Gaining a heart of wisdom
It's a chilly April morning, and Tucker and I galumph our way around the wooded path that circles the land behind our home. Along the path, a little beech tree stands alone, fully clothed in a grove of naked but budding alders. Every little breeze stirs a papery rustle as her brown leafy hands greet… Continue reading Persevere in Hope Even When Everything Feels Too Hard
Sunday Scripture I've been in charge of the woodstove lately, and since my good husband is recovering from surgery, I have learned that as long as I have a half cord of kindling and the equivalent of a Boston Globe, I can, indeed, start and maintain a respectable fire. I've started collecting bark and small… Continue reading Let Truth Kindle Your Flame of Passionate Hope
Sunday Scripture My youngest son leaves for college at the end of August--or at least that's the plan. College in the age of COVID-19 involves a certain amount of uncertainty. To date, four of his seven classes have been declared "remote," but no one has even come close to answering his questions about how one… Continue reading What Does Suffering Have to Do With Hope?
The summer of 2020 will go down in history marked by disappointing vacation adjustments, angst over schooling arrangements in the fall, and violence and unrest on so many fronts we're beginning to lose track. I wonder what story you are living, what uncelebrated milestones you have passed, or what ungathered grieving you have walked alone.… Continue reading Finding the Way to Forgiveness and Hope
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
Sunday Scripture At the beginning of a new year and the winding down of the old, I love to look back on where I’ve been. With a coating of frosty white on the surface of my garden, it’s hard to imagine that just three months ago I was harvesting cucumbers and green beans by the… Continue reading Join Me in Remembering a Bountiful Year
"Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." (Romans 15:13) With this verse, Paul is winding down a letter to the Romans that included his travel plans and instructions for the gritty process of doing life… Continue reading Sunday Scripture ~ Romans 15:13
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
One hundred years ago, the war to end all wars ended, leaving the world a very different place, and, ironically, setting the stage for the next world war. Geographic boundaries would shift and entire countries would be swallowed up or renamed, but even more seismic changes were at work in the spiritual realm as hearts… Continue reading Oswald Chambers’s Message of Hope in the Midst of War
Sometimes it’s the very thing that makes you wild, the thing that feels as if it may be your undoing, which ultimately saves your life. For me right now, the pebble in my shoe is a 15-foot speed boat parked parallel to the north side of our house. The college-aged son is a project magnet… Continue reading Following the Trail Back to Hope
