I saw these pearls in a dumpster last winter and the image struck me. I immediately thought of Matthew 7:6: “Don’t give what is holy to dogs or toss your pearls before pigs, or they will trample them with their feet, turn, and tear you to pieces” (HCSB). I realized that so often, we throw…
One of my favorite pastimes as a child was wrestling. This might be unusual for the typical little girl, but my childhood role models included Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jackie Chan, the fictional MacGyver, and of course Hulk Hogan. I would often harass one of my older brothers until he wrestled me on the family room floor….
When he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. And they went and woke him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.” And he said to them, “Why are you…
When we ask God to show us the way out of our dilemmas or despair, do we expect his answers to look a certain way? This past Christmas season, I watched the old film It’s a Wonderful Life for the first time in years. Other than a few iconic clips, I had forgotten most of…
“Take chances, make mistakes. That’s how you grow. Pain nourishes your courage. You have to fail in order to practice being brave.” ~Mary Tyler Moore I have learned about the beauty, power, and bravery of failure from my daughters and their theater friends. Both of my girls are actresses. As part of their college…
When my brother-in-law was discharging from the military, he and his wife needed to make a lot of decisions. As an outside observer, I was jealous—they could choose to live anywhere they wanted. I imagined all the exciting possibilities that could come with a fresh start while my sister-in-law held her breath and prayed for…