On my walk around the lake last night, I was thinking about the past year and talking to Jesus about it. I had no idea that this year would impact my life in the way it came to. Nor that my soul would find such rest, life, and hope in the midst of such brokenness, … Continue reading On Birthdays, and Jesus, and Relationships
As I was driving home from school last night, I was thinking about the start of a new ministry year and all the many things that will take place in this coming year. While I was praying for the children we will have in our Sunday school classes this year, these verses came to mind: … Continue reading Satisfied in Jesus
With the beginning of a new school year, so many pieces of the past year have flashed before my eyes, with their own questions trailing behind them. How is it possible that an entire year has gone by just like that? After everything the past year contained—what deep grace is this to be in the … Continue reading Do the Next Thing
Grief reminds us that life is broken and sorrow reminds us that we are not whole. But we do not fall into despair. We fall into Jesus. We grieve hard and long. We mourn deeply and cry long. We feel the loss as close as the skin stretched tight over bone. Our faces are wet … Continue reading Fall Into Jesus
One can either see them as hideous, nuisance weeds or one can choose to see them as flowers the color of sun and hope. Either they are pepper shakers of seeds that will cause more problems in future years or they are vessels for a thousand wishes to be carried off in the wind. … Continue reading Dandelions
In between the day we remember Jesus dying a brutal death on the cross and the day he rose from the dead, we have this day of silence. It was a day of brokenness, deep sorrow, and heavy questions. Outwardly, it looked like the devil had won. Wrapped in soft linen, Jesus’ body was buried … Continue reading The Day In Between
A year ago, my family gathered for a quiet graveside service to remember the life of my grandpa. The wind was strong, the harmonicas were beautiful, the memories were precious, and the time together was all of that and then some. It was too early for flowers to poke up in the earth, too cold … Continue reading The Greatest Grief
