Behold Your God!
"Behold your God!" (Isaiah 40:9) "Behold My servant, whom I uphold; Mine elect, in whom My soul delighteth…" -- God, Isaiah 42:1 "Behold, a virgin shall be with Child, and shall bring forth a Son, and they shall call His name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us." -- Angel, Matthew...
Attention, Please!
Listen. Can you hear it? It’s been over 60 years since I last heard it, but as clear as the sound of winter waves that pound the shore, I can hear Grandpa’s steady, dub, dub, dub, dub, strong heartbeat. Listen. Can you hear it? It’s been decades since it creaked along, but as clear as the sound...
Notice Differently
We walked in silence by the South Platte River, listening and watching for critters. It was a habit of ours whenever my husband and I explored that patch of earth in our Colorado days. Our Critter Count started, one way we noticed God’s presence. His creativity inhabits all the ordinary moments...
Savoring His Presence
Attentiveness to God’s heart leads to attentiveness to my own heart. Attentiveness to my heart prepares me to be attentive to the heart of another. -- Lane Arnold When it comes to my spiritual life, my deepest desire is to be with God, to imitate Jesus, and be in tune with Holy Spirit. There’s...
“Keep Your O” – The Christmas Antiphons
The Advent tradition of the O Antiphons used in liturgical worship through prayer and song starts December 17 and continues through December 23. Each of the seven O Antiphons focuses on a prophetic title of Jesus. May this lead us to gaze afresh on Him. To consider these titles is an Advent...
Interrupted
"The people who walk in darkness have seen a great light…" -- Isaiah 9:1 Light interrupts the darkness. Raw places sting. They jab at us in a thousand stabs. Be it physical, emotional, intellectual, relational, or spiritual, when we suffer, the darkness swirls too close. Our hearts ache. Our...
Echoing Her “Yes”
I step into scene that Luke 1 paints. The angel Gabriel informs Mary, a young unmarried virgin, that she’ll give birth to a child. A Child who will be great and be called the Son of the Most High. He’ll have an everlasting kingdom. Mary trembles and asks, “How can this be…since I am still a...
A Week to Get Ready
Next Sunday is New Year’s, you know. What? You think that’s not quite true? You think I may have lost a marble or two or flipped the calendar one too many months? For a good portion of my life, I’ve routinely celebrated three New Year’s celebrations: January 1: Chronological year ...
At the Core
A plethora of muscle and tissue damage led to months of physical therapy a few years ago. Finally released from the grueling three-day-a-week PT schedule, my physical therapist grinned with such joy as she sent me on my way. Little did I know what was in that folder full of exercises to...
I Will Give Thanks
I will give thanks to You, Lord, with all my heart... Psalm 9:1a (NIV) I I will I will give I will give thanks I will give thanks to I will give thanks to You I will give thanks to You, Lord I will give thanks to You, Lord, with I will give thanks to You, Lord, with all I will give thanks to...
Saints Around Us
All Saints' Day In a week which holds All Hallows’ Eve and All Saints’ Day, it's a good time to pause and reflect on those who have gone on before us. Whenever I come to this week of the year, I think of Hebrews 11. This “Saint’s Hall of Fame,” features some who are quite famous, known by their...
Blended Listening
Pondering how to draw near to God today, I notice three themes show up regularly in our latest conversations. Breath prayer. Lectio Divina. Creativity. Lord, what are Your invitations for this day? Be still, daughter. Listen. I pause and I wonder. As one who thinks outside the proverbial...
