When I was 15, I met God in a Vermont meadow. I was riding a horse bareback in the July sun, feeling his warm hide and coarse hair under my shorts-clad legs. I was in the middle of the meadow, which gradually sloped down into a glittering spring-fed lake. The meadows were high and uncut…
God can and does use all things, even deadly pandemics like COVID-19, to bring about good things; beautiful things that give us renewed hope. Romans 8:28 states this truth clearly: And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose…
One of the many beautiful things about our Bible is its persistent inclusion of women. From Eve on, we understand clearly that our God created us, used us, and continues to use us to tell his story. We matter to him—so much so that Jesus took special pains to minister to women throughout his earthly…
I can link many of my insecurities to my parent’s divorce. I can also link many of my greatest blessings, including my husband, to my parent’s divorce. It’s one of the juxtapositions that cause us to lie awake and ponder the healing grace of our God. When I was eight my parents told my brother…
We’ve all heard news stories about “free-range children,” those unfortunate (or fortunate, depending on who you ask) children who are allowed to BE OUTSIDE WITHOUT THEIR PARENTS! One news story involved 6- and 10-year-old siblings. Their parents dropped them at a nearby park with instructions to be home for dinner at 6:00 p.m. When 6:00…
I’ve always associated a balanced life with an ultra-organized Martha Stewart type. But as I ponder my life, I realize that although it’s often messy, I take great joy in the journey. I wear many different hats and sometimes pivot so quickly I become dizzy, but I am, after all, still upright. And, when you…
When I was the proud mother of a newborn, a two-year-old and a four-year-old, I thought parenting couldn’t get any tougher. Every day was a blur of caretaking, feeding and physical lifting. Merely strapping the three kids in the car ate up 10 minutes, and this was after the 20-minute prelude of coats and shoes….
My 16-year-old headed for the door with baseball gear slung on one shoulder and backpack over the other. In his wake was a palatable trail of weariness and anxiety. I called to him and he stopped, sporting a resigned expression. “I just want to say I’ve been praying for you since 4:00 this morning,” I…
I’ll never forget my first college writing class. My professor paced back and forth in front of us with his hands clasped behind his back. He stopped, faced us and declared: “The best writers write about what they know.” That statement, along with hefty required doses of E.B. White, helped me understand the power of…