Completely Yielded
Today in our Sunday School class, we talked about yielding completely to the Holy Spirit. What I love about the Spirit-filled life is this idea of going before the Lord and saying to Him, I don’t know what I need. I don’t know how to live my life. I don’t even know what will bless […]
When You Need the Ravens
As I walk around the neighborhood, I feel the weight of a life’s purpose, of mission, and of knowing Christ-followers are sent into the pain of the world to heal, serve tirelessly, speak truth, and comfort the broken. It’s too much. There’s too much to do and too many distractions. And there’s a shadow always […]
Press On
This morning I remember to press on. Philippians comes to mind where Paul writes in Philippians 3, “But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” Press on! Pressing on means […]
One New Thing
The kitchen now features a new stove to connect to our town’s gas line. It’s shiny, new, perfect. But what I immediately notice is this new object’s effect on everybody else: I exclaim that now I need new dish towels. Now I need to scrub up the cabinets and any dirty thing around this new, […]
“One might say that he teaches best who teaches least.” –John Milton Gregory
My friend brings me Howard Hendricks’ book, Teaching to Change Lives, and I’m struck by this quote by educator John Milton Gregory. He writes: “The true function of the teacher is to create the most favorable conditions for self-learning. . . True teaching is not that which gives knowledge, but that which stimulates pupils to […]
From His Hand
I consider today how everything happening to me comes from God’s design. The work I’m doing, the classes assigned to me, the individual students in my courses—it all comes by design. This means I might relax into God’s care and not worry so much about what’s going to happen. I do the work. I don’t […]
In the Nooks and Crannies
Sometimes, you must write in the thin little spaces between all the other moments. You put the writing into the nooks and crannies of the day. That’s how a book gets written when life runs parallel to it. You chop veggies. You pet the neighbor’s dog. You fold a load of laundry. You drive across […]
Revving Up
August feels like a month of revving up. At the same time, it’s a slow month of contemplation, prayer, and soul-searching to begin the academic year afresh. It’s a strange combination of external frenzy and internal calm that’s necessary to hold everything in place. I have one daughter beginning her senior year. This means Friday […]
A New Year of Education: What We Might Teach
Sometimes I skim blogs I wrote on this day in years past. I enjoyed this moment from August 3, 2010 that reminded me about the goals of education: I thought about an article I read yesterday called, “Redefining Education: Cultivating the Soul”, written by Thomas Moore (who happens to have been a monk, a professor, psychotherapist, and musician). He […]
A Great Prayer for Your Family
This morning I sent my children a picture of Psalm 5: 11-12: “But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you. Surely, Lord, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor […]