Gaining a heart of wisdom
The word judge has fallen on hard times as the universe falls all over itself to be seen as broad-minded, tolerant, and accepting. Many years ago, I had an encounter at my dining room table that has formed my thinking on judges and the practice of judgment... We had just moved into the area, bought… Continue reading Will You Let Your Heart Be Judged by the Word of God?
September always feels like a new beginning to me. No wonder, after so many years of homeschooling! Give me a few sharpened pencils and a clean, unsullied notebook, and I'm ready for a fresh start, focused and impervious to distractions. Christianity is all about new beginnings. Salvation is the starting line for everyone (there are… Continue reading Avoid Distractions When You’re Running the Race of Faith
My son called with a question, and (for a change) the call was actually for me. (I don't do home renovation or car repair questions.) He had been raking blueberries and had settled down to pick them over, removing the unripe berries, leaves, and stems. It's slow and painstaking work. "How clean do you get… Continue reading Think About What You Want to See on Your Plate
The sun shone warm on my back, and my youngest granddaughter's eyes were nearly closed as I gently pushed the swing. Playground mayhem surrounded us, but we were wrapped in the quiet of a sunny summer afternoon. The grandmotherly privilege of one-on-one time with a toddler requires an intense commitment to being present in the… Continue reading Walking and Waiting in the Way of Wisdom
I spent my late teens and early twenties agonizing over the mystery of my true calling. Looking back, I now see that I was laboring under the mistaken notion that there was a very specific dot I should be standing on, some combination of my abilities and God's will that would put me at the… Continue reading How to Know If You’ve Found Your True Calling
For a minute, I was puzzled. The bright blue Post-It Note in my planner had a phone number in my own spidery handwriting, along with the words "FIRST CALL" in bold capital letters. Realization landed first in the pit of my stomach. These were hospice contacts for our friend Jeanette, who passed away in our… Continue reading Let the Puzzling Path of Sorrow Lead You to Hope
One of my kids has been digging holes, taking things apart, and fixing things since he was old enough to ask for a shovel. It's no surprise, then, to observe that he's Mr. Carburetor in the world of small engines (to which I do NOT have a passport) and works in a field that requires… Continue reading When Your Unique Calling Means Doing What You Can’t NOT Do
Fresh out of college, I worked for a children’s ministry. I planned and orchestrated kids' events, taught a lot of Bible lessons and memory verses, but my first great love was teacher training. I loved taking the teachers into the cultural ideas that were shaping the worldviews of the kids they were teaching. I loved… Continue reading Does Your Prayer Life Point to the Beauty of Christ?
Growing up in the era of analog timepieces, I was fascinated by my grandfather's pocket watches. The rhythmic tick and the steady movement of the second hand that somehow seemed connected to the slow movement of the minute hand puzzled me, so when his watch wore out, and he needed a new one, he gave… Continue reading Beware of Three Dangerous Myths about Wisdom
When he washed his disciples' feet, when he slipped away from the crowds for solitary prayer, when he honored, taught, and conversed with women, Jesus was a puzzle to his people. On Palm Sunday, we celebrate yet one more occasion in which "his disciples did not understand these things at first" because who rides into… Continue reading Did You Ever Wonder What It’s Like to be Humble?
Living Our Days 