A fat rubber band lay on every seat in church this Sunday. The worship leader assured us at the beginning of the service that this wasn’t a mistake, but we had to wait to find out the purpose of these scattered office supplies. Once it came time for the sermon, the pastor, after some […]
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To-Do List Craziness and Remembering to Be Still
I don’t know about you, but lately I feel like I’m constantly trying to catch my breath. Not physically, but just trying to keep on top of all the . . . stuff to do. I need to finish reading a manuscript for a dear critique partner. Then I need to read a […]
A Conversation in Black and White: Two Friends Talk About Race
When I started getting ideas for how to honor Black History Month on this blog, I sent them to my friend and critique partner Sandra Barnes for her feedback. She responded with her usually gracious insight, but then she said: “Also, IF you really want to go deep, get the conversation started, demonstrate […]
Where Is God When the World Is Dark: Meditating on Immanuel
Sometimes life is not easy. My family lived with and cared for my elderly grandmother for over eight years until she went to heaven at ninety-six. I’m so glad we had those years with her, and we have many sweet memories. But sometimes, not having a home of our own and being continually […]
Mustard Seeds, Yeast, and the Slowness of God
Sometimes God takes a whole lot longer than I’d like Him to. I know this isn’t unique to me. Moses, Abraham and Sarah, Elizabeth and Zechariah, all had to wait a very long time for God to fulfill His purposes and promises for their lives. And the Israelites—boy did they have to wait. […]
Adopted by God: Guest Post with Norma Gail!
Please forgive the lateness of this posting! Website problems. 🙂 Norma Gail has been such a blessing to get to know over these past few years through writing connections online, though we’ve yet to meet in person! Norma is a New Mexico writer, so though I don’t live there anymore, we’ve connected through our stories […]
Come Ye Sinners, Poor and Needy: Racial Reconciliation and Our Sinful Hearts
“Come ye sinners, poor and needy, bruised and broken by the fall Jesus ready stands to save you, full of pardoning love for all…” ~ from an old hymn by Joseph Hart Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve heard from an African-American friend of how her children have been hit and […]
God’s Guidance and 5 Small Loaves
I sat on the carpet in their living room, with these friends in their home on the Navajo Nation, and shared my heart. Last September, I’d just come from the ACFW conference in Indianapolis and then stopped to visit friends in New Mexico and Arizona. While staying with Mark Charles and his […]
When You Have to Trust One Day at a Time
The past couple of weeks, I’ve started watching History Channel’s The Bible series, as it’s now available streaming on Netflix. Despite some (unnecessary) inaccuracies and a lot of (necessary) condensing and cutting of the story, it still touches me, maybe because I’m such a visual learner, to see biblical accounts I’ve read so many times […]
Friendship as a Key to Racial Reconciliation
Recently the racism in Donald Stirling’s alleged remarks has created a bit of a media uproar. For me, it’s been another reminder, as with Trayvon Martin, that while we’ve made progress, racial tensions are far from resolved in America. And it’s gotten me thinking. If Mr. Stirling did indeed make these remarks, I can’t help […]