For many years, I’ve dreamed of writing a book. My journals are littered with ideas for memoirs, children’s books, and even a rough idea for a poetry book. Some of the book ideas are simply a title scratched out in my less-than-tidy handwriting. Others are fully fleshed-out outlines, complete with the beginnings of a few…
Too often, I find myself acting out of fear. I make decisions based on what I think will please others, afraid of criticism. I say yes to requests that make me uncomfortable or don’t seem like my best yes because I’m afraid of rejection if I say no. I refrain from sharing my dreams and…
The prosperity gospel teaches that God rewards us with health and wealth in proportion to our faith. Passages like John 16:33 lead me to deny the veracity of these claims. But, while studying Genesis, I came face-to-face with how the message of the prosperity gospel had seeped into my own theology. I had unknowingly embraced…
Recently, we got together with another family whose kids are around the same ages as ours. The adults were sitting at the table talking, and the kids were in the other room playing Apples to Apples. I heard my older daughter say to her younger sister, “It’s not like you’re picking a college; just make…
My favorite jeans are starting to cut into my waist in an uncomfortable way. The grocery order keeps getting delayed when we’re already out of milk. The dog has gotten into the trash again. My kids carry individual sadnesses I can’t fix for them. It’s rainy and cold. My hip aches at night sometimes. People…
“He was . . . a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief.” (Isa. 53:3 NLT) On our first transatlantic trip with our kids, they broke all the jet lag rules. They fell asleep nearly as soon as we got to our rental apartment. They napped all afternoon. They didn’t really get on the same…