“Moses was past middle age when God called him to lead his children out of Egypt, and he spoke with a stutter. He was reluctant and unwilling and he couldn’t control his temper. But he saw the bush that burned and was not consumed. He spoke with God in the cloud on Mt. Sinai, and […]
sing a new song
Snow fell on Sunday. In May. On Mother’s Day. It frosted the tulips white. “My mother would not be happy today,” my sister posted on Facebook. “She wouldn’t even be amused.” And I doubt if even we could have made her crack a smile by bursting into song and dance, perhaps with a spring […]
self-care or selfish?
I slammed doors, stomped feet, and spewed all kind of venom. How dare the company ask us to move (even if only for a short time), and how dare my husband say yes. He could just go alone. Without me. Because here is where I was. The I who’d found my identity and importance […]
scripture sunday: tapestry of love
I want you woven into a tapestry of love, in touch with everything there is to know of God. Then you will have minds confident and at rest, focused on Christ, God’s great mystery. All the richest treasures of wisdom and knowledge are embedded in that mystery and nowhere else. ~Colossians 2:2-3 (MSG) Still and […]
still saturday: finding wonder
Young children have no sense of wonder. They bewilder well, but few things surprise them. All of it is new to young children, after all, and equally gratuitous. Their parents pause at the unnecessary beauty of an ice storm coating the trees; the children look for something to throw. The children who tape colorful fall […]
a lake and an artist date
I slow down as I turn the corner and scan Lake Abby. Something dark floats at the far end. Not a goose. Maybe a mallard. But I can’t be sure. It looks black. I smash forefoot to floor, fly down asphalt, jerk wheel to left, spin gravel in drive, and ram gear into park. When […]
when you neglect your body
I throw off everything that could weight me down while I weigh myself–first thing in the morning, before a drop of water passes my lips. I smile because the needle settles a few pounds lower, and I know it’s because of my recent illness. Sickness has its benefits. I mentally pummel myself for all […]
scripture sunday: two are better than one
Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. ~Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 (NIV) Stilled times two, Sandy
still saturday: heaven quiets
“And maybe, just maybe, the deepest experience of prayer begins to happen when we, too, learn to be silent. To stop. To pay attention. To offer just one word, or two, to sit in the presence of God, in the anteroom of heaven itself and become prayer. Our very selves, offered on the altar, and then flung […]
five minute friday: brave
Brave is not just bold and blue nails with flowers on the thumbs. Or climbing a cargo net when you’re old enough for a social security net. It’s not just leaping tethered off a platform. Brave slips through circumstances as slick as melted butter. It treads the waters of trials and doesn’t drown. It forgets […]