When You Share Your Story
This weekend at my church’s prayer meeting, several people shared with me their story of God’s work in their lives. I listened to stories of miraculous provision, miraculous peace, and miraculous deliverance from what tormented someone. I heard stories testifying how God had set the lonely in families and how He used one couple in […]
Snowy Joy
Never a Waste of Your Time
Sometimes I wake with the whole day stretching before me of grocery shopping, meal planning, chores, grading, errands, driving teens places, etc. etc. etc. And what about exercise, socializing, or all the other things you want to pack into the day? It’s so tempting to launch yourself into the fresh day like a rocket. That’s […]
Time and Energy
I love learning from leaders and creative people how they protect their time and energy. A leader once told me that the most important resource to protect is your time. And a mentor reminded me that as you age, your greatest resource to protect is your daily energy. One of my friends knows exactly how […]
Present Moment
I talk to students today about their own minds. I want to give insight on what it means to have a healthy mind based on things I’ve learned and continue to study over the years. A healthy mind, I’m learning, knows where to focus attention. My students agree that most of their thinking involves reviewing […]
Promoting Peace Rather Than Stirring Up Controversy
It’s a strange time we’re living in. Most of what I read online thrives on controversy, on mockery, and on riling others up into a froth. Young people today, I’m noticing, live in this world where the most offended wins, where the mocker wins, and where every conversation begins with the drama of the day. […]
The Cold Evening Walk
For the past few nights, my husband and I bundled up to take a nighttime walk in the dark. We’ll go again tonight. I walk in my pajamas with a warm coat and mittens. I just throw on sneakers and an enormously fluffy winter hat. Nobody will see me. We love the cold, cold air. […]
Room for Everyone
This morning I remembered how everyone contributes something just by who they are. There’s room for you. Don’t be discouraged about your work. The world needs it. Don’t think that because it’s not viral, trending, or talked about that it’s not important. Sometimes I see creative people shut down because their area of work seems […]
Look! What does this remind you of?
Today I remembered something C.S. Lewis once wrote in a letter to his friend Mary Van Deuson in 1955. Lewis describes the joy of youthful activities and how they tapped into “something more than physical pleasure.” All along, the things he truly enjoyed and longed for were what Lewis calls “echoes” of scripture. In other […]
When God Revives
I love Psalm 80 because it reminds me of our only hope for the life we all desire. In verse 18, we read this prayer: “Revive us, and we will call on your name.” That little Hebrew word “revive” reflects the desire for abundant living, for a restored sense of joy, hope, and prosperity. It […]