Simplifying… me

Adam and Eve.  Theirs was truly a life to be envied.  Can you imagine walking and talking with God in the cool of the day?  Can you imagine the lushness and beauty of the Garden of Eden?  What must it have been like to be fully exposed, naked, and unashamed?  Their relationship with God and [...]

Read Full Post »

Last week an Ethiopian church planter was martyred, a wife and four children left without a husband and father.  A friend of mine miscarried her baby.  My grandfather passed away only a few days ago.  And we are all aware of the recent tragedy in Japan.  This has had me thinking about eternity.  Life after [...]

Read Full Post »

She didn’t have anything.  She was probably all crumpled up with tender joints and dim with age.  Her posture low due to her poverty and humility.  She was the poorest of the poor.  And yet…she gave out of her nothing and gave God everything.
I haven’t been able to get this poor widow woman from Mark [...]

Read Full Post »

Herodias wanted John the Baptist’s head on a platter.  She was an angry woman spurred on by the cancer of bitterness that permeated her entire being.  The NIV says she “nursed a grudge.”  She was not only offended by John’s confrontation of her sin, but she invested time and energy into nursing her wound and [...]

Read Full Post »

Matthew 26 and 27 convey the story of Christ’s betrayal and crucifixion.  I was just reading these two chapters last week and was struck by all the chaos surrounding Christ in those final hours of his life.  An angry mob was screaming for his death.  His disciples scattered in fear and terror.  Peter, the rock, [...]

Read Full Post »

I could hear the squeals and giggles traveling down the hallway this morning.  The kids were awake on their first day of Christmas break.  Joel offered to get up and take care of breakfast.  I started thinking about making the coffee.  Then, before we jumped up to start the day, we remembered that my parents [...]

Read Full Post »

We decorated for Christmas last week.  In my mind I had envisioned Nat King Cole’s Christmas album playing in the background, the scent of hot apple cider wafting through the house, and my darling children giggling with excitement as I handed them their tree ornaments to place – gingerly – upon our tree.  I wanted [...]

Read Full Post »

A friend of mine has been going through a difficult season.  It seemed that when things couldn’t quite possibly get worse, well…they did.  Two days ago God did a miracle in her life.  He not only answered a prayer that would effect her present circumstances, but he took care of past issues that were holding [...]

Read Full Post »

There are difficult seasons of life that God, in his sovereignty, allows us to walk through.  Loss, depression, fear, or sickness, they sneak up and shake the ground beneath us.  In moments of faith and clarity we speak beyond our circumstances and look to the hope that awaits us.  But sometimes those seasons last longer [...]

Read Full Post »

A few weeks ago Jackson went missing.  We couldn’t find him anywhere.  He had wandered off.  An army of us went out looking for him, and with every step I took I found myself praying, screaming out his name, and wondering if this was it. If this would be the “big one”.  You know, the [...]

Read Full Post »