I hate it when my flaws hang out. Following in Jesus’ footsteps, I secretly wish I could be the second perfect person to walk this earth. But my flaws are unavoidable and, with even my best intentions, stuff regularly falls through my cracks. When I begin to feel down on myself, I remember the story of the cracked pot. [...]
You are definitely a back door person," he said as I left the party. "Most everyone else came through the front door, but not you, you are a back door person. You should write a blog about that." I went out the door and down the back stairs, jumped in my car and drove straight home. Hopping on my computer, [...]
I discovered something amazing when our family hiked and camped in Sequoia National Park. “Whenever most people see a forest fire, they automatically think about all of the trees and bushes that are being destroyed. After the fire is over, the landscape looks like a blackened scene of destruction. But did you know that some plants and trees [...]
She said, “I feel like I’m walking around with an expiration date stamped on my forehead,” as she spoke to us thirteen months into her twelve to fifteen month prognosis. She said something else I will never forget. “I do not believe that God caused my cancer. But, I do believe He has allowed my cancer. I believe that [...]
“Bark less. Wag more.” I love this bumpersticker wisdom, but truthfully when I have the urge to bark, I don’t naturally wag. To wag more each day I must exchange my barking spirit for God’s Spirit that wags. Here are the traits of God’s wagging Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, [...]
Good morning... In art class, our eleven-year-old made a telling clay mask. Taped-tight beneath layers of newsprint, she secretly hid it in the garage. Spring cleaning several weeks later, I found the package lying amid odd-and-ends. Still wrapped. Still unexposed. Still hidden. Picking it up, I was surprised by its thick heaviness. “Honey, this has your name on it. [...]
“Mommy, are you a good sew-er?” my youngest son asked as he entered the dining room. Without looking at him, I said nonchalantly, “I know how to sew a little bit. What do you need?” “Mommy, are you a really good sew-er?” his trembling voice made my eyes dart up. That’s when I saw tears in his eyes, the head [...]
Bath water pours into the tub, inches-up the solid sides, and levels the powerless lip before it overflows onto the bathroom floor, flooding, flooding, flooding the room. The Almighty showers down on me, fills my heart with Spirit, and levels my powerless lip before God overflows into the lives around me, flooding, flooding, flooding the room. Such spiritual [...]
Good morning... If I were a neat freak, I wouldn’t be a writer. If I needed eight hours of sleep every night, I wouldn’t be a writer. If I loved to read, filling my time and my head with words written by others, I wouldn’t be a writer. God made me a messy insomniac, with dyslexic tendencies, so that [...]
God had you in mind on April 30, 1988. When my pen left its first mark on a blank journal page, these are the words formed by my twenty-five year old fingers. “Being aware and attentive to feelings, thoughts, inklings is very important to me. For if I don’t know my inner world, I won’t be able to share [...]
