I’m not a good lover. Let me pause before you think I just handed you more information than you care to receive, like a bad Facebook post. Here is what I mean: I don’t know how to love like Christ loved. I simply can’t reach it. I know this because a pile of dirty laundry…
Teaching five-year-olds at church one morning necessitated bravery my daughter never expected to need in a church basement. “Mom, I had to kill a spider today! Myself! Those little kids were watching me, and I knew I had to do it so they wouldn’t be scared. But–I. Killed. A. Spider!” If you knew my third…
This past Lenten season, I decided to embark on the 21-day The Daniel Fast (www.thedanielfast.com, Susan Gregory). When I “give up” a single item (coffee), I find ways to compensate (tea). Or I choose a sacrifice (chocolate) that can be accomplished without drawing on Christ. I needed something that would invade my whole day, every…
The summer before I turned fifteen, I went to a Christian camp with my youth group. Although it was a wonderful experience, one wherein I began to develop my own faith, my adolescence was still steeped in drama and self-centeredness. I made it clear to God that I needed to hear from him personally that…
A day spent fishing. Homemade whipped cream. A new notebook. I have great respect for gratitude. Its power can transform moods and strengthen relationships. Nothing can brighten someone’s life like a genuine thank you. This past year, though, I told God on numerous occasions that adding comfy socks, delicious coffee, or my son’s laughter to…
Some of my most valuable possessions are in a plastic box with a snap top. It sits on a shelf in my garage surrounded by Christmas decorations, out-of-season clothes, and old VHS tapes. As I prepared to clean out the garage last week, I pulled my treasure chest off the shelf. Because it’s stuffed full,…