As the okra plants reach the height their genes call for, they start to blossom and put out fruit on secondary branches, lower on the main stem. This makes the hunt for fruit like a Where’s Waldo puzzle. I can’t just reach for the top of the plant to snap Read more…
Counting the hours that I lay in a hospital bed…waiting… Counting the days till a birthday gift massage… Counting the minutes until the absent loved one comes home… Counting the seconds the microwave has to warm up my coffee… There is lots of counting in our lives. Some of it Read more…
It has been an almost unendurably hot summer! Many trees in my neighborhood are brown and crispy. Even the heat-loving vegetables in my garden have struggled to produce. It was even too hot for my okra! The temperature has exposed weakness in the care we give the plants that don’t Read more…
Yesterday was a day full of ministry opportunities. It was a day of revelation and insight, confession and restoration, battle and victory. In all this, Jesus is the mighty Victor. Overcomer is His name: He overcame Satan’s plot to destroy God’s glory and usurp His throne; He overcame death through Read more…
My garden…yeah, about that… My Asian yard-long beans are climbing and blooming, but not bearing. My okra is beautiful and growing, but not blooming. The oregano and mint are threatening to take over the planet! Almost the only things out there I can eat are the weeds! The point of Read more…
Following Jesus every day in the everyday, sometimes my times alone with Him are a little too everyday! They can become more like a business transaction than a lovers’ tryst, or worse, a loveless marriage. Hosea chapter 3 paints a heart-breaking picture of one man’s faithful love for a very Read more…
My calendar feels like it rides the bellows of an accordion: sometimes all the events are squished close together as all the air is squeezed out of my lungs; other times there is lots of space between appointments, leaving plenty of breathing room. The last few have been weeks with Read more…
Good morning, Papa-God. Thank You for cool air, A table and chair, Smoke to ward off mosquitoes, Bird-call to welcome the sun, Kingdom work to be done. Thank You for a place to welcome others: Teenage son and weary mother. Thanks for seeds to grow and feed, Abundant meeting of Read more…
Lest you think that my life of following Jesus every day in the everyday is somehow floating blissfully over a verdant landscape flowing with milk and honey, it’s time for more full disclosure. Sometimes, my relationship with God looks more like a slugfest. On Sunday Pastor Adam gave up stepping Read more…
I woke this morning with unanticipated pain. In a fallen world like ours, pain is to be expected: It came with the first act of disobedience. It is a gift: It warns us that something is amiss. It is an opportunity: It invites us to explore our hearts. My first Read more…