Gaining a heart of wisdom
September always feels like a new beginning to me. No wonder, after so many years of homeschooling! Give me a few sharpened pencils and a clean, unsullied notebook, and I'm ready for a fresh start, focused and impervious to distractions. Christianity is all about new beginnings. Salvation is the starting line for everyone (there are… Continue reading Avoid Distractions When You’re Running the Race of Faith
My son called with a question, and (for a change) the call was actually for me. (I don't do home renovation or car repair questions.) He had been raking blueberries and had settled down to pick them over, removing the unripe berries, leaves, and stems. It's slow and painstaking work. "How clean do you get… Continue reading Think About What You Want to See on Your Plate
The sun shone warm on my back, and my youngest granddaughter's eyes were nearly closed as I gently pushed the swing. Playground mayhem surrounded us, but we were wrapped in the quiet of a sunny summer afternoon. The grandmotherly privilege of one-on-one time with a toddler requires an intense commitment to being present in the… Continue reading Walking and Waiting in the Way of Wisdom
I spent my late teens and early twenties agonizing over the mystery of my true calling. Looking back, I now see that I was laboring under the mistaken notion that there was a very specific dot I should be standing on, some combination of my abilities and God's will that would put me at the… Continue reading How to Know If You’ve Found Your True Calling
If you've ever grown garlic, maybe you've noticed the curled, flowering shoot that appears once the top leaves are fully established. Gardeners recognize it as the "scape," and the scape needs to be snipped off to allow the plant's energy to remain focused underground in creating a big, beautiful garlic bulb for next winter's pizza… Continue reading Be Brave! Cut Off Everything that Isn’t Helpful
Often, it's the stories we've read one hundred times that surprise us when they jump off the page because of a minor plot point, missed on earlier readings. I'm reading in Exodus again and, once again, we're slogging through the wilderness. God has provided miraculous food, and Israel is singing the blues about missing the… Continue reading The Truth About Your Complaining
Every week, we make thousands of decisions, some routine and some monumental. It almost always boils down to a simple yes or no—but for the person sitting in the hot seat, the call often seems anything but simple. Sensing a market to exploit, the internet overflows with books on decision making, oracle cards, and even… Continue reading 6 Best Practices For Making Good Decisions
Tim Keller and the Ministry of Competence My teacher husband is beginning the process of retirement after 33 years in an elementary school classroom. Believe it or not, it's more complicated and requires more thought and paperwork to STOP teaching than it does to accept a new job. Nonetheless, he's encouraged by the realization that… Continue reading Your Work Matters to the World
The slow work of sanctification is a lifelong process. Therefore, most of us get out of bed every morning confident that our "three score and ten" leaves us plenty of tomorrows. Does that sound like a valid license for procrastination to you? With Pentecost Sunday approaching us on the church calendar, I'm thinking about its… Continue reading Celebrate Pentecost with New Commitment Based on an Old Revival
When we wake, no matter how we wake (instantly bolt upright or groping toward consciousness), we begin our day beloved by God, and the staggering truth is that nothing we do in the course of each day will either magnify or diminish that standing. Proverbs 4:18 likens a righteous life to that first gleam of dawn,… Continue reading Incremental Growth and Maturity Are Ageless Gifts
Living Our Days 