I caught a few lines of a song the other day (although I didn’t realize how raunchy and godless it was until I investigated it further, so yeah -not sharing it with you.) But it caught my attention because the artist sang a question and then an answer, repeating this over and over. It made me think of the listening… Read More
My Top 10 Reasons Why You Should Go to Church
When generous people made a California trip possible for our family several years ago, we did the Disneyland thing and the outlet mall shopping trip and the sand-n-sea excursion. We also visited a mega-church one Sunday morning. When it came to extra time and choices of activities that weekend, I suggested we visit one or two or three other… Read More
How You’re Going to Become Blameless
It’s sheer panic on their faces, when I tell them they’re going to learn over 700 Spanish sentences during the year. “I cannot do that,” they say to me with their eyes. Can’t blame them, can you? But what they don’t know is how much sleep I’ve lost thinking about how to help them succeed. While you were waterskiing and… Read More
Where Is My Life Going?
We decided it was just too dangerous, this owning of a motorcycle, so he donned his helmet for the last time. We were taking the bike to a friend’s shop where he could sell it for us. I knew generally where the shop was but not exactly, so I followed closely behind Matt and watched for his hand signals. After… Read More
Can God Run The World And Care about Me?
I’ve felt the weight –or maybe terror –of God’s greatness on a few occasions. When I saw the grey-green sky and felt the too-still quiet of pending tornado weather. When a nurse handed me my son for the first time. When I stood at the top of Going-to-The-Sun Road in Glacier National Park. God is big. How could he possibly… Read More
Ten Truths for Managing Disappointment
There have been times when the disappointing turns in my life have been a neck-wrenching 180 degrees–like when I was just sure I would get a teaching job in Killeen, Texas when I graduated from college. There were dozens of positions open. The lady interviewed me and turned me down flat. She told me those kids would eat me for… Read More
Can You See God’s Work in Your Life?
They all said it would take three years to be successful. Can you blog about your subject for three years? they said. At the time, I had only hit “publish” on seven blog posts, so three years seemed like forever. Could I sit down and write about who God was in my life for 156 weeks in a row? Now it… Read More
Who Is God When Your Heart Is Heavy?
It was 1:30 a.m., and I was awake worrying about…things. You know how it is, because you have your own stuff on your mind this week that keeps making your shoulders sag and your sighs loud. I got out of bed, to move around and try to get my thoughts going in a different direction, but I couldn’t shift my… Read More
What God Intends for You
My own retelling of Ephesians 1:4… In the beginning, When the earth was empty And there was only darkness, You were on his mind. Before he touched the keyboard and made the story come alive. Before you ever did anything wrong. And before anyone ever did wrong to you. There was the thought of you. He chose you. He made a… Read More
The Renovation of Your Soul
It was a cold and rainy Sunday afternoon. The snow level came down low on the mountains behind our house. So we finished lunch, and Matt took his favorite place in the recliner next to the fireplace. (I say fireplace. It requires an electrical outlet, but we are able to suspend reality well enough to enjoy it.) If Matt pushes… Read More