Whatever you do, do it from the heart, as something done for the Lord and not for people. (Colossians 3:23 CSB) One day I sat bitterly contemplating our plans for the weekend. Every activity consisted of commitments that would please other people, but not anything I particularly wanted to do. Said commitments weren’t even doing…
Sometimes God’s best surprises for us come in packages we don’t expect. I sit on my porch on a sticky summer day, halfway through my first year as a flower farmer. I felt well prepared for this initial year. Over ten years of growing vegetables gave me the knowledge and experience needed to grow things…
What’s the crazy dream God has dropped in your heart? What is He asking you to do–what thing that you know you couldn’t possibly do on your own? In fact, if you try to do it on your own you’re pretty much guaranteed to fall flat on your face. Has he given you a wild,…
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. (Matthew 5:9 NIV) I grew up thinking that peacemakers were rare, sentient beings. I envisioned Mother Teresa at the highest level, living a life of poverty to care for the world’s most needy. I thought of women like my grandmother, who smiled and…
“Find your own rhythm,” we’re told. But in a world full of comparison, how is that done—especially with a million messages bombarding us each day? “Strive for greatness!” “Nothing is impossible!” “Ten steps to success!” “Three keys to a wonderful marriage and family!” “Follow me, and I’ll give you all the answers!” It’s exhausting. Instead…
My seven-year-old son loves working with jigsaw puzzles. It’s an activity we both genuinely enjoy. He’s graduated from the 50- and 100-piece puzzles, so I purchased some larger ones for him for Christmas. I may have gone overboard with the 500-piece puzzle with repeating candy bars throughout. He was bored within minutes because of its…