Always Listen to Hope
This morning in church, I remember the day a wise friend told me that the Holy Spirit is always a voice of hope. “Don’t listen to any voice that isn’t hope,” she said. I was still a teenager, and my heart felt like a storm every day. I thought nothing would ever change. I thought […]
A Message in the Clouds
It’s raining. I look up into the clouds. Rain falls because the water vapor becomes too heavy. It leaks out. Yesterday, a friend remarks that when we are filled with God, He leaks out. He overflows. It’s as natural as rain falling. You need upward motion (cooling the water vapor, making it heavier) and moisture […]
It’s Like Victoria Falls
Last night, I show my daughters the footage from Discovery Channel’s Human Planet of the fisherman in Zimbabwe who brave a waterfall to catch their supper. As the greatest source of natural power, Victoria Falls cascades down for 360 feet. We watch, fascinated at the beauty and power of it. It’s a sublime encounter just […]
The Home You Take With You
This morning, I remember my daughter’s explanation of “The Warm Welcome” from October. As I clear the breakfast dishes, refold the green blanket on the couch, plump the pillows, and reposition the bright yellow daffodils in a cobalt blue vase, I tell her I’m orchestrating my own Warm Welcome. I want to come home to […]
When You Stop Resisting God
Last week, I was asked to write a piece on depression and Lent for The High Calling. At my lowest point, I imagined God asking the question, “Will you live the life I ask you to live?” I was humbled and so encouraged by the comments on this little essay called, The Best Question. (Click […]
A Short Rant (I Never Thought I’d Be Ranty)
A popular blog I read this morning suggested that one pathway to happiness is to “imitate” a spiritual master–someone like Jesus. I cringed. The not-flair bells rang. I frowned and felt the same way I do when somebody tells me to just “try harder” and I’ll find holiness. It’s just not true. Telling a person […]