A Special Community Ritual: Online Morning Prayer Gathering
For the past 16 weeks, our ministry staff team working with graduate students met online Monday-Friday every morning from 9:30 AM-10:00 AM. At the most, 12 of us gathered, and we rotated leadership every morning. We took the first 10 minutes to visit and share about our lives. Then, someone led a 10 minute devotion […]
Summer Garden Tour
Such Design
Four Overlooked Statements on Our Identity in Christ from 2 Corinthians
This morning, I read 2 Corinthians, and I noted some key phrases that I always overlook or don’t bring into my awareness as I go about my ordinary day. Paul declares some astonishing truths about you and me: Christ’s comfort overflows out of our lives to others (1:5). We move about our day as agents […]
Raindrops on Roses
Creating a Flexible Life
I suppose I’ve learned flexibility most of all theses last few months, and I approach the next few months the same way. I’m learning that life can change at any moment. I’m learning that your plans won’t always work out, even the ones you spent so long forming. Flexible living invites an expectation that unknown, […]
The Daily Morning Patrol
Each new morning, I patrol the garden. I’m checking for predators, weeds, pests, and anything that might harm the growing fruit. I know the plants well. I see new leaves and new blossoms. It’s a careful and loving consideration. As I continue to study John 15 and Father’s role as the Gardener, I think of […]
All the Pruning
In my garden, I’ve been pruning to create more fruitfulness. It’s counterintuitive that by diminishing your plants, you gain more. Basil works like this. The more I take, the more it grows. Of course, I have to pick the basil in the right spots to encourage more growth. I also notice that when I pruned […]
Conversation in Nature
My oldest daughter and I love to hike in the woods or by any kind of body of water. Today, we come across a little pond in the woods. We hear the strangest sounds–like a low musical note–over and over again. What could it be? We realize as we gaze across the pond that it’s […]
Welcoming Others
I like how Paul describes the welcome he received from the Galatians, even as he endured an illness. This sickness surely burdened his hosts, yet Paul said, “Even though my illness was a trial to you, you did not treat me with contempt or scorn. Instead, you welcomed me as if I were an angel […]