(I wrote this poem a few years ago but wanted to post again for Mother's Day. I encourage you whether your mom is with you or not, to try and remember the things that made her. Mother's are not the same but they each hold a place in our lives. Remember the things that made... Continue Reading →
Do we need some kindness today? Can I get an Amen? It seems in our society there is a lot more meanness going on! Our country, home, churches, and schools need to be reminded of the old song by Glen Campbell "Try a Little Kindness." The chorus goes like this; " You got to try... Continue Reading →
Let me say something that might make you a little uncomfortable. Sometimes the hardest people to show mercy to are the ones sitting at our own dinner table. I'm not going to go deeper than that. I don't need to. Because somewhere in your heart, a face just appeared. A name. A situation that still... Continue Reading →
Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness "My mouth's so dry I can't even spit." Our youngest son was camping with his grandparents one weekend. He and his grandmother decided to take a little walk to a grocery store she remembered nearby. It turned out to be not nearly as close as she thought. By the time... Continue Reading →
Every few years, when I was growing up, we moved. New town. New school. New cafeteria where I didn't know a single face and had to figure out where to sit. If you had watched me walk down the hall, you might have called me meek. Head down. Quiet. Trying not to take up too... Continue Reading →
I recently had the joy of sitting down with Laurel Nicholson for The Death and Resurrection Podcast — and what a conversation it was! Laurel offers the first and only Christian End-of-Life Doula Training Program, and her heart for walking alongside people in life's most tender moments is truly beautiful. If you'd like to connect... Continue Reading →
Nobody puts this one on a t-shirt. We've seen "Blessed" on farmhouse signs and coffee mugs and tote bags all over Pinterest. But I have yet to see anyone screen-print "Blessed are those who mourn" across their chest and head out the door. And yet here we are. Beatitude number two. Jesus is not finished... Continue Reading →
"Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, my God, till I declare your power to the next generation." — Psalm 71:18 Have you ever walked through a season so hard that you wondered if God had forgotten you or the ones you loved? I have. I watched my mother battle Alzheimer's.... Continue Reading →
I can still hear it. "I can bring home the bacon, fry it up in a pan..." If you grew up in the seventies, you know exactly what I'm talking about. That perfume commercial told an entire generation of women that we could do it all. Have it all. Be it all. And we believed... Continue Reading →
One of my grandchildren had a move when he was little that still makes me laugh. If he didn't like something or if things weren't going his way, he would squinch up his little eyes and just stare at you. Hard. We started calling it his "angry eyes." He was not happy, and he wanted... Continue Reading →
I have a confession to make. I was a Christian women's speaker groupie. There. I said it. Two of my closest friends and I used to love going to big women's events together. Driving distance, four hours away, two-day conferences. It didn't much matter. We'd sit in those arenas with thousands of other women, soak... Continue Reading →
I sat at my kitchen table with my Bible open, a cup of coffee going cold beside me, and a women's retreat to prepare. The Beatitudes. Easy enough, I thought. I'd taught these before. Studied them. I basically had this one in the bag. And then I read them again. Something shifted quietly, the way... Continue Reading →
