A Place For All God’s Creatures in His Special Upside-Down Economy
Our traditional Sabbath day family connection is a hike somewhere—anywhere on a trail through nature. It’s our ritual. Our comfort. The holy tie that binds. This past Sunday was one of those near-fall afternoons where temperatures slipped. Long sleeves and sweatshirts replaced the T-shirts of summer for the first time since June. Breezes blew stiff. […]
Can God Give Too Much?
This is the third and last in the series of my Alaskan ponderings. May you be blessed by the glory of God given to us, for us, that we might worship the One who created all and, in him alone, find our fulfillment. When I was a kid, my dad would tickle me in the […]
Can God Be Trusted In The Dark?
When rain clouds obscure reality, keep looking forward in faith. And pray to be thrilled by the One who holds the rain—and you, even in the deluge. Two years ago, we were here in Denali National Park, Alaska, a vast wilderness of six million acres. Temperatures were warm, skies were clear and we learned […]
How Do We Rise Up When Life Cuts Us Down?
Ever felt cut down? Dried up? Bundled heavy? Tightly strung? Thrown in a heap? Left alone in some dark, dry place? I can relate. This past week the farmers rolled into the fields all around us, even ours. Make hay while the sun shines, the old adage goes. We take that literally around here. Horse […]
True Love Wins Over the Rainbow
I ripped the lettuces. Shredded them in my bare hands and dropped them into the empty bowl. Then I dressed their nakedness with virgin olive oil and fruit-infused vinegar. Sweet and bitter whisked together . . . Then I began the layering of tomatoes diced, radishes sliced, white cheddar cubed, parmesan grated, olives pitted. Oh, […]
Beautiful Beyond Description
Here’s the thing . . . You are about to witness the juxtaposition of evil and beautiful. I have done this on purpose—to press a point. There is gross darkness in this world. Orange jumpsuits filled with men, caged like animals but handcuffed like no animal. Submerged slowly. Methodically. Into a drowning pool. With underwater […]
When the World is Falling Apart and You Need Your Own Care Package
Sometimes I read the headlines and am tempted to despair. Sometimes I’m tempted to feel guilty for my own problems when I see those suffering from darkness all over the world, feeling real terrors of their own. Then again, I know Jesus cares for all—for all the masses and for just one. He suffered and […]
How Not to Covet Others’ Blooms (and How to Be Grateful for Where You’re Planted)
Why is it that EVERY year I go through the SAME cycle? My faulty memory is as predictable as my perennials popping through the earth’s crust every spring. Forgetting the warm will finally arrive and plants will once again rise, I wait impatiently, looking every day for life signs. The first of May, I still […]
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 […]
Worth the Wait
The bay by Fish Creek is melting, the ice breaking into white geometric chunks outlined in blue. A lone goose ambles next to shore, smacking her webbed feet on the still frozen. I giggle on the inside. She’s looking, beak moving left and right, waiting. Memory of last spring’s fuzzy goslings makes me smile. Does […]
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 […]