Gaining a heart of wisdom
Today I attacked the kind of cleaning chores that I envision other more diligent and domestically devoted women doing all the time, the tidying that requires pulling furniture away from the wall, vacuuming under beds, and applying a ferocious dust cloth to the rungs of chairs and the hidden recesses of bookcases. Homely household routines… Continue reading The Unexpected Gift of Homemaking and What I Learned from Elisabeth Elliot
I'm convinced we're prone to make entirely too much of visible, quantifiable ministry. Don't get me wrong--I love sharing the faith that is in me with a big roomful of women and then trusting God with the results. It's also extremely satisfying to write and then painstakingly edit an article that shows up online and… Continue reading Intercessory Prayer: The Hardest Work in the World
Becoming Elisabeth Elliot When I began reading Elisabeth Elliot's books, I kept a dictionary nearby — her vocabulary far surpassed mine. During the mid-90’s while I was raising babies, toddlers, and preschoolers, Elisabeth had a daily radio program, so I arranged my mornings around Gateway to Joy. On the one occasion that I attended an event where… Continue reading A Life of Reckless Abandon for God
Sunday Scripture Autumn has landed in the Northern Hemisphere, and with this seasonal change comes early darkness, chilly mornings, and the subtle warning that winter is on its way. Of course there's the compensatory aroma of apple pie and the eye-popping beauty of bright foliage, and the truth is, I have a choice to make… Continue reading You Are NOT at the Mercy of Your Feelings!
Soon I will discover what it is like to be alone in the house after my husband leaves for work. There will be no sleepy teenager glued to his bed and in need of resurrection. For the first time in twenty-one years, there will be no homeschooling routine to wrestle with--a change I welcome, but… Continue reading What if Your Loneliness is an Invitation from God?
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
Child #1: "But I don't want to do my spelling lesson." Child #2: "I really don't feel like cleaning my room." Parent: "I'm not asking you to want to. I don't expect you to feel like it. I'm asking you to do it anyway." There was a season in which conversations like this were standard… Continue reading Self-Discipline: A Wholehearted Yes to the Call of God
With an empty house, a clean kitchen, laundry on the line (and even a sleeping dog!), it was a perfect afternoon to study or write. Deadlines were looming. However . . . the sun was shining, bath towels flapped and danced on the clothesline outside, and suddenly, while there was plenty that needed doing, the… Continue reading Self-Discipline: A Matter of Grit and Grace
A worn banister sits at the center of a colonial-era farmhouse in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. There, the winter of 1777-78 brought deep suffering, privation, and grueling labor in freezing cold with the goal of building adequate housing for the Colonial Army--two thousand small cabins. Once his men were settled, George Washington took up residence--along with… Continue reading Musings: April 2019
Elisabeth Elliot offers the most durable definition for suffering I've ever heard: Suffering is Having What You Don't Want -- This covers everything from cancer to a flat tire. Or Wanting What You Don't Have -- A spouse, a child, a new job. Life on a fallen planet includes suffering of all types and intensities,… Continue reading Knowing God in the Midst of Our Pain
Living Our Days 