Gaining a heart of wisdom
Long ago and far away there were six men, wise indeed, but, alas, they were all without sight. An opinionated lot, every single one, in the course of their wanderings, they happened to meet an elephant standing squarely in the center of their path. Feeling duty-bound to report on his discovery, the first wise man… Continue reading A Fable About Beginning to Overcome Our Need to Be Right
Sunday Scripture I crave wisdom even more than a single-digit jeans size. All the time, I come face to face with the realization that intelligence, talent, cleverness, or stellar SAT scores pale in comparison to the house-building wisdom of Proverbs 14:1. The wise woman builds her house, but with her own hands the foolish one… Continue reading Making a Commitment to the Wise Building Life
Strong promises come with strong verbs, and Psalm 32:8 delivers both: I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you." When I need wisdom, I want to know that my Counselor knows what he's talking about. When I'm looking for advice,… Continue reading Sunday Scripture ~ Psalm 32:8
Four young men have grown up around our dining room table, and the book of Proverbs has shown up as a regular on the breakfast menu, along with the oatmeal and the eggs. Liz Curtis Higgs asked hundreds of her readers to choose their favorite verses from the Proverbs and then narrowed the list down… Continue reading The Proverbs: Ancient Wisdom for Modern Life
By midwinter, the empty canning jars on my basement shelves are beginning to overtake the number of full jars. Clear glass glints beside the jewel-toned beets, briny pickles, and thick spaghetti sauce. By practicing the dying art of canning, I pay attention to these containers, knowing that a family of six can put away as… Continue reading All You Have to Be Is Desperate
Every January 1st for the past twenty years, I have been greeted by the same bracing truth as I turn again to the first page of my well-worn flip calendar of Elisabeth Elliot quotes: Lord, give me a quiet heart That doesn’t need to understand, But, confident, walks forward in The darkness, guided by your… Continue reading Guided by Your Hand
Proverbs has always been a challenging read for me. My brain wants to make outlines, and it searches in vain for a tidy way to summarize the truth of a chapter. Proverbs 1 and 2 cooperate nicely: wisdom. However, the following chapters veer off into multiple topics, and my takeaway from reading this valuable wisdom literature is that… Continue reading The Beginning of Wisdom
Get Wise by Bob Merritt: A Book Review Thank you, Bob Merritt, for doing what I have always wanted to do: sifting through the random assortment of life-giving wisdom in the book of Proverbs and categorizing the verses according to theme. As a pastor, Merritt knows that the book of Proverbs contains the wise words that our hearts… Continue reading Proverbs for Wise Living
Living Our Days 