Bake More Cookies
My daughters have never said no when I ask them if they want to bake cookies. But I usually say no when they ask me. Who has the time? Who wants to measure and clean again? After two days of no, I say YES! Oh, I’m so glad I did. Put on the music, gather […]
A Little Encouragement
There’s always someone around you who needs encouragement in some form. If you’re confused about your purpose today, or if you’re wondering what it is God wants you to do in some situation, remember the little (but enormous) task of being an encourager. In word or deed, we might breathe encouragement into a discouraged heart […]
Other Than Where You Are Now
Written on the wall of the classroom where I’m taking a New Testament Survey course, I read the following day after day: “Remember this, had any other condition been better for you than the one in which you are, divine love would have put you there. . .Take up your own daily cross; it’s the […]
Other Lives
Today my friend shares with me a link to a BuzzFeed article on 32 of the Most Beautiful Words in the English Language. I do love words! I think my favorite word on this particular list comes from the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows by John Koenig. He invents and defines the word “sonder” as “the realization that each […]
The Gulch in the Heart
Out here in Colorado, you learn the definition of gulch. In fact, you learn about gullies, gorges, ravines, canyons, and valleys. Yes, gulch can mean to greedily gulp something down your throat, but it technically refers to a deep ravine that marks the course of a stream or torrent. It’s a holding place, a deep […]
Within the Refuge
I’ve been studying the idea of God as our refuge who is within us as we are within Him. It’s such a mystery in Ephesians 2:6 that we are both with Christ and in Him. It’s such a mystery that Christ is in us, dwelling there by the Holy Spirit. So many prepositions! In and […]
As if it Meant More
I’m reminded of C.S. Lewis’ description of the new Narnia in the final book of The Chronicles of Narnia, The Last Battle. Lewis says of this new place: “Every rock and flower and blade of grass looked as if it meant more. I can’t describe it any better than that. . .” Later, the Unicorn […]
Settled Down
I love to read the way in which frazzled and depressed King David settles himself down in Psalm 13. He feels forgotten, scared, lonely, and unseen. He feels mistreated. He chooses to remember true things in this moment. He writes: “But I will trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. I […]
Walking the Fence in 1982
When I was in 3rd grade, I lived on the military base in Ft. Lewis, Washington. Across the street from our house, an old fence enclosed an overgrown, grassy field. It was a rickety metal fence that had rusted in many spots. My sister and I loved to climb on top of the fence and […]
Another Great Verb: Slake
I want to turn to my thirsty daughter and say, “Slake your thirst with this cold glass of lemonade.” Slake: to quench or satisfy. I’m slaking my desire for new verbs today by writing about slake. I slaked it.