My brain functions like a pinball machine. For those of you who don’t remember, pinball machines are arcade games where a plunger is used to shoot a steel ball onto a slanted field filled with obstacles. The goal . . . keep the ball in play as long as possible. So, back to my brain….
Two girls. One is popular. The other peculiar. Forced together by circumstances and all they can see is “loathing.” But… When the comparisons stop. When they look below the surface into each other’s hearts. They become—friends. Good friends. Best friends! Doing life together until their story ends with the following song: For Good I’ve heard…
For six weeks people’s eyes popped every time I walked into the room. Then they’d ask “When is your baby due?!!” When I told them I had a month to go, their pitiful expressions said . . . oh, you poor thing! Finally, my due date arrived and passed and still . . . no ….
Freedom Love Wisdom and now… Prayer. So much has been said and written about prayer. How to pray. When to pray. What to pray. Where to pray. Journals. War Rooms. Lists. Methods. I’ve read dozens of books on prayer. I’ve started countless journals. Set up my “War Room.” Written Bible verses. Taught Bible studies. Written…
Everyone wants to be happy. Don’t they? I do. I’m guessing you do too. We may not all agree on how to get there, but the desire for happiness is natural and universal. And it’s that natural desire for happiness that made possible the birth of a lie. God wants you to be happy. It’s not that God…
We need the promises of Jesus! Terrorism, politics, illness, heartbreak, loss… Sometimes this broken world feels too painful. Too hard. And I remember Solomon’s words: History merely repeats itself. It has all been done before. Nothing under the sun is truly new. Ecclesiastes 1:9 Nothing new. No, I’m not trying to totally depress you this…
My dad likes to tell the story of how he almost tried to talk me out of taking my first teaching position because the salary was so small. I had just graduated from college and received a call to teach at a small Christian school in St. Louis, where Rev would attend seminary. I wanted…
What in the world were you thinking? The relationship ended and you’re wondering . . . how could you have been so foolish? The signs were there all along, how could you have missed them? You and I were created for relationships with God and with other people. Maybe one of the reasons God gave us…
I grew up memorizing Bible verses for school. One or two verses every week recited to the teacher or written on paper each Friday. But it’s been years since I’ve hidden any new verses in my heart, and I’m old enough that the King James Version was the translation I committed to memory. It’s time…
Earlier this week, I tweeted: Don’t be shy. God wants us to ask . . . often. http://snip.ly/7kwl8 8 Steps to an Action Plan for Growing in Wisdom #Faith And received the following reply: I’m curious how you discovered God wants us to ask things? Great question? Right? I answered by saying that Jesus told His…
You’re tired. You’ve done it your way long enough. You’re ready for a change, but how? Jesus’ brother, James wrote: If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and He will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. James 1:5 If you need wisdom. Ask. That’s it? But you’re nervous….
Everyone wants to be happy. Some people think it’s what life is all about . . . being happy. But what if it takes wisdom to be truly happy? We spend our lives trying to find that person, place, or thing that will make us happy. Solomon had something to say about this: I observed…
If asked, how would you define wisdom? Wisdom: 1) The ability to think and act using knowledge, experience, understanding, common sense, and insight. 2) The ability to discern or judge what is true, right, or lasting. Based on those definitions, everyone, Jesus follower or not, would consider wisdom valuable for success, safety, and well-being. But this…
I’m not normally a stubborn person. Really. I’m not. But when the nurse stuck her head in pre-op and told me it was time to leave I didn’t budge. Thankfully, the lovely woman shaving Rev’s chest agreed—her affirmation helped me stay by his side a little longer. A little later the kids told me a…
You would think love would be an easy subject, wouldn’t you? We toss around the word all the time. I love this or that post. I love good coffee. I love Ted Drewes Custard (it’s a St. Louis thing). I love babies and puppies and quiet afternoons. And that’s just the top of the list…
How to love the unlovely. I planned this in my editorial schedule weeks ago. Back when it seemed far away and easy to write. But it’s not at all easy… This is a hard. I wonder if it’s hard for you too. Loving the unlovely. The less than lovable. Loving when everything in you and me…
Stranger danger… is the danger to children and adults, presented by strangers. The phrase stranger danger is intended to sum up the danger associated with adults whom adults/children do not know. (Wikipedia) And because of stranger danger we: Don’t talk with strangers. Don’t walk with strangers. Don’t… In fact, children are told to run the…
“And the second is equally as important.” Equally important to loving God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength is… Loving your neighbor as you love yourself. Matthew 22:39 This one’s hard isn’t it? Loving imperfect people? People can’t see our hearts. They can’t tell how much we love God . . . except by…
I don’t give much parenting advice because well . . . I don’t have much to give. Each child is unique and what worked for me may not work for you and what didn’t work for me might be the answer for you.
Since our children have been grown for some time, I do however have some advice on loving your adult children well.
I don’t know about you, but I struggle with the idea of self-love. If you Google “love yourself” you’ll find a plethora of thoughts on the subject . . . some good, some not. So I went to the Bible and searched for “love yourself” there, and… 10 places in the Bible it says, “Love…
You can read tons of posts about loving or not loving the church, but the truth is it’s not the church that frustrates us. It’s the people in the church. The church as the family of believers. And… Families are messy and church families are no exception because any time you put imperfect people together ….
