Filled to the Measure, Even in the Storms of Life
"It rains on all of us. Some of us just carry an umbrella." My chin dropped at the soft-spoken wisdom of my friend Genie. This woman is walking through a cancer diagnosis, she recently lost her husband and then she lost her job. But my friend is quick to say she couldn't survive the storms of life without her "umbrella" -- her faith. If each...
Five Things I Learned By Watching Dad
“Heroes aren’t supposed to die. How do you say good-bye to someone who saved your life?” My nephew’s tearful good-bye to his Grandpa was almost more than I could bear. As I wrapped my arms around his burly frame, I remembered the little guy who’d spent summer days at our farm, playing in the creek and jumping on the trampoline with his...
A Posture of Lent: Listen With The Ear of Your Heart
Lent has long been my favorite season in the church calendar, partly because it comes near the end of winter and the beginning of spring, but mostly because Lent sets us on the path toward Easter. For me, Advent and Christmas are but a prelude to the big pay-off — Lent and Easter, the anticipation and celebration of God’s gift of the...
Where She Owns Her Influence and Names It
It was not my finest hour. At the end of three long days that involved taking our oldest son through doctors’ appointments, medical tests and travel, I came home to a messy kitchen. And I snapped. At least for me, the woman my husband calls the most patient person he knows, it was a “snap”. Maybe I just spoke firmly. Anyway, the target of my...
When Sitting Tight in Christmas Just Makes Sense and an Epiphany for Epiphany
My Christmas decorations will come down this week. Maybe. According to my liturgical calendar, we're still in the season of Christmas, specifically the season of Epiphany which celebrates "the manifestation of Christ" in the flesh. Epiphany doesn't end until January 14, when we enter eight weeks of Ordinary time -- the quiet season between...
Waiting and Walking ‘With’
"How are you doing?" Over cups of hot tea, my dear friend asked a question that I've asked myself often lately. How am I doing? Am I doing enough to help our oldest son during a crucial time of healing -- body and soul? Am I getting enough rest? Am I still connecting with the rest of our family, with the brothers who want to know that I...
In Facing Painful Emotions, Do We Become Whole?
Anger, fear, jealousy, despair, contempt, shame. In His humanity, God suffered every painful emotion He allows to enter our lives, and He suffers them still as He walks through the highs and lows in the lives of His children, His co-heirs with Christ. The words “value” and “place” have two different meanings, especially when considered in...
To Capture a Legacy in Stories
Six years ago, I sat down with my Dad and asked him to tell me some of his stories. I'd heard a lot of them, but once he got going, Dad surprised both of us with all the things he remembered about growing up in a small town during The Great Depression and all the jobs he'd held in his lifetime. I had a reason for asking Dad to share some...
When the Seasons of Life Seem All Too Brief
Autumn is showing its colors in the valley this week and I can hardly contain myself. Looking out my kitchen window or hiking out to the cabin, I'm surrounded by beauty. This season is my favorite, but it's all too brief. I wait for it as I notice the quality of the sun changing in August and hear the first chirps of the peepers on the pond....
Who Do You Say I Am?
I have a passion for sharing our stories. If you've hung out here long enough, you probably noticed that. (I talk a lot about it here.) Lately, I've been guiding a small but mighty group of godly women in my church toward owning their hard stories. And not just owning them, but sharing them as the Lord leads to help other women walk into hard...
