Timing is everything. How many times have I heard that? How many times have I heeded that? Hmmm. Those two answers are not the same.
When my son, Steven, was about seven years old, we went snow skiing. For hours I instructed him how to stand up, ski down, and get up once he fell. In his frustration, Read more…
I’m writing over at Proverbs 31 Ministries today, and thought you might enjoy it too!
There’s something about January that gets me down. While others are setting New Year’s resolutions and goals for the months ahead, I tend to feel sorry for myself because some areas of my life aren’t where I hoped they’d be by now. Read more…
Chris, one of my friends, was in a seminary class when someone raised his hand and asked the professor: What is your best advice on how to be a good pastor?”
“Empathy,” the professor replied. “Have empathy.”
Then Chris raised his hand. “How do you get empathy?
With a trace of sad knowing in his eyes, Read more…
I wrote this devotion a while back, but I needed a reminder of what I learned that day. This New Year, wonder if you do too.
I set out to tackle a task I had put off for many years. I didn’t really want to do it at all. It was the job of cleaning out my ministry storage closet. Read more…
In just a few days, you will most likely be taking down those Christmas decorations and packing them up until next year…when you will be pulling them out and decorating all over again! Yes, Christmas is coming again…unless Jesus comes back before then.
This year, as you pack away those tinseled treasures, I want you to think about this: The babe who was born in a manger, Read more…
Every year, I search for Christmas poems, stories, and traditions that stir my soul and keep my focus on Jesus. Perhaps none has tugged on my heartstrings like the treasure I am sharing with you today. It is a letter that could have been written by Mary. Join me now and let’s peek over Joseph’s shoulder as he reads this letter from his beloved. Read more…
Life wasn’t turning out like I thought it would. There would be no gaggle of laughing children filling my home, no crowded kitchen table at mealtimes, no juggling of kids’ busy schedules. My first child would be my only child. And while I was so grateful to have this walking, talking, bundle of love, this wasn’t the way I had envisioned life unfolding. Read more…
Sometimes it breaks my heart to talk to women in the church who feel they are less important or less loved than their male counterparts. One day it was a young woman named Jan who was voicing her frustration.
I sat across the lunch table picking at a salad and trying to digest Jan’s words. Her startlingly teal eyes were tinted with frustration at God, Read more…
I was checking out my Facebook posts and feeling a little bit left out. It seemed everyone was having a big ole time with family and friends, and well, I wasn’t. It was the holiday season and it appeared all the family gatherings were picture perfect…and mine wasn’t.
Pinterest postings of perfect sausage pinwheels. Facebook pics of glittery table setting with Christmas China and matching napkins. Read more…
Family can get really messy over the holidays. My family growing up was one big mess on every-days. Fighting. Arguing. Yelling. Crying. And eventually, a lot of forgiving.
If ever there is a place to learn about forgiveness…to practice forgiveness…to struggle with forgiveness…it is in the context of family. And interestingly, it is in the context of family where the word forgiveness first shows up in the Bible. Read more…
