Little numbers on the scale, little words spoken, little words unsaid, little seeds and little seedlings…Little fingers and toes, little hugs, little squeals… As much as I would, or think I would, like to have a monumental impact on the worlds around me, most of my life is made up Read more
“Sometimes fault lines can only be identified and mapped after an earthquake.” —40 Days of Decrease, Alicia Britt Chole That’s why failure is such an important thing to not be protected from. (She says from her ivory tower…) We often ask God to bless our event, activity, or adventure, expecting Read more
My grapevines look very sad. And they are teaching me a thing or two, as usual, about God’s pruning. Thanks to the recovery time dictated by a complete knee replacement, they have mostly not yet been pruned. Care for grapevines (if what you are after is fruit) means reduction of Read more
Phil Wickham’s Hymn of Heaven contains the line, “stand beside the heroes of the faith.” Usually that makes me think of the list of notables in Hebrews 11, those who paved the way of faith for us by being utterly everyday humans who were granted unique opportunity to hold on Read more
Sometimes my thoughts are like a skittish school of herring, flashing this way and that at the least provocation. I found myself asking God to settle them, or herd them into His net. Is it on the right side of the boat or the left? It isn’t always that He gives Read more
Add one more failure to the list. At least that’s where I’ve been about it… “I thought you were going to put out a song a month.”…Yeah, yeah, yeah. So did I. (heavy sigh) …”I must have launched out without proper planning, or God’s okie dokie, or something. I don’t Read more
Depressed children often chatter like George Washington’s wooden dentures at Valley Forge, and bounce off the walls. Depressed adults are often quiet — silent, even. I was the classic depressed adult. I sat at the computer last week, and wrote nothing, because I had nothing to say. I was depressed… Read more
“Repent and believe the gospel.” — Mark 1:15 These are Jesus’ words that stood out from this morning’s lectio Divina, the ancient Christian tradition of soaking in a short passage of scripture and allowing God’s Spirit to focus one’s attention on a portion of it. Processing what He means resulted Read more
No, there are not a dozen drummers in my living room, nor is there a Shakespearean fantasy opening on my back porch tonight! (Just in case you were wondering.) There is however, a tradition that the Wise Men visited the Child on this day years ago. (The Magi’s gifts gave Read more
Word choice is an important aspect of speaking and writing. If I say, “walk,” it might make any number of pictures in your mind. But, what happens when I use a word like “stroll” or “stride?” How about “amble” or “strut?” “Pace” or “march?” All have the idea of covering Read more