Recently, a pastor I know quoted this Jon Acuff wisdom, which seems pertinent in anticipation of all the upcoming family gatherings this time of year: “We fear that if people truly knew us, they wouldn’t love us, but the truth is if people really knew us, they could truly love us.” For many of us,…
“‘And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:30-31 ESV) When our daughter turned five, the…
At a prayer chapel on top of a hillside in Redding, California, I sat on the grass overlooking the city just one year after a raging fire swept through, destroying everything in its path. The Carr Fire jumped the Sacramento River, blew through three counties, and took more than a month to contain. Over a…
“Am I being led by love or pushed by fear?” Emily P. Freeman asks in one episode of her podcast. One of my children instantly comes to mind. He has a tendency to forcefully nudge people out of the way when he wants to get to where everyone else is going. Though this is slightly…
A thousand dollars can fix car problems, pay rent, or help with a house payment. A thousand dollars keeps water flowing, heat working, and food on the table. A thousand dollars is a lot of money. The size of your bank account doesn’t change that. A number of years ago, my husband and I made…
I hung up on my difficult person the other day. I did. I pressed that red circle on my cell phone screen, then tossed my phone on the couch and walked away. It felt good. It felt so good. Enforcing a boundary I’d set intentionally gave me a sense of control over this difficult relationship….