A neighbor of ours who lived just down the hall from us came by and knocked on our door. He had just gotten back from the food pantry. He held up a frozen turkey, explained that he only liked to eat the dark meat, and he wondered if we might like the other parts? TakenContinue reading “The Best Thanksgiving Meal I Ever Ate was in February”
Category Archives: Relationship
Estranged from Your Own Children
I know far too much about estrangement for one person. My mentally ill and physically abusive mother was suicidal for most of my life. Finally, when I was 25 years old, I told her we needed to go our separate ways until she could get the help she needed and just started treating people better.Continue reading “Estranged from Your Own Children”
Helpless Words
“I’m sure no one has ever told you this.” “It’s so bad. You are going to think terrible things about me.” “Everyone would hate me if they knew what I was thinking.” “There is no one who loves me for me.” I’ve heard each of these helpless words from those who sat on the couchContinue reading “Helpless Words”
To Grandmother’s House We Go
I remember as a little girl going to my grandmother’s house and the first thing my sister and I would do was run into the guest bedroom and pull out the bottom drawer of a dresser. Inside were blocks, books, and my very favorite, a pair of old, high heels that we would fight overContinue reading “To Grandmother’s House We Go”
Parent Repeat Parent Repeat Again
My parenting playlist has multiple tracks on repeat. “Did you brush your teeth?” goes out to four children at least twice a day. “Don’t forget your chores” is the tune of every Saturday morning. “Please put your shoes away” is in the queue more often than I can count. To those I add “Did youContinue reading “Parent Repeat Parent Repeat Again”
Smelling God
I wait for the bright smell to punch through the air from a tomato’s green stem. The plant, nestled here in my garden, emits a scent through its hairlike trichomes, cautioning creatures to retreat. But today my ability to assess this warning is gone. In July I lost my sense of smell, one casualty ofContinue reading “Smelling God”
Are You a Nicodemus?
I just realized in my 41st year of life, in my 21st year of intentionally following Jesus, and in my 11th year as a lead pastor of a church that…I am Nicodemus. And I’m not alone. Here’s the familiar story: Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of theContinue reading “Are You a Nicodemus?”
I Feel an Audit Coming
I recently made a new friend. She’s been struggling with finding real, authentic community. One night I hung out with her and her boyfriend, and we had a great conversation. We did the whole “get to know you” thing: How old are you? How many people are in your family? How long have you andContinue reading “I Feel an Audit Coming”
Rend Your Heart
The prophet Joel functioned as a spiritual watchman over Judah. In Joel 2:12–19, he pleaded with the nation to turn to the Lord in genuine repentance as the only way to avoid the devastating destruction of the coming “day of the Lord” (Joel 1:15). The prophet’s call began like so: “‘Even now,’ declares the LORD,Continue reading “Rend Your Heart”
Why Do We Struggle So Much with Lust?
This may sound too simple, but the answer to this question is, because we are human, and therefore sinful (Psalm 51:5). Our hearts are deceptively wicked, even believers’ hearts, because we won’t be free of sin until glory (2 Corinthians 3:18) when Christians will have totally surrendered to Christ’s Lordship. Strong sexual desire in and ofContinue reading “Why Do We Struggle So Much with Lust?”
Intentional Faith 