What do you say when you talk to yourself? Are your thoughts and words to you, about you, kind and lovely? I hope so but if your thoughts are anything like mine; they’re not always kind or lovely. Over the past few years, I’ve started paying attention to what I say when I talk to…
I’m not a fan of spiders but I’ve always been intrigued by their webs. (That is until I run headlong through one, at which point I’m flailing and freaking out as I’m certain that a horror-movie-sized-spider has latched onto me and will bite me with poisonous fangs and I’ll die a slow painful death.) Anyway.…
Years ago my sweet little boy was running after a basketball in our church gymnasium and as young children are prone to do, he was so focused on retrieving the ball that he didn’t see the wall in front of him. Yes, he ran head-first into the wall and had a knot on his forehead…
Sanctify the Ordinary Today I will sanctify the ordinary. I will seek to find true spiritual meaning in the common things of life. I don’t want to be blasé. I don’t want to be one of the overstimulated whose nerves are jaded and tastes corrupted. I don’t want to replace the natural with the artificial,…
When life is hard, I often feel too distracted, tired, lazy, and unspiritual to seek God. I’d prefer to grab a snack, turn on the TV, and mindlessly scroll on my phone. There’s nothing wrong with those things unless we allow them to crowd out our time with God (which I often do). Seeking God…
Moses didn’t get to live in or even step foot into the Promised Land. God let him see it from a distance and then he died. I’ve struggled with that story all my life. It just seems so unfair. If you ask me he should have enjoyed a few years of retirement in the Promised…
My faith is weak. There. I said it. The truth is out. You heard it straight from me. Here’s the thing: My faith hasn’t always been weak. I guess you could say “I’m in a season . . .” I know what it feels like to believe that God can do anything and to have…
I grew up getting preached to by a lot of men and women who called themselves “speaking for God”. But their preaching wasn’t always the whole truth. Often it was their version of the truth. I’m going to give them an “A” for effort and persistence. I think they meant well. I’m not throwing any…
Sometimes I’m your biggest cheerleader and sometimes I’m jealous of you. Sometimes I only want to please God and sometimes I only want to please people. Sometimes I’m a hard worker and sometimes I’m lazy. Sometimes I’m a person of great faith and sometimes I’m consumed by fear and all the “what ifs”. Sometimes I…
The big red numbers of the digital clock tell me it’s almost midnight. I’ve been in bed for a restless two hours tossing and turning as usual. Long hours of restful sleep have never been a part of my life. But for the past week, knee pain has kept me awake. I’ve been training for…
I ran a 5k last weekend. When I crossed the finish line I didn’t know my time or my average pace or where I placed overall or in my age/gender group. Honestly, those numbers didn’t matter much because I’d won a bigger prize. That’s the story I want to share with you today. At the…
Sometimes I feel bored and restless. Do you ever feel that way? I’ve shocked myself by saying, “I’m bored,” out loud a few times lately. I don’t like the feeling and I certainly don’t like saying it out loud. If you’ve ever felt bored and restless then maybe what I’m going to share will help…
It’s Sunday morning and I’m tired. I have a headache and my toothache reminds me of the major dental work happening in the morning. “Maybe I should just stay home and rest,” I say to myself. I lay still and quiet and watch the early morning sun dance on the walls around the room. “What…
A year from now what will you wish you had done today? A few years back I found myself in a bit of a funk. (I always cringe a little when I say or write that “f” word. I’m pretty sure my grandmother would’ve considered it a cuss word.) But I can’t think…