A few weeks after I invited a new friend to my house for lunch, she graciously offered a return invitation. Her home is larger than mine—I knew that, and I thought I didn’t care. But she did say it was 9,000 square feet. That’s a lot of square feet. At the time, I was contemplating…
You shall therefore love the Lord your God and keep his charge, his statutes, his rules, and his commandments always. (Deuteronomy 11:1 ESV) “I forgot real quick,” my younger daughter says when I scold her for doing something I asked her not to do a few minutes earlier. Her brutal honesty is humorous after the…
Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. (James 5:7–8 ESV) Winter…
I had a perm in kindergarten. Every morning my mother diligently primped my hair with her curling iron to perfect it before school. (Never mind that she also had my two-year-old brother to care for at the time.) One morning, probably in a rush to do all the things, my mother accidentally singed the top…
“My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” (Psalm 73:26 ESV) I recently had lunch with a friend who lost her husband to complications of multiple sclerosis last summer. We talked about grief and how she’s learning to navigate life as a widow, finding…
Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. (1 Peter 4:8–9 ESV) Every time I hear the phrase “welcome at the table,” I immediately picture my cafeteria lunch tables in high school. I was welcome at three different tables—the band nerds’ table,…