Fan or Follower
Fan of Jesus? Or follower? I can’t get Pastor’s words out of my head from Sunday. Fan of Jesus? Am I just a fan? Someone waving my hands in worship, moving my own hot air? Just an air-blowing “fan”? Sounds sort of like someone we “friend” on Facebook just because it feels good to have another […]
In Other Words
The words of another, this weekend, for your gentle meditation. The words of Father Jacques Philippe from Searching for and Maintaining Peace . . . The habitual determination to always say “yes” to God, in the great things as in the small, is a sine qua non for interior peace. As long as we have […]
One With the Gun
Last weekend, Memorial Day weekend, dear friends from Illinois visited us here on the farm. They brought their trunk of artillery and ammo. Todd and I brought ours from the basement gun safe. Spread on the table before us was an assortment of shotguns—a 9mm AR 33-round rifle with virtually no kickback, a couple 9mm handguns […]
Why We Need Not Worry About Anything: A Short Devotion
O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens, From the lips of children and infants You have ordained praise Because of your enemies to silence the foe and the avenger. Psalm 8:1-2 You call me to walk with you this day. And […]
Vision in the Mist
I can see clearly now, the rain is gone, I can see all obstacles in my way Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind It’s gonna be a bright (bright), bright (bright) Sun-Shiny day. I think I can make it now, the pain is gone All of the bad feelings have disappeared Here […]
Save, Now!
I waved a palm on Sunday. Placed in golden windows, backlit by the sun, palms lined our church on both sides as we walked the aisle to worship Jesus, the Savior of our souls—and our world . . . Nineteen years ago, I stood on the Mount of Olives in the Garden of Gethsemane where […]
Spiritual Thoughts of a Dinosaur
She’s a voice for her generation, this dear friend of mine more than half my age. She’s wise. She’s passionate. She’s sincerely in love with Jesus and wants to serve Him with all her heart. So do many of her generation. They want to know their mission. They want to know their calling. They want […]
Finding Our Treasure
A.W. Tozer’s books in my library have more lines highlighted than not, so beautiful and true are his writings. Here is a choice morsel for your weekend meditation from The Pursuit of God . . . The man who has God for his treasure has all things in One. Many ordinary treasures may be denied him, or […]
All the Way
Why do we turn away from suffering? Is it because we don’t we want to hear about it, read about it, look upon it? Perhaps you’re tempted to stop reading right now. Have you had just about enough on the topic of suffering? If we turn away, will suffering go away? We hope. But it doesn’t. […]
Ticked Off But Moving On
Tick. Tick. Tick. The time ticks off the clock. It’s 2 AM and the Florida moon is an illuminated sliver on its side. The screen bends the light into a cross slicing straight through the center. I want to grab that moon by the tail and swing as a child, my curls swaying along with […]
Below Zero
HORSES DON’T CLEAN UP AFTER THEMSELVES. Why didn’t someone tell me this BEFORE we built a horse ranch—in Wisconsin—in summer. Horses can’t change their clothes either. And their clothes need changing frequently—in Wisconsin—in winter. And horses certainly can’t feed themselves when nothing’s growing in the pastures—in Wisconsin—in winter. In short, horses require the most work […]
Jesus and Jenga
Baby, it’s cold outside! Time for some inside fun—or not! We’re playing Jenga—that tower building game where you remove one block at a time and place it on top until the whole thing tumbles with a terrifying bang that sends the poor dog low-tailing it to the far corner of the house every single time. […]