Years That Ask
This morning I read a line from Zora Neale Hurston: “There are years that ask questions and years that answer.” So true. An asking year means, perhaps, that an answering year is just around the corner. In an asking year, one goes deeper into prayer, into faith, and into hope. In an answering year, I […]
A Little Writing Lesson: 3 Questions
Think about your current writing project, especially if you’re at the proposal stage. When you compose any piece of writing, begin with these three questions that, if answered, greenlight the project: Why this? Why now? Why me? These questions tap into the rhetorical theory we’ve worked on in my class all semester: Why this? helps […]
All That Is Ours
The sun emerged this morning and lit the icy backyard, the berries, and the Northern Cardinal that always returns. I’m not a photographer, so you’ll have to imagine the beauty: Imagine the chipper call of that bird against the silence of a winter morning. Imagine the clean smell of snow. Imagine his bright red feathers. […]
We Tried These Cookies With Low Expectations. They Were Amazing!
I found this cookie recipe that uses dates and ground walnuts as the base. No sugar. No oil. No flour. No eggs. I couldn’t believe it, but since I love the sweetness of medjool dates (and since I have a food processor now), I had to try it! Enjoy the recipe here, aptly named this: […]
On Your Knees
This morning I read in Psalm 95:6 these words: Come let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker. So I kneel. On these old knees, in this little bedroom, from this joyful heat. Something about the physical act of kneeling primes my heart to worship. The body here reflects […]
Salting the Path
We awake to a thin layer of ice over every walkway. I join the neighbors in salting the sidewalks and driveways in the freshly lit morning. Soon, the ice turns to slush. We can walk without danger. When I think about salt–and the biblical metaphor of letting our conversation be seasoned with salt and being […]
Keep In Step
This morning I thought of the expression “keep in step with the Spirit” from Galatians. When you keep in step, you aren’t far behind and you aren’t far ahead. You’re in step. Your right next to God in the very place you’re supposed to be in the moment. You’re in step. I remember to keep […]
But Can God Make Me Happy?
I’ve always been told that “God isn’t interested in making me happy; He’s interested in making me holy.” So I built a theology around God as someone sanctifying me towards holiness in a way that wouldn’t encourage or protect happiness. Instead, I would grow into holiness and misery. Well, I don’t think that’s true. Not […]
I always love it when I reread Isaiah 30 regarding the promise of God to His people. While I understand these words as a promise to the Israelites, I think it also reflects the character of God and His heart towards all believers. Isaiah writes in Isaiah 30:19-23: People of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, […]
A Little 80’s Valentines Nostalgia
This morning, I had frilly little Valentines ready for my teen daughters as they arrived downstairs for breakfast. The gift included essentials of chocolate, a fun pen, a new journal, and something I added that I couldn’t resist: Scratch and Sniff stickers (to adorn the journal pages). When I found these in Michaels, I experiences […]