After a Terrible Week, We Asked This
For a variety of reasons, my students collectively endured a terrible week. The enter class complaining of illnesses, stress, disillusionment, and a litany of disappointments. And what about the week’s news that started with a college admission scandal and ended with another mass shooting? On Fridays like these, I always use the same Name Game: […]
Serving Pie on Pi Day
You know I’m not a math person at all. At all. But when my youngest reminds me to serve pie–in particular apple pie–for Pi day, I find myself excited. (Every family, I think, has a child that’s the “Keeper of the Traditions.” For us, it’s my youngest, Kate). It’s not just pie, though. It’s all […]
Your Mother or Father Role to All
This morning, I reflected upon the number of people in my life who never had loving mothers or fathers, at least in the biological sense. The pain of what’s missing for them haunts their daily lives. They long for a blessing that seems God denied them somehow. As I consider the heart of God as […]
A Love Better Than Life
As a searching nineteen year old who longed so deeply to know God, I remember hearing a woman quote Psalm 63:3. It was summertime, and, like most young adults who decide to follow Jesus, I had made painful decisions to end relationships, surrender my future, and begin the beautiful but fraught journey of consecration. Was […]
Look to Bless Someone
This morning–in the midst of exhaustion (it’s too early!)–and a desire to go back to the weekend’s ease, I remembered to take my eyes off myself for a minute and revise the day’s purpose: I’m here. You’re here. What if I’m here on this day, in this pathway, in this body to offer blessings in […]
We Do In fact, Adjust
I think of losing that precious hour of sleep when we change our clocks. It feels so wrong, so terrible, and so punishing to wake so early. But we do, in fact, adjust. It only takes a few days, and it’s like we were always on this schedule. I think about how quickly we adapt […]
A Meal Plan and Our Favorite Green Smoothie Recipe
I know how stressful and exhausting cooking for a family can be. And I know how great I feel when I plan out the week on Saturday, finish all the grocery shopping, and gain that sense of order before Monday sends us out full speed ahead. In case you don’t know what you’re doing this […]
Diminishing Needs
As I grow older, I find I need less. The more time I spend with the Lord, the more I find myself filled to the brim and then overflowing. There’s too much, even. I have not only what I need, but all I need. And then I have some to share. In past decades, I […]
Two Lessons from a Ballerina
I learn something profound from my ballerina friend who studied under one of the best instructors in the world. She tells me of two rules in ballet that made me think about living life more beautifully. First, when the ballerina walked on the stage, the instructor told her to present herself as if a beautiful […]
Knowing God’s Presence
I realize that many people don’t experience the “presence” of God in their lives. They wonder if it’s even biblical to speak so mystically. What does it feel like? Is God really there? This morning I read Psalm 21:6 and David’s claim about God. He writes, “Surely you have granted him eternal blessings and made […]