“Conscientiously ‘wasting’ time with God enables me to speak and act from greater strength, to forgive rather than nurse the latest bruise to my wounded ego, to be capable of magnanimity during the petty moments of life. It empowers me to lose myself, at least temporarily, against a greater background than the tableau of […]
belief: maybe we spell it all wrong
He posted the question on Facebook. How many of you honestly believe god is real? I look out at birds perched in stripped branches that in just a couple of months will pop pink. Browns will gush green, the sun will beat warm, and the air will hang heavy with the fragrance of lilacs […]
the heart work of eviction
My in-laws finally realized their dream. They moved out of the old farmhouse into a smaller home built at the edge of Big Creek. Mom still had plenty of room in the new garage to set up her “museum” of old calendars, photos, farm implements, and antiques. Dad stacked stones in the creek so […]
in which i love winter
I’m a summertime gal. Bring on the sun, the heat, the sweat. Let me rock on the porch with a glass of iced tea, sporting a pair of shorts and my Tigers T-shirt, inhaling the scent of petunias. Or give me springtime, air heavy with the fragrance of lilacs, pregnant with new life, the […]
when we work without love
We were back in the supply room, gathering trays and sterile equipment for our cases. She was griping about something. I don’t remember what. But as we hurried down the hall with arms full, she shook her head and sighed. “Why are you always so happy?” I just shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe it’s […]
scripture sunday: the romans project: romans 1:9-10
“God, whom I serve in my spirit in preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you in my prayers at all times; and I pray that now at last by God’s will the way may be opened for me to come to you. ~Romans 1:9-10 Memorizing with Ann […]
still saturday: delivered
Deliver. I’ve been thinking about this word all week. How He delivered Himself to us wrapped low to wrap us up in love, how He delivered Himself over to deliver us from darkness and death into light and life so we could deliver ourselves for Him, to be light to deliver others into the light […]
five minute friday: fingers of fear
I crack my right eyeball. He’s up on his left elbow, leaning over me, staring… …at the clock, I guess, on the nightstand next to me. Then he’s fiddling with his phone. Did it go off? Or not? After I complained about the radio blasting strange music at weird hours and having to wake […]
walk in love: ephesians 5:1-20
Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma. ~Ephesians 5:1-2 (NASB) One of my favorite I Love Lucy episodes is the one where Lucy tries to avoid being caught imitating Harpo Marx by imitating him as if she were […]
musings on grace
Saturday I snapped pictures of the Grand River out the corner windows of our hotel room on the ninth floor. Then my husband donned his black tuxedo with the gray vest. I slipped into a little black dress and rhinestone-sparkle heels. We walked under two-ton crystal chandeliers that hung from a gold leaf ceiling, past […]
