Years ago, my mother-in-law remarked to my grandmother that I “expect everyone to be perfect.” I disliked her comment at the time, but later realized she was right. I do have a tendency to focus more on my own and others’ past mistakes than on my own and others’ present and future successes. Because I…
Self-interest is restrained within due bounds when love supervenes; for then it rejects evil things altogether, prefers better things to those merely good, and cares for the good only on account of the better. ~St. Bernard of Clairvaux, On Loving God I read this quote one morning during my devotion time, then turned to where…
Have you ever chased love? Like many women of my generation, I found love to be elusive, especially in my formative years. With the way society’s emphasis on finding love diverges from the church’s view, the waters were already muddy when I first dipped my toe in. The subtle message that a woman’s value lay…
So you’re a Christian. You love Jesus. You love the Bible. Perhaps as you were growing up, you were at church every time the doors opened because you found comfort, welcome, and community there. Maybe you were a passionate, on-fire, purity-ring-wearing youth group kid who “rededicated” your life to the Lord every six months or…
All my life I’ve had an internal drive to be the best and do it all in order to be considered valuable. This drive has often manifested as perfectionism. In school I strove to receive the top grades and most accolades, earning the title of valedictorian in both high school and college. I participated in…
Every week I organize our family’s vitamins and medicine in pill boxes according to each member’s health needs. The process isn’t labor intensive, but I don’t delegate it because it’s important to me that everyone has the resources they need to stay healthy. Yet almost every day the same scene plays out in our home….