Just Play It
The amazing Baker family arrives for their annual visit to our home for this one August weekend, and it’s particularly wonderful to note how we’ve all grown and changed within the year. We talk about prayer requests, challenges, books, and neighborhood living, as always. We also, as always, talk about music. Or rather, we experience […]
Planted
I find a quote from Christine Caine: “Sometimes when you’re in a dark place you think you’ve been buried when you’ve actually been planted.” So true. You’re planted, and in time, you’ll grow and bloom.
Keep Starting Fresh
These last days of summer, we all have shorter tempers. We find ourselves saying, “Let’s start fresh.” Let’s start fresh every moment if we have to.
Pain and Provision
Today my dear friend (who knows I just love wonderful truths showcased in nature and natural processes) tells me about how jewelweed only grows alongside poison ivy and stinging nettle. Whenever you see the poison ivy or stinging nettle, look for the jewelweed. You’ll find it. It’s there. I’ve never heard of jewelweed in my […]
The One You Seek Is In Your Midst
For seven hours we searched and called. Neighbors helped us scour the house in case our missing cat was hiding somewhere. We put out food to bring Merlin back. Then, as if nothing were ever wrong, Merlin appears in the house. He never left. He was always there. (A cat that doesn’t want to be […]
A Very Bad Day!
Let me just say it: Our cat, Merlin, escaped into the wild today and has not returned. Many tears from the girls. Our daughter has an excruciating ear infection that is slow to heal. Many tears of pain. We just discovered mold and mildew covering most of our basement and sentimental items. Tears coming as […]
Calling Forth Beauty
I hear how a woman began to believe that God could call forth or create beauty from anyone, anything, anywhere, at any time. It changed her life to trust that God, at the perfect time, makes beauty if she allowed it. To live in such a way that we reflect God’s character as One Who […]
Another Great Conversation Question
Today I read Robin Dreeke’s (the former director of the FBI’s Behavior Analysis Program and expert in interpersonal relations) advice on engaging others in conversation. She recommends asking people about challenges. The best question to ask, according to TIME’s article, will encourage people to process challenges. What challenges you at work? What challenges did you […]
Finally Seeing
I search for the turtles like a child. I bring the children with me. Up and down the pier, we peer upon the water for their little heads or glistening backs. We then adjust our vision to see into the water. We gaze into the mossy depths of summer lake mysteries. Camouflaged by algae and […]
Just Throw Yourself In
I watch the baby red eared sliders launch themselves off the logs as I approach the water. These turtles are named sliders for this very reason: they slide–quick as lightning–into the water. Watching them, I see all the verbs in my mind: they fling, abandon, careen, pop, and even twirl off the log. They parachute, […]