Gaining a heart of wisdom
Marriage and family are two gifts God has graciously granted to me—even though I didn't have the optimism or good sense to pray for them. Perhaps that's why I am now so grateful for the privilege of being a wife and mother. Maybe that's why I am awestruck with every announcement of another grandchild on… Continue reading Look at All Your Blessings Through Eyes of Wonder
There’s a peculiar satisfaction that comes with being right. Given the opportunity, we’ll make an idol of it and even run roughshod over those we claim to love in order to win an argument, thereby trading peace for the honor of clutching the blue ribbon of "rightness" close to our hearts. Often what’s at stake… Continue reading The Humble Discovery of Truth that Makes Us and Defines Us
Sunday Scripture I have begun to consider listening to the morning news as a spiritual discipline, a small act of patriotism in which I put the good of our country above my own comfort or preferences. I've never been a political animal, but events of the past several years and a fleet of newly minted… Continue reading How Can an Ordinary Citizen Begin to Practice a Radical Patriotism?
Sunday Scripture The woods behind my house is waking up. Sprigs of green are shooting their way up through last year's matted carpet, and swollen buds hint that my view is about to change from grey to vibrant. I never tire of this transition from death to life. God has crafted an infinitely varied range… Continue reading Have You Ever Been Inspired to Praise God for His Creativity?
“Again!” he demanded with a giggle, his eyes sparkling with joy and anticipation. And so we did it. We read the book again . . . and again. My grandson doesn’t look for thrills in the new and different. He finds his greatest joy in more and more of what he knows and loves. The truth is,… Continue reading Receive the Gift of Your Life as an Adventure from God
Sunday Scripture Patriotic holidays seem to be slipping by me this year. The challenge of distinguishing one day from another only complicates my nose-to-the-grindstone manner of living during this season of recovery from pandemic. In years past, we created red, white, and blue T-shirts with copious globs of fabric paint every Memorial Day and then… Continue reading Working Hard at the Practice of Patriotism
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
What you believe about God matters. Is He malleable, pliable, well-intentioned, but out of touch? A bit like you, only ever-so-much-more-so? Can you embrace the reality of a transcendent, crucified God who preceded matter and interrupted the natural order "to save mankind in the awful shape of man?" (217) What you believe about humanity matters.… Continue reading What You Believe About God Matters
I am, by nature, a do-er, but one of my favorite, long-time friends can "squander" an entire afternoon over tea and conversation without batting a remorseful eyelash. When we were both in the trenches of parenting toddlers, we twirled long phone cords, and I heard her sleep-deprived voice say, "Sometimes I just sit on the… Continue reading It’s Time to Stop Comparing and Start Rejoicing
"Hey, Mum, a bunch of the kids are going to Moody's for pie after rehearsal. Okay if I go?" One prerogative of motherhood is to meet every question with more questions: Who's going? Who's driving? Are you going anywhere afterward? Can you remember to let me know if your location changes? This has become a… Continue reading Parenting Rooted in Orthodoxy
Living Our Days 