I appreciate the “love” we give February. It’s such a hard month between the renewal of January and the hope of spring in March. If it weren’t for many of the important celebrations assigned, I fear it would be a dreary twenty-eight days to endure. Thankfully, Valentine’s Day does fall smack dab in the middle,…
If a prophet sent by God told you that whatever you’re going through would be used for a greater purpose, I’d bet you a million dollars you’d leave the conversation mid-sentence. Not only would you leave the conversation, but you’d wonder, Is this really happening? You’d think to yourself, This person is crazy. Whatever angel…
“And next to them the Tekoites repaired, but their nobles would not stoop to serve their Lord.” (Neh. 3:5 ESV) As soon as we entered the building, we knew something wasn’t right. I was teaching kindergarten in a trailer-like building behind the church sanctuary and elementary school. When we arrived at school one morning, we found…
I define clutter as anything that continually gets out of control in my own home. Defining clutter this way has improved my home because this definition means clutter is no longer an ambiguous idea. I no longer need to evaluate each item in my home for its potential to be used in the future or…
One of the things that set Jesus apart was the way he treated women. Throughout the gospels, each writer records Jesus’s unique choices. For example, he went against cultural norms and spoke to the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4). Ben Witherington III writes, “It is fair to say that a low view of…
I am now in my forties. For many years, I said that while my “ideal self” gardened, my real self never did. I’m not sure exactly what held me up. A few moves, worries about critters eating stuff, and probably more than a little intimidation fueled by inexperience. But this year, I finally did it….