I Don’t Like Manicures One Bit
Sometimes when I speak before large audiences, especially in the south, I think, “I should really get a manicure. I should really do my nails.” I grew up with a mother who had a fresh manicure every week. She was actually a hand model in her younger years. A hand model! I come from beautiful […]
Power and Maturity: 2 Comments on 1 Corinthians
This morning I begin to study Paul’s letter to the church in Corinth. I’m struck by two things: First, Paul reminds his readers in 1 Corinthians 2 that his message and preaching were “not with wise and persuasive words but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that [our] faith might not rest on […]
A Day Come and Gone
Sometimes I scroll through blog posts from all the years past on this very day. I like to see what I was thinking and learning about. I like to look for patterns and growth. On this day in 2011, I was so worried about our friend in Japan. The tsunami that hit Japan had us […]
Full Measure of Blessing
In Romans 15:29, Paul writes, “I know that when I come to you,<span class="crossreference" value="(A)” style=”font-weight: bold; vertical-align: top;”> I will come in the full measure of the blessing of Christ.” All day, I think about what it would mean to come to people “in the full measure” of blessing. I think about people I know […]
The Thing Itself is the Prize
This morning, I was so happy just to have some time to write. It makes me sad not to write. I realized that writing is the prize. Doing it is the prize. It reminds me of the way I’m learning to love God–just for Himself, just to be with Him–and not for what could come […]
Lovely Melting
My youngest and I put on boots to stomp in puddles. It’s warm outside! Snow melts, and glorious muddy puddles await. We go in search of puddles. Eventually, we find our way to the other side of the house. We have our first Spring Thing to Monitor. Soon, we’ll be checking on bird nests and […]
But It’s Impossible!
Today I learn about Impossible Bottles. Have you read about the painstaking process of creating impossible scenes inside bottles (the ones with tiny, tiny necks)? These bottles are “impossible” because they showcase objects that could not possibly fit through the opening of the bottle. Maybe you’ve seen them. Ships, knots, playing cards, tennis balls, coins, […]
Save Yourself Some Pain: Don’t Ever Assume You Know What People Are Thinking
Today I remember how much pain and distress we can save ourselves if we don’t imagine what other people are thinking. You just cannot know. You aren’t in their minds. If you’re confused or concerned about what someone might or might not be thinking, mature adults simply ask that person what he or she is […]
15 Kinds of Gratitude
Today my friend reminds me to practice different kinds of gratitude. What do you mean kinds of gratitude? She tells me that gratitude takes on several forms. You can practice gratitude for people who have blessed you or circumstances you enjoy, for example. This got me thinking. How many kinds of gratitude are there? I […]
The Soul-Corrosion of Success
Author, scholar, and Bible translator J.B. Phillips, in his autobiography, The Price of Success, explains a particular type of soul-corrosion that comes with success. He writes: I was not nearly so aware of the dangers of success. The subtle corrosion of character, the unconscious changing of values and the secret monstrous growth of a vastly […]