Anger and frustration are the children of unmet expectations. And unmet expectations kill relationships. I should know this by now. It’s a lesson always before me, one I never really learn. It happens in my marriage, with my parents, my children and my friends. And it all starts in my mind. I begin to imagine […]
For When You Think It’s Only About Following the Rules :: Sermon on the Mount {Week 9}
There are some people you never forget—people who leave an impression that’s hard to shake, and growing up I do remember her. She was my mother’s age. Always opinionated and outspoken, and never for a lack of words, and she went out of her way to make you aware of your wayward ways. She grew […]
I Will Choose to Trust and Believe … Even if I Cannot See
I sometimes get impatient with God. I don’t always understand the way He’s working and weaving in my life. And I want to see—I want to understand what it all means and what it’s all for. Twenty years ago, I would never have guessed my journey would have looked like it has, like this. But […]
All Has Been Accomplished! The New Covenant Has Come :: Sermon on the Mount {Week 8}
As a junior in college I almost failed my Cell & Molecular Biology Lab. We were learning about histology and the assignment was to make slides of different types of tissue. But the problem was in order to make slides, the tissue had to be fresh. And you should have seen our faces when the […]
For When the Unknown is Scary and You Need to Take the Risk
Sometimes you just have to have the faith to go under, to trust in the process and hold your breath and blow. Our new pool was finally finished a few weeks ago, but with it came a whole new level of concern. Our youngest two children don’t know how to swim, and now it’s a […]
We ARE the Light of the World :: Sermon on the Mount {Week 7}
  When I was nine, I was afraid of the dark. I can remember the closet in my bedroom…how it had sliding doors, and how I would walk over and shut them tightly before turning off the light. In fact I had a bedside lamp and I would turn that on first. Then I […]
Because It’s All About Choosing to See
I wonder how much I’ve missed because I often fail to see. My eyes are blinded to a perspective beyond myself, and frankly its easier to just wallow in my current view and refuse to consider another one. It is often easier to see the dark clouds over my head and the difficulty of the now, instead […]
Because You Are Meant to BE the Flavor :: Sermon on the Mount {Week 6}
 There’s almost nothing better than food full of flavor … like pizza loaded with savory sauce and chunks of melted cheese, or a full plate of Mexican food, complete with rice, refried beans, guacamole, salsa and chips. Yet those same foods can be unappealing altogether if the salt is omitted. They remain bland and aren’t […]
Because I Know, This Won’t Always Be
She waited up for me…and I found her asleep on my pillow, still and quiet, sleeping next to daddy. Her, my last one. My baby of 5, and she had been wanting me. And I know this won’t always be… I scoop her up and walk to her room, and I pause there at the maroon chair–this […]
For When You Don’t Fit in and You’re Not Feeling Accepted :: Sermon on the Mount {Week 5}
I was never very popular growing up. I know it’s hard to believe after seeing that fantastic 1989 hair and silver metal belt in the picture above, but I can assure you it was totally “in” back then and not at all responsible for my lack of popularity. Not that I was the total nerd of the class, but let’s just […]
