Still clad in rumpled pjs, I popped a Kcup into its slot and listened sleepily as the fragrant liquid filled my favorite mug. Having located my reading glasses, I made my way to the desk and took my place in front of the keyboard, staring rather blankly into the monitor as it, too, slowly came […]
I rarely read the Acknowledgments. You know – those pages at the beginning of the book. When I open a new book, I’m hankering for a quick-connect to the content I was sold on when I made the purchase. The author’s personal relationships don’t generally figure into my decision to read, so I am apt […]
I walked away from the conversation with face still flushed, pulse still elevated, thoughts still racing… Don’t get me wrong – it was a necessary conversation. One which I would have regretted not having, despite the intensity and confrontational nature of the thing. One which was brought on by something so deeply seated that I […]
“The Kingdom of Heaven is like… yeast that a woman used in making bread. Even though she put only a little yeast in three measures of flour, it permeated every part of the dough.” (Matthew 13:33 NLT) Seems pretty straightforward, doesn’t it? A small amount of yeast is mixed into the dough, where the yeast […]
My church family recently welcomed a new member to our staff. As Adam was introducing himself to us, he said something that lodged in my brain and hasn’t stopped pinging since. He said that God creates order from chaos. Now, I don’t know what you see. What I mean is, when you look around your […]
I ushered in the season of Lent from a unique vantage point today. Holding a small dish filled with a mixture of last year’s celebratory palm branches and oil, I finger-painted ashy crosses on the bared foreheads of broken people for whom Jesus came to die. In church-language, what I did is known as imposition […]
I stood alone in a room full of thousands with David Crowder on the stage. While singing along to a familiar tune, I was struck – almost tangibly – with the strong impression to be silent and listen. I heard the music in layers, and it felt as if the familiar, easy topcoat of melody […]
I’ve stayed in more hotel rooms these past six months than in the past ten years of my life combined. As one who is often all too willing to subscribe to marketing ploys, I generally keep my Hilton Honors card pretty close (points speak, you know). But these travels have brought me to a variety […]
‘Not another church!’ You might expect these words from a teenager on holiday in Europe, but not from me. Not from the mom whose 9-to-5 (make that 24/7) revolves around the Church – the Body of Christ. Nevertheless, after walking dutifully through gothic and ornate church building after church building, these words may have been […]
Our first day in Italy. What better way to spend it than exploring the island of Capri?! Unfortunately, our adventure began in a flurry of missed buses and racing hearts and feet as we showed our true tourist-colors in a strange land (with strange street names, bus stops and interpretations of time). Never mind, though, […]