Gaining a heart of wisdom
#2967 -- The sweet and tart of cranberry bread. #2968 -- Peach colored dawn behind silhouetted branches. #2969 -- Phone call from far-away friends . . . . . . and so I approach the end of another year of giving thanks, another record of the day-by-day goodness of God in my Gratitude Journal. Giving thanks is… Continue reading Three Thousand Gifts — A Thanksgiving Checkpoint
Knocking twenty-two years’ worth of dust off a resume stretches the definition of “creative writing” to its limit. After giving my time away for two decades, can I convince even myself that my skills are marketable? Am I still capable of holding my own in the workforce? The questions hang in the air like a… Continue reading Veering into the Serene Providence
David stooped down and picked up a handful of stones, smooth to his touch and weighty. The rest of his story tumbles effortlessly into memory: the battle with Goliath, David's rise to fame in Israel, the finger of God upon his life. In Five Traits of a Christ Follower, Doug Nuenke fills up the metaphor of those five… Continue reading 5 Smooth Stones
My youngest son's best friend is an adopted orphan from Africa. Their first "play date" was barely impacted by the language barrier, and they have been friends for so many years that they can just barely remember life without each other. For this reason, Mike and Hayley Jones' story about their adoption of eight (yes,… Continue reading The Great Eight!
Is there anything better than a book in the mail? The A to Z Guide to Bible Signs and Symbols landed in my mailbox last Saturday, and I was immediately drawn by its glossy weight. Everything about the book, particularly its colorful images, said "quality." Opening to the introduction, I learned that a symbol's job is… Continue reading A Week of Signs and Symbols
The Puritans, apparently, were not preoccupied with self-esteem issues. John Owen's opening thoughts in Chapter 12 of The Mortification of Sin demonstrate the great gulf between his mind set and present-day sensibilities. Even though it may be understood that, when compared with the God of the universe, yes, any mortal creature could be filled "at all… Continue reading Mind the Gap
I have a tendency to get stuck in time. It was true when I was single; it has been true of my days as a parent; it is true when my back flares up or when I am sick. I believe -- falsely -- that whatever is going on at the moment is insurmountable and… Continue reading Just One Thing: Story Arc
The Answer to Our Cry by Rick McKinley: A Book Review Everyone is looking for freedom. Most of us are looking in all the wrong places with the idea that freedom involves getting what we want. The Answer to Our Cry is not a series of steps, but a spotlight on the truth that true freedom is the ability to:… Continue reading Invitation into Relationship
If John Owen's book, The Mortification of Sin, seems theoretical and heavily theological, Chapters 9, 10 and 11 turn the tide by putting in the believer's tool-belt practical and efficient tools for carrying out Romans 8:13 ( . . . by the Spirit, put to death the deeds of the body). He refers to his advice for killing sin as "directions." First,… Continue reading Directions
Not a Chance -- God, Science, and the Revolt against Reason by R.C. Sproul and Keith Mathison: A Book Review R.C. Sproul has not written a small-minded, fear-mongering diatribe against science. His purpose in Not a Chance is to point out the precipitous slide into fiction that occurs when the brilliant minds that discover and… Continue reading The Edges of His Ways
Living Our Days 