Gaining a heart of wisdom
My kids coming home for a visit is the only excuse I need for making a blueberry pie. We had cut generous slices and piled on the whipped cream when the conversation turned to summer blueberries and our friend Peg, who died in January. Even after moving to another state, she always found a way… Continue reading The Weight of Tragedy and the Gift of Community
I huffed a sigh and stood up in response to the timer on my wrist. Time to take another dose of medication. It happens five times every day, and always (it seems) when I'm occupied with something. "Take the meds," I grouched under my breath. "That's ALL I do now."But God heard me, and his… Continue reading When You Need Help to Identify the REAL Enemy
The moments when I have failed to act with grace are the moments when the Gospel is the very best news to me. When I find myself needing forgiveness, a do-over, or a fresh start to the day, I come face to face with the reality that I am not equipped to construct a moral… Continue reading You Need Plenty Of Grace To Live A Holy Life
My conference series on The Lord's Prayer is one of my favorites, and I especially love hearing from the women who, after three forty-five-minute sessions of content, tell me they had been skeptical that we could spend that long talking about five verses in Matthew 6. Session two is the hardest—for me as the teacher… Continue reading A Journey to Healing Through the Power of Genuine Forgiveness
At some point, Christians began using the word deconstruction to describe what might once have been called a crisis of faith or even, in some circles, backsliding. The dismantling of a person's understanding of God and what it means to believe is a complex process, and the deconstructing Christian may end up leaving the faith altogether. No… Continue reading To Deconstruct? Or to Reconstruct with Hope in a Big God?
Managing a chronic disease has surprising similarities to having a part-time job. There are things to be remembered and extra duties to perform. It's part of one's identity, but not in the same way a career would be. Too, there's a new vocabulary to be mastered, and, along with this, a very specific need for… Continue reading Can We Really Bridge the Distance that Lies Between Us?
There are at least two camps, two opposing opinions, among women's ministry leaders about the nature and content of what has come to be called the believer's "devotional life." The view from my youth was heavy on the "quiet time" model. Settle down somewhere cozy with your Bible and a devotional book. Read the suggested… Continue reading When You’re Looking for Substantial Devotional Reading
I love reading and sharing Christian books here at Living Our Days—and with friends in real life. My goal is to put resources in my readers' hands to help them become more confident followers of Christ and students of God's word. I want to see the truth clearly so I can say it clearly. The… Continue reading What Gospel Is Your Life Spreading in the World?
When my sons were small, it was not unusual for one of them to place tiny hands on either side of my face and turn it toward them when they were talking to me. Distracted and doggedly multitasking, I'm afraid that I was not always a very satisfying audience, and they wanted undivided attention for… Continue reading If You Turn Your Eyes, Your Heart Will Follow
Here on this country hill, we have two lovely apple trees. They have powered through their blossom season, scattering petals on the grass like snow, and are now fully engaged in the work of producing tiny green apples. We're still eating applesauce from their productive past years—and if you walk into my kitchen and smell… Continue reading Making Room for New Growth
