Here’s the scenario: We have company in town. They’ve sold their house and need to buy a new house immediately, so they’re putting in some long days with a realtor. “Let me make dinner for us tonight!” I said. At 3:00 I put on my apron, ready to enjoy the slow process of preparing vegetables for a cozy bowl of… Read More
The Traveling Heart
There are two suitcases on our son’s bed upstairs. Come Saturday morning they’ll both have handles wrapped with airline tags reading “Tel Aviv.” The preacher and I have been planning this trip for months, but for some reason I’ve been keeping this close to my chest. I keep thinking, I need to tell my people about this, but then I… Read More
Could Someone Please Orchestrate Your Life
It’s time for a fun Mexican food day in my Spanish class, so I’m having Qdoba catered during the lunch hour. But do you know that I almost broke out into hives just planning this? My administrative skills: 0. I’m trying not to panic that I’ve probably messed up some detail. My students wish we could take a trip to… Read More
Do This to Add Spark to Your Daily Bible Reading
I was finishing up my bowl of mini-wheats, which means coffee and Bible reading was next in my morning routine. But I was hit by an unexpected feeling of boredom. Last week I started a slow read through the book of John, which is my favorite gospel, but I’ve read it a lot. There wasn’t going to be anything new,… Read More
Do You Make This Mistake When You Pray?
It didn’t used to matter to me –whether the Awana kids said the question or if I did. I figured the important part of their handbook time on Wednesdays was if they could state the truth they were learning and then recite from memory the Bible verse to support that truth. But then I considered the point made by Paul… Read More
How to Respond to The Long, Hard Season
It’s freezing out here. I’m sitting in my car, in front of the high school, with some time to kill before I accompany the next round of vocalists for festival practice. Cars are driving by covered in a few inches of white, and I can see the snow clouds pressing down on the mountains to my right. Should have worn… Read More
The Day I Found My Heart in The Laundry Pile
My way of doing things is to pull out the clean laundry from the dryer and get down on my knees to fold it on the floor. A few days ago I was matching up towel corners when a little paper heart fell onto my knee. I knew exactly where it had come from. Last Wednesday was a Valentine’s theme… Read More
If You’re Facing Serious Deficiencies Right Now
When I needed something but felt guilty asking for it, dad loved to pull out his wallet and let the hundreds fan in front of my eyes for a second. “Oh man, I’m almost out of money,” he would say. Then we would exchange smiles. His smile would say, “What’re you worried about, kid?” My smile would say, “Shoot, I… Read More
What Do You Really Want to Pray For?
In a spirit of great generosity, Matt shared his M&M’s with me Tuesday night. This is part of what it means to love your wife the way Jesus loves the church, in case you were wondering. I was self-controlled and only shook out four candies into my hand, because I didn’t want to take advantage of his kindness. But I… Read More
The Kindness of A God Who Will Nix Your Request
Exactly this time two years ago I was in a bad way. I had lost my medical transcription job earlier in the year, due to the incoming of electronics into the medical field. I had dreams of being a plain-ol’ housewife, but we were having a hard time meeting budget without me working. I was begging God, Please don’t make… Read More