Spin with Joy
This morning, I study all the different Hebrew words for “rejoice.” It’s because I keep seeing that verb over and over again in Deuteronomy and in the Psalms. Rejoice! It means what you think it means: to be very happy, glad, full of joy, and even, in some cases, to flap about happily. To flap […]
Seeing the Unseen Thing
If you look out in my backyard, there’s really nothing to see. It’s a bunch of weeds. I decide to peer in a bit, and I find the most lovely little flowers. Miniscule. One cannot see them from the house; you have to get down next to the ground and really look. Nobody’s going to see […]
Well, We Can Pray, Can’t We, Mom?
Yesterday, my husband and I separate on the trail so he can retrieve our car. I take my daughters and follow the sign that says “Park Office.” Easy. He’ll walk the two miles to get our car and meet his tired ladies at the air conditioned Park Office. However, the Park Office isn’t at the […]
From the Bottom Looking Up
For Mother’s Day, my dear family takes me to Ricketts Glen State Park so we can hike and view amazing waterfalls. I explain to my daughters that a “glen” is a narrow valley. The whole drive to the park, I think about how we’re going down into a deep, dark, narrow valley. I think of […]
“How Are You Never Bored?”
My youngest asks me why I’m never bored. I tell her it’s because I love working, and things are just too interesting. There’s always something to do, and there’s always something to learn. When I was little, nobody entertained me. People my age entertained themselves back then. Our childhoods weren’t orchestrated by external things like […]
My Favorite Writer on Leadership
One of my favorite books on leadership and emotional health is Peter Scazerro’s Emotionally Healthy Spirituality. I highly recommend adding this book to your summer reading list. I also love inventory lists, and this morning, I found Scazerro’s list for evaluating the health of your leadership. It’s a great list, and if you click here, you […]
In Some Direction
I love checking on the progress and growth of things. It’s just something I love to do. In Spring, I must find a bird nest or two to monitor, and I walk the garden most days just to monitor the fruit. I note the dark caverns in the strawberry patch that house brand new buds. […]
A Choking Hazard
The Stained-Glass Cookies were one big choking hazard! They were too big! I tried them out on a few 3rd graders, and they were impossible to eat safely. The candy fractured in shards; the cookie fell apart; it was too sticky; it wasn’t fun. (I gave all of them to graduate students and my own […]
Stable and Certain
This morning, I realized how many time the word “foundation” is used in scripture to refer to stability, strength, and certainty. In Isaiah 33:6, I read that God is the “sure foundation for your times, a rich store of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge; the fear of the Lord is the key to this treasure.” Another […]
The Most Delightful Thing on Earth
Do you remember the scene in the 2003 movie, Lost in Translation, when Bob tells Charlotte what it’s like to have children? I think of that exchange this morning. Bob: It gets a whole lot more complicated when you have kids. Charlotte: It’s scary. Bob: The most terrifying day of your life is the day […]