When You’ve Changed
I love teaching the single-event memoir to students because they learn how to look at times in their lives when they changed. Great stories show transformation. Something happens to you, and it impacts you in such a way that it becomes a powerful story to tell. The reader experiences that transformation along with you, and […]
An Original
Today my daughter tells me how much she enjoys this one person at school because this person is “original.” Originality! I haven’t heard that compliment in a long time, and I remember again how much I treasure originality in people who let their unique personalities truly shine. The more you you are, the better. As […]
Fighting Despair, Pride, Dread, and Confusion
As I look back on the last few years of ministry, I take note of the predictable forms of spiritual warfare most noted in scripture. More than anything else, I battled these: despair (Isaiah 63:1), pride (1 Peter 5:5), dread (Psalm 53:5), and confusion (1 Corinthians 14:33) Even on this very day, I pray that […]
Your “Cave Ministry”
I picture David there in the cold, dark cave. I picture him there, afraid and yet so authentically desperate for God that people came to him to perhaps listen in on his words to God. We’re told in 1 Samuel 22:1-3 that, while in this cave to flee from Saul, “all those who were in […]
Keep Moving Forward with Senses Alert to Beauty
Today I stood outside by the Weeping Cherry tree to detach what seemed like one hundred little snowflakes and icicles we attached with wire hooks. We placed a spotlight on the tree at night to illuminate a sparkling wonderland of snowflakes as part of our Christmas decorations. It’s always easier to decorate than to un-decorate. […]
Writing with a Cat on Your Lap
You write no matter what. No matter where. You write even with a cat on your lap who swats at your fingers as you move them, like your writing life is his personal little game.
The Right Wrong Thing
Two of my students serve as volunteer firefighters, and today we have a brief discussion about why one shouldn’t open windows during a house fire. You never want to add oxygen to a fire. If a fire begins in the oven, don’t open the oven. Keep it closed; remove the source of oxygen. The conversation […]
The Children?
Today I prayed and confessed about one of the ways I know God wants to teach me to become more like Jesus: in His love of children. Since my own daughters have grown to teens, I find myself thankfully spending less and less time with small children. I remember those days as labor-intensive, loud, and as […]
Well, You’re Home Now
You’re home now. I say the expression to a teen wearied from stress and difficult social interactions. I say the expression to my middle schooler you endured the onslaught of everything comprising middle school. I say this to myself after a day of marching through the rain, late to my office hours, and then running from […]
“Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always.” Psalm 105:4
When in distress, I wonder where we look for help. Today I love the encouragement to look to the Lord and His strength and to seek Him always. What do I seek? Where do I look? Whose strength? It’s God! I think about how to seek His face “always” and how to set my mind […]