Gaining a heart of wisdom
Hanging off the northeast end of the U.S. mainland, waiting for evidence that spring has, indeed, arrived, it’s a challenge to get into an Easter frame of mind. The dark is still holding sway over the light, and resurrection-thinking requires a muscular faith. Pressing into a Truth that challenges me to fathom the unfathomable, I… Continue reading The Whispered Hope of Easter: A Promise of Eternal Spring
Sunday Scripture On the first Sunday after the first full moon following the first day of spring, it's a pretty sure thing that we'll be having ham for dinner. When it comes to Easter, don't confuse the arbitrariness of the celebration's timing with the laser focus of its purpose. Easter is a celebration of resurrection.… Continue reading The Startling Difference the Resurrection Makes in Your Following Life
Strict practitioners would not have approved of my methods, but on one long ago mid-winter Wednesday, I smeared ashes on the foreheads of my two preschoolers and myself. An offering of the hardwood that had heated our home the day before, these ashes were not “ceremonially correct” in any way. At the time, I did… Continue reading Ash Wednesday in the Parenting Pressure Cooker
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
The bleak-hearted sun rose on post-crucifixion Saturday, just as it had every other day in Peter's life, but no warmth from 93 million-miles-distant could reach his frozen heart. We are not given access to his actions or his thoughts on the day following his denial of Christ and the death of his dreams, but one… Continue reading Saturday Faith for the In Between
Perhaps we are all in a Good Friday mindset during this Holy Week of 2020. Many are suffering losses, both big and small, and whatever our physical disposition, our worlds have become smaller, and The World itself seems smaller to us after having watched an invisible virus find its way into nearly every country and… Continue reading A Prayer for Good Friday: The Light and the Glory
For years I celebrated Easter as if it were a stand-alone holiday, singing “Up from the Grave He Arose” without giving much thought to the horror of the Dying or the silence of the Dead. Providentially, my early efforts to incarnate and to enliven an invisible God in the hearts and minds of four sweet… Continue reading What You Believe About One Weekend in History
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
I landed in my seat at Bible study feeling like a refugee. Two tiny sons were happily entertained in the nursery, my study questions were only half answered, and I could just barely recall the point of the lesson, but community drew me to that space like a magnet. In that season, I craved the… Continue reading What You Need to Know About Loss
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
Living Our Days 