Growth
The Economics of Grace
He couldn’t even look me in the eyes.
The weight of yesterday’s foolishness on his conscience made it impossible for him to lock his gaze with mine. Though I had tucked him in bed with assurances of my love for him, he still awoke this morning unreconciled.
He’s since apologized and our relationship is restored, yet he still bears a countenance of guilt. I console him again with scripture:
While delivering that truth to his tender heart, I pondered why I don’t often wake with the awareness of guilt that he so frequently does. I’d love to think that’s because I have fully internalized the grace contained in the Lamentations passage. Read More
Put your money (and sunscreen) where your mouth is
I’ve dug my heels in. But I may not be winning.
I make a conscious, daily effort to take a stand against the cultural norms of our day in the area of body image. Yep, that’s me: middle-aged, suburban rebel. Americans worship youth and beauty, thereby shackling women (in particular) with concern over their appearance. We pay thousands of dollars, and spend countless hours, “managing” our bodies as measured in pounds lost, grays dyed, wrinkles stretched/treated/injected, breasts implanted, cellulite extracted, teeth whitened, and the like.
I want something different for my daughters and the young gals for whom I lead Bible study.
When you need a reason to stay in the game
“I don’t want to go.”
My daughter informed me that she had qualified to run in the district track meet but that she didn’t care to. Only the top three runners in each event are sent to compete with students from all the other schools in our area. Her news thrilled me, so I puzzled over her reluctance.
It didn’t take much probing to determine the cause for her lack of zeal: Read More
When you feel invisible. Or worse. (And a little baseball.)
You might think you treat God’s Word as infallible.
But I’m willing to wager you don’t. And that you don’t even realize it.
We may not all agree upon (or even understand!) all aspects of the Bible. After all, we interpret it with limited human thinking. When I have difficulty squaring seemingly-contradictory passages of scripture, I end up praising God that He’s bigger than my pea-brain and am grateful that He and His Word are trustworthy.
“Except in this one area.” Read More
How you’re “supposed” to pray
I know a handful people who pray for uninterrupted lengths of time and with great joy. But I know far more people who struggle with prayer. They feel guilty about a lack of it, and have preconceived notions over how they’re “supposed” to do it. Not just the nuts and bolts, the “how” of prayer, but also the why, when and if.
(For the record, I’m in the latter population.) Read More
When is enough screen time enough?
Do you ever wonder if you spend too much time on a computer or device?
How much time is okay to spend on the computer… tablet… phone… TV?
I suspect all of us feel a certain degree of guilt about the number of hours spent face-to-screen instead of face-to-face. Especially if we have spouses or children. Me, too. My professional labor (and client correspondence) is accomplished on my computer. I keep my calendar, finances and recipes on my machine, as well. Then, there’s personal email (and its annoying cousin, “courtesy emails” from airlines, stores and the like), Facebook and Pinterest. Most of my screen time feels necessary to life in today’s culture.
And then there’s my smart phone (which seems to have rendered me idiotic since I rely on it as a delegated-memory device). Read More
To February and beyond
Whether you call them resolutions or goals doesn’t really matter. The days between 12/25 and 1/1 are usually free of regular commitments, permitting time for reflection and evaluation, to set a course for the coming year. There’s something about flipping the calendar over that fills me with renewed vigor and hope. Yet before February 1, that hope dissipates when many of us find ourselves already off track. Before you lose inertia, here are a few tips to keep you on the wagon: Read More
Christmas Apnea
What do tonsils and Advent have to do with one another?
Seemingly nothing, at first glance. The two have coincided in my life this year, as my daughter is having hers removed today, December 18.
At age twelve, we’ve only recently discovered that her oversized tonsils are obstructing her sleep. Dangling like two red ornaments into her airway, those tonsils cause her breathing to stop about every three minutes throughout the night; her brain arouses her to shift into a position that will enable respiration again. Read More
No worries. Yeah, right.
I’m not much of a worrywart. Or so I thought.
I co-lead a small group for middle school girls on Monday nights. I don’t prepare the lesson, so I’m not sure I should be called a leader. Mostly, I’m there to be another adult presence in the room and to build relationships with the students in our youth group.
The true leader of the group prepared a lesson on worry for the girls. She encouraged them to journal a list of things they’re prone to worry about. Turning open our Bibles, we read passages that speak directly to the subject. Her definition of worry went beyond the notions of anxiety or fear. She expanded it to ‘taking responsibilty for something we’re not meant to be in charge of.’ Read More
Set Apart
This is the scenery from my kitchen eating nook. A cluster of Black-eyed Susans sitting on the far side of our patio wall. As the green foliage began to emerge earlier this summer, I looked forward to the blooms. To my surprise, amidst all the yellow and black, a pretty Purple Coneflower unfurled.
There are no other Echinacea planted nearby; the closest is some 20 yards away. Last summer’s blooms didn’t include this unexpected visitor. Every morning, as I survey the yard over a cup of tea, my gaze lingers on this sight. I try to make sense of it, waxing philosophical. Read More