At what age do I stop getting away with childish things? It’s my 46th birthday, and I began the day wondering, “At what age do we stop getting away with things?”. I have relationship with an older woman who is facing some pretty rough circumstances. She’s been...
A Righteous Prostitute Making Things Right: A Step Towards Recognition What would people say your story is about? An unmarried pregnancy? A secret affair? A financial failure? An abusive and destructive past? A series of unfortunate events? Would that be all they...
Sometimes I do better than other times dealing with my “lot” in life. Last week I was in a funk. Frustrated by the things in my life that I didn’t choose and the things I have no power to change, I was just plain tired of it all. But, I felt a...
Herpes zoster (a.k.a. shingles) is a disgusting, painful virus. At the ripe old age of 45, I’ve come to terms with the fact that I am but dust, weak and vulnerable, struggling with gross blisters and in need of a great deal of compassion. Shingles feels like hundreds...
I was doing her a favor, and she vomited all over me… not the physical, the spiritual kind (both are disgusting!). On my way, I was enjoying some worship music, and the atmosphere around me felt very peaceful. When I arrived, she swung the car door open, acted very...
I’m not a Christian because Jesus died on the cross. I’m not a believer because He rose from the dead. You couldn’t even call me a person of faith because I asked Jesus to forgive me of my sins. It doesn’t take a lot of “faith” to believe that Jesus died, that He...
If we had used a 7 cent zip tie, we would have saved ourselves a lot of $. Frustrating! I hate it when stuff like that happens, stuff you can’t really control, and then, the situation seems to get even more out of control. As I was having a morning chat with...
Have you ever complimented someone’s brokenness? I did… on Mother’s Day, and I meant it. After Sunday’s service, I approached my pastor’s wife, who had just given the message and told her, “I like your shard!!” (In her...
It’s Passover, and I’m pondering some things in the Exodus story that are kind of hard to understand. Like, what is up with Pharaoh’s heart being hardened? At first glance, it doesn’t sit well with we “free choice” human beings to...
It’s time for Passover again. It’s time to throw styrofoam hail balls and eat matzah. It’s time to drink from the four cups as we tell the story of the Exodus from Egypt… that mighty deliverance our God wrought for His people in slavery. But,...
During this season of my life, I am alone. Alone is sometimes a word I like, but not right now. Being a mother of three, alone is a rare thing, and when I choose alone, I love it. But I don’t like it right now. Choosing to be alone, and having the opportunity to...
[line] This blog is the second in a series titled: “Signs of Redemption” • Part 1: Does God Even Care? • Part 2: Curiosity Killed the Snake [line] Have you ever wondered if God cares? If He actually sees what is going on, or if He is going to do anything...
I guess I get another shot to get some things right. Darn. An aspect of my life that I thought was over is not. My husband, Ron, traveled for his job 15 years, and I was getting really tired of it. Tired of being a single parent during the week. Tired of not going out...
[line] This blog is the second in a series titled: “It’s Time to Tell Our Story” • Part 1: It’s Time to Tell Our Story • Part 2: God’s Faithfulness Doesn’t Mean Getting What You Want [line] When we say, “God is...
It’s time to tell our story, before we know the end of it. Time, that precious commodity, is running out. People who know our situation keep inquiring. In July, we moved to Vermont for 6 months because we had just sold our house and needed a place to live while...
[line] This blog is the first in a series titled: “Signs of Redemption” • Part 1: Does God Even Care? • Part 2: Curiosity Killed the Snake [line] What would it take for you to believe that God has seen your affliction? What would it take for you to believe...
Most of us like to think we are reasonable people. Generally, it is easy to keep a level head…until we get angry. Anger seems to cause reasonableness to scurry out the window. And then, feeling far from rational, we begin making foolish choices in our behavior....
I love to hear a different take on a familiar story because I get to glean a new lesson. I never realized that Joseph’s brothers weren’t the ones to actually sell him into slavery. It’s kind of a minor detail that is easy to read right over. This is...
If you are unfamiliar with the story of Rachel and Leah, please read an abbreviated version below the footnotes. The day Leah’s firstborn son, Reuben, brought her dandelions was a joyous day. He was probably just 5 or 6 years old, and as he held up his grubby...
[line] This blog is the fourth in a series titled: “The Redemption of Life-Givers” • Part 1: Reaching For Pain • Part 2: What’s Mine Is Mine. What’s Yours Is Mine • Part 3: If I Want It, It Must Be Good! • Part 4: The Redemption of Eve [line]...
[line] This blog is the third in a series titled: “The Redemption of Life-Givers” • Part 1: Reaching For Pain • Part 2: What’s Mine Is Mine. What’s Yours Is Mine • Part 3: If I Want It, It Must Be Good! • Part 4: The Redemption of Eve [line]...
This blog is the second in a series titled: “The Redemption of Life-Givers” • Part 1: Reaching For Pain • Part 2: What’s Mine Is Mine. What’s Yours Is Mine • Part 3: If I Want It, It Must Be Good! • Part 4: The Redemption of Eve Why would God...
[line] This blog is the first in a series titled: “The Redemption of Life-Givers” • Part 1: Reaching For Pain • Part 2: What’s Mine Is Mine. What’s Yours Is Mine • Part 3: If I Want It, It Must Be Good! • Part 4: The Redemption of Eve [line]...
When your dreams die, how you feel about yourself deteriorates, relationships become hard, and your “mission” (your strongly felt aim, ambition or calling) can feel like its been trampled under a herd of rhinoceroses. How does God redeem all of that? How...
Forgiveness is a tough thing. It seems simple enough, just say, “I forgive ______.” But, why is it that sometimes bitter, resentful feelings pop up after forgiving? Why do we wish the past would be different? And, how long does it take to feel any...
Forgiveness isn’t enough. Let’s say you’ve gotten hurt. You’ve chosen to forgive. You’ve stopped rehashing what happened. You are finally ready to move on…but, something just doesn’t feel quite right in your spirit. What then?...
“Many of our sorrows can be traced to relationships with the wrong people.” (1) Sometimes the wrong people wreak havoc in our lives because they are in our “inner circles,” and they really should be much farther away from our hearts. If sorrows...
When dreams die, invariably some relationships will die along with them. I’m not sure why that happens, but it was true for me. Though it was hard to see my hopes and plans for the future crumble, that did not compare to the pain of broken friendships. The storm...
Why are women drawn to Fifty Shades of Grey? I’ve heard it called “mommy porn,” and I agree, it is. But what is attracting us to it? Women long for romance. God made us to be romanced, to be beautiful, to be wanted. But, we are broken, wounded,...
What is the most awful sound in the world? My heart was very saddened when I heard this particular answer: it is the sound of silence in an orphanage. Silence means the babies have given up crying. Why would babies give up crying; isn’t that what they do? Its...
We blame Satan for a lot of stuff. When things go wrong, we blame him. When we are tempted, we blame him. When we get sick, when we suffer…we blame him. I hear it all the time, “Satan is sure beating me up this week. He is really after me.” Why do we...
When your dreams die, it can feel just like a time when someone you loved died. Nothing seems right. In fact, this is exactly how we are supposed to feel about death. Death is intended to be offensive to our spirits because deep down, we know we were created to live....
I’ve heard some pretty tragic stories lately. A single mother is watching her two girls suffer under the injustice of their father and his new girlfriend living it up while they don’t have enough. Another single mom just saw her daughter come back from the...
The year I turned forty, Caleb was twelve, Megan was ten, and I became pregnant! That summer, when I was twelve weeks along, we were visiting my family in Vermont and had taken a trip down to New Hampshire to see one of my aunts and cousins. The last full day we were...
A friend of mine was hesitant to join a Bible study because she did not know the Bible and its stories very well. She said she was afraid we’d sit in a circle, and when it got around to her, she wouldn’t be able to answer the question. Thankfully, her fear...
[blockquote cite=”From the movie, “The Iron Lady” (© 2012 Weinstein Company)” type=”left, center, right”]What are your thoughts, for they become words. What are your words, for they become your actions. What are your actions, for they...
Sometimes dreams die. I’ve heard all the cliches, and probably, you have too. Things like, “before the spring comes, things must die.” While those sayings are true, they don’t help much when you’re stuck in winter. What is helpful is being...
In the summer, when our family visits my home town in Vermont, I visit the cemetery. Actually, when I was growing up, I spent quite a lot of time up there, in that quiet place nestled up in the mountains. I would read books and walk amongst the old gravestones noting...
I am a leper. A leper healed and cleansed by God’s generous mercy. After baptisms at our church, we sing, “Jesus Paid It All.” Yesterday, after witnessing the baptisms of good friends, the following lyrics convicted me: “Lord, now indeed I...
Have you ever wanted to avoid somebody? I have. And, every time I feel like avoiding somebody, I am reminded of an annoying principle my father-in-law taught: a wish to avoid somebody may indicate I am struggling with hatred. It’s an irritating principle because...
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