Gaining a heart of wisdom
No one has to remind the forsythia bush outside my dining room window to break forth into yellow luminescence as an announcement that spring has come. The sassy gray squirrel steals shamelessly from the bird feeder "according to his kind," and the chickadee scolds and stitches up the air behind her -- because that is… Continue reading Attending to the Details of Congruence
Shrouded in mystery, the ways of God are stitched into stories, carried on the smoke of a burning sacrifice, and sung from the heart with both joy and tears. Through promises and prophecies, God hints at a plan that will reel in rebellion and undo death and loss -- until the silence of four hundred… Continue reading Old and New Testaments: One Great Story
Because I am married to an unreasonably patient man, we hardly ever argue – except for when it comes to the Ascension. His (perhaps quite reasonable) conclusion from Acts chapter one is this: Jesus went up. The disciples looked up. Therefore, heaven is up. My (perhaps quite unreasonable) argument is that on that day when… Continue reading Rising in Grace and Glory
When school started in the fall, I introduced a series in our Sunday School on God's incommunicable attributes -- for the kids. The timing was perfect: everyone was going back to school. We all have lots to learn. God has never needed to learn anything. He is omniscient . . . and on we… Continue reading Theology 101 (In the Nursery)
Receive . . . Enjoy . . . Let go Freighted with meanings and memories, associations and reflections far beyond their official definitions, words can be an invitation to pay attention. Watch . . . Accept . . . Resist Marilyn McEntyre has chosen fifteen words as the basis for fifteen weeks of daily meditations,… Continue reading The Power of a Single Word
My growing-up Christmases were heavy on Santa Claus and Frosty the Snowman. Linus's hushed tones filled me in on the true meaning of Christmas via our first colored t.v., but I wanted that story to take center stage for my own children. The celebration of Advent has been key for our family in spreading out… Continue reading A Very Tozer Christmas
The words of 17th century poet John Milton from On His Blindness, come to mind with every visit to my mother's long-term care facility: "They also serve who only stand and wait." I hope it's true, and I'd love to report that in the midst of my waiting we have warm and meaningful conversations or… Continue reading Standing and Waiting with Those Who Suffer
After holding babies close, Holding hands on the walk to the mailbox, Holding feet to the fire, Holding loosely to the ones who have left the nest (Say it and say it until you believe it: "roots and wings," "roots and wings"), My hands and heart are learning the contours of a new holding: An… Continue reading Each Day By Name
For the reader who writes (or for the writer who reads), certain authors are a gold mine. With a bracing vocabulary, a precision of thought, and a way with a sentence that manages to be both wise and witty, David Bentley Hart has a perspective on the world that requires a careful reading -- that… Continue reading Wicked Splendid
Elisabeth Elliot coined the most memorable definition of human suffering that I have ever heard: "Suffering is wanting what you don't have -- or having what you don't want." These words came to mind often as I read Between Pain and Grace, because Gerald W. Peterman and Andrew J. Schmutzer have initiated a fresh conversation which does… Continue reading Pain, Emotion, and God
Living Our Days 