Garden Hose Living
Today I told the story I teach that both haunts and refreshes me. In Andre Dubus’ short story, The Doctor, we read the tale of a doctor who comes upon a boy who has fallen off a stone bridge into a shallow creek. As he falls, a stone slab from the bridge’s guardrail falls on […]
Training the Heart for 2015
This morning I reread something I need to remember every day. It’s from a September 2012 post that has helped shape the last three years of my life. —- I read this morning a quote from Hannah Whitall Smith. She argues that “the soul who gives thanks can find comfort in everything; the soul who […]
Oh, Do Tell
This morning I notice all the verbs in Psalm 145 that encourage talking. Hallelujah! You know me: I have “high articulation needs.” I love to talk and write all day long. In just 5 verses in the middle of the Psalm, we read about commending God to others. We’re encouraged to tell, speak, proclaim, celebrate, and […]
Willing to Do Little Things
D. L. Moody said this: “There are many of us that are willing to do great things for the Lord, but few of us are willing to do little things.” I want to be willing to do small, unseen things. God is just as powerful and present in the little, ordinary act of obedience.
Still the Same God
Today I remember the great words spoken by Shadrach, Meshack, and Abednego when Nebuchadnezzar was about to throw them into the fiery furnace for refusing to bow down to the image of the golden god. In Daniel 3:16-18, we read the famous lines: “Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, ‘King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not […]
With Your Face to the Enemy
Today I recall the letter that Isaac E. Avery wrote to his father when Avery lost his life in the Battle of Gettysburg. As Avery lay dying, he wrote–in his own blood–a letter to his father that said, “Major, tell my father I died with my face to the enemy.” Tell my father I died […]
Merry Christmas (and a Prayer)
I love receiving my daily email from “Prayers Over Our Children.” You can add yourself to the mailing list and enrich your own prayer life. I love how the site encourages us to prayer these biblical prayers for children all over the world, I often prayer these prayers for myself. Today’s prayer for children involves their […]
“The hopes and fears of all the years / Are met in Thee tonight.”
For the past few days, I’ve thought about the Christmas carol, “O Little Town of Bethlehem,” written by Phillips Brooks and set to music by Lewis Redner. I love the line, “The hopes and fears of all the years are met in Thee tonight.” All of our hopes–everything we’ve ever longed for or will long […]
All the Christmas Joys
I go back and reread my blogs from this very day for the last few years. In 2010, I wrote about giving yourself the gift of novelty. In 2011, it was about the wonder of pop-up books. In 2012? All about sledding. The next year, I thought about my favorite traditions on Christmas. Today, I think about […]
Rude, Rude Drivers
With all this holiday shopping traffic, I find myself annoyed and impatient. I’m in a parking lot, trying to exit, and all lanes contain lines of crammed cars with their brake lights flashing and their horns blaring. I feel like I’m in the clogged arteries of the city rather than in this small town. Picture […]