All There
Back in my 20’s, I loved this quote from missionary Jim Elliot: “Wherever you are, be all there! Live to the hilt every situation you believe to be the will of God.” Wherever I am, I want to be all there. Being “all there” means so many things to me: it means not always wishing […]
Settled Down
This morning, I read about the idea of “[keeping] ourselves in God’s love” from Hannah Whitall Smith. She writes that keeping ourselves in God’s love “does not mean, as so many think, to keep ourselves loving Him. It means to settle ourselves down, as it were, into His love as an absolute and unalterable fact, […]
Propagate
I discover a beautiful blooming gardenia down in North Carolina, and I secure permission to take a few cuttings. I’m studying how to propagate. These cuttings may grow roots in a few months. I’ll keep them in fresh water like this until enough roots grow. Then I can transplant the gardenia to a pot. I’ve […]
Daily Dose of Whimsy
We discover a tree frog has jumped into our car. The little frog decided to journey with us until we found a place to let him jump free. Meanwhile, I look around me at all times; whimsical things might just join along for the ride. .
A Little Laughter
What if you prayed for laughter today? I think about the blessing of laughter and the numerous health benefits from having a good laugh. You’ve heard it said that “laughter is the best medicine,” and perhaps we’ve overlooked why. Laughter, it turns out, improves the immune system, relieves stress, and even eases pain. I’ve read […]
The Shape of a Life
I’m learning so much from my plumcot trees. My two-year old plumcot is finally old enough to prune into the kind of shape I’m hoping for. Shaping a tree like this seems so odd; you remove healthy, beautiful branches–not because of damage or disease–but simply because they aren’t part of the plan. The lesson: I […]
All Those Years Later
This morning I marveled about God’s way of answering a seemingly unanswered prayer. I thought of God’s timing over centuries. I thought of God’s infinite goodness. And it was about Moses of all things. Do you remember how Moses begged God to allow Him to enter the Promised Land? Do you remember how God wouldn’t […]
The Knocking
I’m finishing the book Prevailing Prayer by D.L. Moody. In his chapter on petitioning the Lord, he discusses how Jesus tells us, “Ask and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find, knock, and it shall be opened unto you” (Luke 11:9). Moody writes, “Some people think God does not like to be […]
Back When I Was a Homesickness Expert
Back in the 1990’s at Camp Greystone, I slowly became an expert in helping homesick campers adjust to camp. Two techniques worked the best: First, the number one intervention that helped these campers was this: the next day’s schedule. When I could excite the campers about what was coming next and remind them of the predicable […]
When and Why People Seek Your Input
I often ask my students why people seek their input. The answer often reveals a direction for their careers they haven’t yet considered. The answer uncovers their strongest areas of talent and expertise. I ask the class: Why do people seek your input? For what service? The answers pop in: fitness and nutrition advice, relationship […]