Spring brings warmer days, which usher in the beginning of the growing season. The pots I left abandoned outside my house begin to grow delicate little clovers and thick-stalked pokeweed. These weeds get a jumpstart and take advantage of leftover potting soil. Empty pots will fill up with something. Instead of allowing the weeds to…
I grew up in a Pentecostal church. We celebrated Easter, but there wasn’t a significant emphasis on the season of Lent. I have learned more about Lent as my faith has broadened and matured, however, I do remember a most embarrassing moment when I told a Catholic work friend that she had a little something…
“By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.” (Genesis 3:19 NIV) In Ephesians, Paul writes, “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins. . . But because…
Out of the corner of my eye, I watched my son hold the side of the clay bowl between his fingers and lightly pinch it. He rubbed with his thumb while pushing gently from the other side to ensure it didn’t crack too much. When tiny cracks inevitably formed along the top edge of the…
As someone who heard the gospel every summer at vacation Bible school, I still sometimes struggle to share it. I not only lack courage but also the je ne sais quoi that preachers have when they give the altar call. I’ve realized, though, that it’s not how I share the gospel that matters. The power…
Sing aloud to God our strength; shout for joy to the God of Jacob! Raise a song; sound the tambourine, the sweet lyre with the harp. Blow the trumpet at the new moon, at the full moon, on our feast day. (Ps. 81:1-3 ESV) When I think about listening to God’s commands, I typically think…