Gaining a heart of wisdom
Roots and wings are the gift Christian parents pass on to our children. We establish rules, give them responsibilities that build confidence and skill, and we water those deep roots with lots of love and prayer, knowing that strengthening wings will soon carry our children away from home, out of reach of our influence and… Continue reading A Fruitful Life from a Heart of Love
“Hey, we have a lot in common! Maybe we should meet for coffee?” Coming from Facebook, a place where “friendship” usually remains distant and virtual, this was startling content. Add to that a full schedule and a hard bent toward introversion, and there was every reason for me to log off, click on “unfriend,” and… Continue reading Self-Care and the Rare Gift of Spiritual Friendship
By faith, we have gone behind the curtain. We have made our voices heard, according to the temperature of our hearts — Some with a raised fist; Some with a wavering hope. We have sifted the relative merits of deeply flawed and difficult candidates. We have heard the word “Never” said about winners and losers,… Continue reading A Post-Election Prayer
Last summer, sitting on a rocky beach with family all around, I noticed a small white shell among the scramble of stones and shards of driftwood. Soon I had collected a handful, all pure white and perfectly whorled, the former dwelling place for some diminutive, absentee mollusk. For a few days, I carried them around… Continue reading The Ancient Way of Praying Made New
For one short season of our parenting journey, my husband and I felt as if we were hanging onto the reins of a runaway horse. Daily battles over curfews and negotiations around boundary lines had taken the place of warm conversation and laughter around the table, and we mourned the loss as we searched for… Continue reading Praying the Words of Jesus for Your Teen
I shut off the mower's whirring blades, removed my hearing protection, and there it was: the splash and whoosh of the Atlantic Ocean, always restless, continually wearing away the granite at the bottom of the embankment in the back yard where I had been mowing. Clouds above were heavy with rain; therefore, sunset would come… Continue reading A Praying Life
Teach Us to Pray guides Scripture-centered family worship throughout the year.
When a pastoral search goes well, everyone wins. Last year when a soft-spoken lobsterman rose to his feet and challenged us at Spruce Head Community to seek a shepherd who would lead us and love us, we began praying and seeking to that end. The seeking and the finding has united us, and we are… Continue reading A Bundle of Letters on the Church’s Doorstep
For those of us in the United States, this is a day of thanksgiving. However, gratitude is not circumscribed by geographic boundaries. Nor do we need a calendar’s permission to leave room for gratitude, so . . . LORD, we thank you! We confess that our hearts are often full of ourselves, for we mistake… Continue reading Thanksgiving Prayer
My grandson likes nothing better than a good project, so on our days together, he and I are a force to be reckoned with. He has saved me many a bend in the tomato patch, and when he pulled orange carrots out of the ground with quivering joy, each fistful was a miracle to behold.… Continue reading The Necessary Work of the World: Jayber Crow Discussion Group (9)
