is Small?
Sunday Scripture Last night, a full moon lit up the sky here on the hill as a three-dimensional bank of stars drew my eye upward into cold darkness. When daylight comes, evidence for a lavishly generous Creator arrives in living color. Even on a bleak February day, the evergreens stand out against a field of… Continue reading The Amazing Hope of Transformation
Living Our Days 