I have been taught in my Christian circles to put my feelings in their proper place through the truth of God’s Word, the Bible, and I absolutely believe that to be valid and wise. My emotions are often a runaway train heading toward certain destruction, so pulling back on the brakes of those and letting…
The meeting was said to be scandalous, forbidden by the community. It was also a meeting divinely orchestrated by God so that his good news would be preached and that the brokenhearted would find healing. True to himself, the Almighty would prove that he indeed is sovereign and “delights in impossibilities,” as Andrew Murray says….
I paused and looked out over the small crowd of children sitting cross-legged on the floor of the Sunday school room, waiting for their response. I played the role of narrator in a short play about the book of Esther, and as I’d just said the name “Haman,” I was waiting for the hisses and…
I confess. I love shoes. They were the last thing I bought before the pandemic hit. But they were bought in secret. With a credit card. An expensive pair of sandals I had been eyeing for a while. While on vacation in a city with my favorite store, I caved in. It was the last pair…
According to Richard Rohr, the prophets in a social structure stand off-center in a place of observation. Their position on “the edge of inside” affords them a view that is informed and yet independent. From this vantage point, the Apostle John was given the divine direction: “Write what you see.” And he saw plenty. Artists…
There’s a gradual uncoupling that occurs when a marriage comes to an end. Coworkers may notice the woman who begins more sentences with “I” than “We.” Invitations once accepted are now turned down. Churchgoers may notice that a previously coupled person now attends services alone. Chances are that by the time such things are noticed,…
Life-altering revelations are a bit like electrical storms. They thunder in without much warning, striking the often unaware. Like the moment I knew I was with “the one.” The backdrop for this realization wasn’t what I expected. There was no Oscar-worthy score or cinematic sunset. Just dark clouds hanging over the horizon instead. Love was…
“You have to come and see Dad,” my sister, Peggy, said. “He’s dying.” My words were also to the point. “No. I ca…an’t.” Stuttering was something new for me. But I found I did it whenever I thought about my father. My words would just get as nervous as I had been the day he…
Getting ready to go to work one morning at the court where I was a judge, I was finishing my makeup. When I closed my right eye to put eyeliner on it, my face disappeared from the mirror. I opened my right eye and my face came back. It took a few seconds for the…
It was nothing short of a miracle that there was a church—a Protestant church—at the end of my street. I hadn’t been in Yelabuga, Russia, for two weeks, yet I already felt crushed by the loneliness and spiritual darkness that hung heavy over the city. The Fulbright program had catapulted me and my idealism into…
Sucker-punched. I sat in bed, staring at the cell phone still in my hand, my mind adjusting to what my husband had said. The words I spoke out loud continued to spin in my mind as I tried to make sense of it all. What just happened? I couldn’t believe it. Reality slammed into me…
I focused on the end of my fingertip, where it met circuitous lines on the crackled pink paper. I tried not to look ahead and how much of the journey remained but centered my attention on where I was on the path in that moment. The pastor played gentle background music for our small group…
A Thanksgiving communion liturgy and communion itself are wonderful examples of how God acts unexpectedly. All the tax collectors and sinners were gathering around Jesus to listen to him. The Pharisees and legal experts were grumbling, saying, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” – Luke 15:1-2 (CEB) Thanksgiving is a secular holiday, but…
Yesterday is gone and cannot be repeated. Tomorrow has not arrived and cannot be predicted. Yet, there are times when I find myself trying to relive yesterday and jump into tomorrow. The pendulum of my mind swinging back and forth between the two—wishing I had done something differently in the past, while trying not to…