03. December 2020

I once spent the month of January in Alaska. It was cold. And it was dark. I was a teacher education student and was shadowing my aunt, a first-grade teacher. One morning at about ten-thirty, a fellow teacher walked to the window to open the blinds. The children protested and hid their faces. “It’s too bright!” they shouted.

17. July 2020

My youngest is an all-or-nothing kind of guy. He has two volumes: loud and asleep. Every day, I hear at least one announcement that it’s either “best day ever!” or the “worst day ever!” If he skins his knee, it’s the worst day ever. If we have popsicles, it’s the best day ever. If he has a haircut and then gets to ride his bike…it’s both.

03. June 2020

I'm angry, and I'm sad. I won’t pretend to be an expert on global pandemics or racial reconciliation. I greatly appreciate my fellow Christian writers who have urged white people simply to listen. I will, however, point to what God’s Word says about anger and sadness, since that is where so many of us find ourselves.

20. April 2020

A couple of weeks ago, I went in for a MRI. I was having some symptoms the doctor couldn’t figure out, and he thought a MRI might reveal the underlying problem. Thankfully, the images showed there was not a serious problem. The purpose of medical scans and tests is to reveal a problem. I keep reading about coronavirus tests in the media, and how they help identify and track the virus. The tests don’t solve the problem. They reveal it. But revealing the problem is a major step towards solving it

09. April 2020

I already homeschool. I already cut my family’s hair. I already cook most of my meals at home. I thought it was because I’m a frugal homeschool mom. Now I know the truth: I have been living in quarantine for years!

11. February 2020

Zechariah slowly closed his eyes as he heard the gate latch. He didn’t turn around. He had spent a lifetime investing in this farm, and a third of his wealth was now bouncing down the dirt lane out front. In the pockets of the son he loved.

21. November 2019

Does anyone else care so much about you that they notice every time you sit down and every time you stand up? Does anyone else know you well enough to be able to read your thoughts…before you think them?

08. October 2019

Do you ever struggle with doubt in your walk with Christ? I just finished a slow read through the book of John during my personal time with God, and I found great encouragement in the number of sensory details John employs. Did you know he wrote the word “see” (or “saw” or “seen”) 115 times in only 21 chapters? He used the word “hear” 53 times. He includes scene after scene of seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, and touching:

17. September 2019

Did you know your husband is not Jesus? Oh, wait. You’ve known that since day two of the honeymoon (or maybe day one). [I know some of you aren’t currently married. Before you stop reading, consider that what I’m about to say may apply to other relationships in your life.]

27. August 2019

He was in perfectly good health, but he knew he had less than 24 hours to live. He was not a prisoner; he was free to spend his last moments in any way he chose.