Blog
Doubt: The Skeptical Visitor
Fast on the heels of bright spring Easter euphoria, grey clouds of doubt grumble. Just a week or so ago, we celebrated the everlasting good news of an empty tomb. With eyes glued to the risen Christ, we rejoiced. Yet days later, some small shadow twists or turns rejoicings into...
Walking Through Holy Week
Holy Week stands as a pivot point for all of history. We see the moment Love offered all of Himself for all of us, His beloveds. What a sacred week. Let’s behold Jesus as we trace His path through Holy Week. Our Journey with Jesus through Holy Week Each day of Holy Week, from Palm Sunday...
Standing at the Crossroads: The Spiritual Practice of Reflection
I hear loud rambunctious thumping again. That crazy bird is at it again. Mr. Yellow-Rumped Warbler hops up and down, flapping his wings. Bright patches of yellow catch my eye while his black-and-white striped wings frantically move. He’s not ramming the window or pecking at it. He’s befuddled,...
Lent’s Invitation: Return to God
From Ash Wednesday to Holy Week, Lent invites us into a 40-day journey with Jesus through the wilderness to the Cross. We watch Jesus battle Satan as good and evil combat. We catch a glimpse of Satan who tries to lure Jesus, and how the enemy of our soul tries to lure us also in the struggle...
Feathered Friends
At our house, birds play a role in our day. Snuggled up close to the house, one cylindrical feeder attracts smallish birds, often finches, the tufted titmouse, and an occasional downy woodpecker. The nearby feeder, filled only in warmer weather, offers nourishment to tiny brightly-colored...
Creativity and the Work of Waiting
“Waiting is an art that our impatient age has forgotten. It wants to break open the ripe fruit when it has hardly finished planting the shoot.” -Dietrich Bonhoeffer For the one who creates, waiting may be the hardest space to occupy during the creative process. Stirred up with an idea...
Who Are We Waiting For? How Are We Waiting?
Thanksgiving morning dawns bright. With to-do lists in hand, I fire up the oven, pull out the cutting board, sharpen a knife, open the fridge, and start the preparations for festive cooking. However, before I get too far into my day, I change the television channel to the Macy’s Day...
Advent’s Slow Invitation
When I was a child, airport trips to pick up incoming family members accentuated the wonder of the holidays. We walked from the wood-paneled station wagon all the way to the airport arrival gate, just off the taxiway. Dressed in our Sunday best, we strolled the corridors, our eyes gazing out...
Thanking God for God
What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us. – A.W. Tozer, Knowledge of the Holy I find that what I believe about God impacts how I live out my faith daily. So, considering what I believe and what I know stand as vital. Spiritual practices...
Goldilocks and Our Imagination
Imagination acts as a vital building block for any creative endeavor. Described as the ability to dream up an image of something not actually present, imagination inspires creative ideas, inventions, and ingeniousness. When I ponder what to create, my mind pulls up what’s been stirring from...
Imagination Transportation
“Are we there yet?” If you’ve ever journeyed anywhere with children, or you’ve been a child yourself, you’ve heard this familiar refrain. “Are we there yet?” echoes impatiently across childhood. So, it came as no surprise when two grandchildren spoke those words one hot summer...
Front Porch Retreat
As a little girl, I savored special visits with my paternal grandmother. Granny lived in a sleepy southern town. Americus resided just one town over from Plains, Georgia, now well-known because of President Jimmy Carter’s fame. Back then, those small towns in the south held a slow pace of life...
