“I am the Good Shepherd. I know my own sheep and my own sheep know me.” (John 10:14 MSG) Three years ago, my son and I moved to a goat farm. The goats (and chickens and pigs) belonged to my landlords, so we got all the benefits of living in a pastoral environment without any…
We didn’t see it coming. No one did. Somewhere on the other side of the world a new virus was making people very sick, but it was miles from home. Or at least that’s what we thought. In our home, the Christmas tree was still up. (We hold on to our decorations for as long…
My husband gently shook my arm, and I opened my sleepy eyes. It took a minute to focus and process what I saw outside the car window. If I didn’t know better, I would have thought I was still dreaming. It looked as if we had been transported back in time and across the ocean….
“I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears” (Ps. 34:4 NIV). I have a tendency to get wrapped up in worry and anxiety. I spend large amounts of unproductive time concerned about whether something I said or did was received in a manner I didn’t intend. I fear…
In August, summer begins to give way to back-to-school as we trade in swimsuits and popsicles for school clothes and lunches. Even if we’re sad to see summer fade away, we often anticipate the routine and order the school year offers. This August, though, the routine and order looks and feels different from most of…
For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. (Heb. 4:12 ESV) I winced. Here comes the needle. I’d already been poked earlier that day, and the phlebotomist had had trouble finding…