Gaining a heart of wisdom
Out loud and together. That's how my patient husband and I are reading through the Bible this year, and, believe it or not, we're just about on schedule! Right now we are taking in the book of Acts in great gulps, two or three chapters at a time interspersed with the corresponding epistles. That breathless pace… Continue reading To the End of the Earth
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
Almost twenty-two years ago, I packed up my favorite coffee mug, my personal files, and a few samples of my work, and walked away from my career in human resources. Four babies in eight years, homeschooling, ministry, and a huge vegetable garden each year have hardly left time for me to look in the rear… Continue reading Purposeful, Missional Work
Big plans are great, and, without a doubt, The Great Commission is an invitation to develop a no-holds-barred, pull-out-the-stops strategy to change the world. History provides rich examples of those who did just that: Hudson Taylor, Amy Carmichael, Jim Elliot, Mary Slessor and many more whose names we will never hear. In Overrated, Eugene Cho asks himself… Continue reading Justice 101
I may possibly have rolled my eyes a teensy bit as I glanced at the 3x5 card from my pocket: "Sing praise to the Lord for He has done gloriously. Let this be made known in all the earth," Isaiah 12:5. It's not that I disbelieve the first clause; no, it's the scope of the… Continue reading Invitation to Adventure
I am a utilitarian knitter with mittens, dish cloths, and the occasional scarf as my only output, but even so, one of the things that is always in my sturdy, grab-and-go backpack is a pair of knitting needles holding my current knitting project. It may go for months untouched, but I value any time that… Continue reading For the Creative Soul
I really didn't think I needed this book. It was written for procrastinators, for people who need help in Taming the To-Do-List. If anything, I'm an "ante-crastinator," too faint-hearted to wait until the last minute, who goes into panic mode just thinking about the potential of going into panic mode. But then I read Glynnis… Continue reading Don’t Put It Off
The prosperity gospel is deep in my bones -- not that I technically hold with any kind of "blab it and grab it" theology or the idea that God owes me a BMW. I do know better than that, but truly, I just want to be able to tell you that God has always answered… Continue reading Embrace the Detour
Two weeks into the Beatitudes with my Sunday School class, and my ear is finally becoming accustomed to the cadence of another Kingdom, one in which those who are meek and mournful are pronounced fortunate -- even happy. All of this is a fitting backdrop for reading Joshua Choonmin Kang's Spirituality of Gratitude. His collection… Continue reading The Language of Thanksgiving
For the past twenty-one years, my designated occupation on our tax forms and all official (and unofficial) documents has been "domestic diva." Given the flashy title, my house should look a lot better than it does, but my fierce and steadfast focus within that job title has been to raise four young men to love… Continue reading Love Them Into Being
