Her tiny fingers wrap around mine, as I try to wipe all the vernix away. She cries as she lies on her mama’s chest, and I’m marked by her dependence before me. I see it everyday, and I’m in awe of how we’re born–the humble way a human being emerges into this world, looking down. […]
To Slow in This Season, and Reflect
I walk the perimeter of the tiny lake at sunset, and the trees reflect and glow on the surface of the lake’s still water. I walk, and ponder–reflect on my life, and this season I’m now living. There is silence. Ducks split the smoothness in formation, leaving a wake behind them. They are braving their […]
Life in His Laundry Room
I bend and sort the clothes, turn socks and flip shirts inside out, one piece at a time. And I’m always amazed how much laundry we have each week. Laundry stained with spills, smeared with soil, and marked with the activity of long days. Stains from running and jumping and playing. From kneeling in the […]
Worship is a Posture of the Heart
I’ve stood before thousands to lead worship and raise my hands in praise to Him. I’ve sung solos on auto pilot while thinking about lunch and that lady’s crazy outfit on the front row. And just because we’re singing with our eyes closed and our hands raised, doesn’t mean we’re worshipping. And as the years […]
For When You Need the Approval of Others :: Sermon on the Mount {Week 23-24}
I’ll admit it. I’ve been guilty. Longing for the approval and compliments of others… Wanting them to acknowledge the good I do and the way I serve… And if you’re gut-level honest, you’re probably been guilty too. Because most of us, as human beings, struggle with the issue of significance. We long to matter—to be […]
Why Feelings Are NOT the Dictators of Our Reality {There is Hope}
There are times in life that are stormy and dark, when every heart feels beyond hope. Times when we’re overwhelmed by circumstances that startle and catch us off guard–circumstances that are right here, right now–dark and directly overhead. No anticipation. No warning. And we’re blinded by their presence and sideswiped by their consequences. A lost job. A […]
What to Do When Someone Is Upset With You :: Sermon on the Mount {Week 12}
Keeping short accounts makes for a life full of peace. And that is a truth that will never change. Several years ago, my husband and I became aware that a couple in our church had a problem with us. We were shocked and surprised to learn of the situation and saddened it had been happening for so […]
Empty to be Filled Again
To be filled, we must first be empty. To be used, we must be hollow and open–available and ready. And as those who love God, we are His. We are the vessels on this earth who shine His glory. Because He has chosen us to hold the greatness of His power that is only from Him […]
For When We Surrender and Sacrifice to Remember
Today is the day, Ash Wednesday–the beginning of lent. And for the next 40 days, there are over 3,000 of us fasting together. All of us fasting for something, and from something, in an act of surrender. Fasting is a process of surrender. And it’s in the surrendering that the change comes. A surrender of what I want, what I […]
On Being Affectionate and Tender-hearted
The other day, I cared for one of the most difficult patients of my career. She was jaded and volatile, hot-tempered and reactionary. She had chosen to respond to the pain and hurt of her life by maintaining a drug habit and building a rigid wall around her heart—a wall that she made impenetrable to […]
