From Thing to Thing
Today felt like I bounced from thing to thing. All day long, I bounced without a break. Some days feel like this, and it’s not necessarily a bad or wrong thing. Today felt gloriously full of wonderful things I wanted to do and felt led by the Holy Spirit to say yes to. But it […]
Gifts of the Season
It’s finally chilly in the mornings as I walk around campus. I’m now crunching acorns underfoot, and I pause to pick up the most beautiful ones to bring home, paint, and display. The air smells, I don’t know—like old, old oak trees. The smell offers a particular joy. Just as I embraced summer with all […]
The Week Ahead: Speaking, Teaching, and Podcast and Radio Interviews
Hello, Friends! I often forget to update all my wonderful readers on the events of my life related to book promotion and speaking engagements, so I thought I’d give you a glimpse into my week ahead. Please keep me in your prayers! Teaching: I’m teaching Monday, Wednesday, Friday at Penn State for an in-person Honors […]
Seeing God Work
I’m reading A.W. Tozer’s Alive in the Spirit: Experiencing the Power and Presence of God, and I’m especially encouraged by this quote: God does not work within the confines of our strength; God works according to His character and nature and power. If we only see God work within our structure, we will never see […]
My Strength and My Fortress
Today I woke up remembering 9/11. It’s still as vivid in my mind as ever. The one thing I always remember was that feeling that this was this end. I thought we might lose our lives as more attacks came. I was scared, but I was also ready in my soul for whatever was coming. […]
Ode to Marigolds
I’ve heard the worse the soil, the more they thrive. I’ve heard how even the hottest sun invites no complaint. Don’t fuss over them; they like to be ignored. To be like a marigold: thriving anywhere with little attention and little resources. I lean down and notice how, in loss of one bloom, so many […]
Always an Opportunity
This morning, I remember to always look for the opportunity. In particular, I consider how every situation–every single one!–offers an opportunity to exert kindness and offer blessing. Every situation invites us to trust God for something. An opportunity refers to favorable conditions for something desired to happen, so we often think we don’t have favorable […]
Simple Little Things
We position a parade of acorns: something small, something that costs us nothing, something that makes us smile as we glance at them.
The Clear Coat: Acorn Beauty
For the past decade, I’ve collected the fallen acorns every September to paint in cheerful colors as an autumn craft. We’d gather all the old nail polish bottles and enjoy painting the acorns. We’d always display our acorns in a glass bowl. In fact, as I walk across campus this morning, I stoop low to […]
My Homemade Autumn Wreath
I went to the craft store, and I found a grapevine wreath base, this bow, and some sprigs of little pumpkins and autumn leaves. I found a few sunflowers, too. I used crafting wire to tie everything to the wreath base. I’m so happy with how it turned out! I never knew I had it […]