When We Pray for Revival
In the book, Touch the World Through Prayer, the author asks, “Just what is real revival?” I love his answer. He writes this: “Revival is a manifestation of the holy, sovereign, almighty God. It is God visiting His people with special and renewed blessing. Revivals usually bring a new God-consciousness, a new revelation of God, […]
What You Reread
“Tell me what you read and I’ll tell you who you are” is true enough, but I’d know you better if you told me what you reread. ~ François Mauriac
A Sticky Little Verb in the Bible
This morning in the book of Joshua, I notice how many times Joshua tells us to “cling” to God. In Joshua’s last days–and in his last words of blessing to the people–he says this in Chapter 22: Only be very careful to observe the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, […]
Imperfect Little Treats
I loved today because I delivered little treats to my colleagues who were around the English department. My wrapped treat was simple and not glamorous: some chocolates and sugar cookies I decorated myself. They were neither fancy nor skillfully iced. But everyone thanked me and smiled, and a few people said they wait all year […]
When the Lord’s Hand is On Us
This morning, I pondered 1 Chronicles 28 and how God gave David clear instructions to Solomon when it was time to build the temple. We read how David “gave [Solomon] the plans of all that the Spirit had put in his mind.“ The Holy Spirit put in David’s mind everything he needed to know to tell […]
“Specificity Leads to Visibility”
I’m reading the book 21 Days to Childlike Prayer–One Specific Prayer at a Time by Jed Coppenger. As I sat reading in my office this morning, I kept stopping at the idea of listing specific prayers since “specificity leads to visibility.” It’s true. Sometimes people mention that I seem to see God at work in […]
5 Minutes to Break the Cycle
I woke up thinking about James Clear’s words on breaking a bad cycle. He writes this: “It only takes five minutes to break the cycle. Five minutes of exercise and you are back on the path. Five minutes of writing and the manuscript is moving forward again. Five minutes of conversation and the relationship is […]
Adding in Praise
Sometimes I’m so concerned with “casting my cares upon the Lord” (1 Peter 5:7) and praying for others that I forget the joy and wonder of praising God. This morning, I looked up again a list of God’s divine attributes, and I talked to Him and praised Him for who He is. It felt like […]
4 More Great Questions
Since I collect great questions, I love it when someone sends me fresh ones to ask my students or friends. Yesterday, my sister sent me a link to a post called “57 Questions to Ask On Someone’s 50th Birthday” from The Organized Mom site. I imagined how many wonderful conversations I could have with these […]
The Thank You in Sausages
A fantastic student stops by with Dominican sausages from her father’s company. This was, in part, her thank you for how I wrote her graduate school recommendations. I was so delighted! It’s rare that a student sends a thank you note or gift like this for writing recommendations, but when it happens, I’m smiling all […]