I sat by her bed.
Her hand swollen…full…unmoving.
Feet that danced just a few weeks ago now stilled.
Arms that lifted just a short time ago now limp.
Words that spilled easily just a moment ago now haulted.
How could life seep away so quickly, right before my eyes?
Mom was ready. Read more…
I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but I’ve been absent for a few weeks. I’ve been hunkered down working on a new writing project. Would you like a sneak peek? Here you go.
I was alone, or least I felt that way. Women huddled in happy clusters chatting about first one thing and then the other. Read more…
Oh friend, I don’t know what you are going through today. But I do know this: God is not surprised or worried. He’s got this.
I’ll admit, I’ve had quite a month.
For starters, someone created a fake Facebook page using my name, my pictures and my identity. If I didn’t know better, Read more…
I sat on my back porch, wrapped in my fuzzy worn robe—the one that’s twenty years old that I just can’t seem to get rid of.
The birch trees waved “good morning,” and the newly planted gerbera daisies stretched their faces to the sun…just a bit higher than the day before.
Then I heard him. The rooster. Read more…
A few weeks ago, I was in the airport, headed to New Jersey. It was a typical rush, rush, rush morning.
Grab the bags, trudge through traffic, hunt for a parking space, follow the herd, wade through security, dash to the gate.
Folks aren’t usually very friendly in airports.
Eyes look straight ahead. Purposed feet slap the floor. Read more…
You know what? I liked my last post. I liked the beauty in my yard all white with snow. I loved how you love it!
But I never want you to think better of me than I really am. The snow melted. The mud remained. And the ordinary bread-and-butter plain days were back.
There were a few days between then and now when I wasn’t exactly sleuthing for God’s fingerprints throughout my day. Read more…
It snowed last week.
For some of you, that is not a big deal. But for me, living in the South, it was a shining display of glory all around.
I breathed in the majesty of creation; breathed out the gratitude of grace.
Thinking of the power of the gospel to cleanse. Read more…
“Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise,” (Psalm 100:4).
Right in the center of my Bible, I find an invitation into God’s presence. And while there is nowhere we can go away from God’s presence, we can certainly feel distant from Him.
In Genesis chapter 2, we read of Adam and Eve’s original sin of disobedience to God’s one command not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Read more…
Two weeks ago, I was preparing for an upcoming trip to El Salvador with Compassion International and my ministry partners, Gwen Smith and Mary Southerland.
We were going to visit several projects in three different cities to get a better understanding how Compassion breaks the cycle of poverty among some of the world’s poorest populations. Read more…
I sat with my first cup of coffee on Saturday morning, reading the Living Section of the newspaper.
Steve, a non-coffee-drinker, read the editorial page.
He stopped to read an article out loud. It is a common practice between us. Even though we know the other will read it eventually, when something stirs us, Read more…