I realized WE are the light of the world – God’s children. And I thought about matches. They don’t light until struck. And I wondered if the struggles that have struck us are God’s tool to shine more brightly through us. If our God is a consuming fire, and He is in us, we have nothing to fear: He will…
Click to read Part 1: What I (Don’t) Want to Be When I Grow Up Dear Younger Me, You know those non-dreams you so courageously penned in your Bible? The ones you’re petrified someone will see? You’re not less than; you rock! It’s ok not to care about careers. (It’s also ok TO care about careers.) The thing is? It’s…
I always hated the question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” I felt ashamed; I blushed, stammered. Choked out something I thought might pass for non-fiction. (Which made me feel worse since I knew lying was wrong.) The truth? I didn’t want to be anything; I had no ambitions. How do you tell people that? I…
I sat in the pew and braced myself for the fear I knew to expect. I don’t know how many times I thought I was wielding the shield of faith, only to sustain a truth-knifing requiring weeks, or longer, to heal. My pastor preached a sermon last fall based on Kyle Idleman’s book Not a Fan. The sermon’s main message…
I still remember an interesting act from an elementary school talent show between two characters, “dear Henry” and “dear Liza.” If you know the children’s song, you already know Henry tells his dear Liza, “There’s a hole in my bucket.” And dear Liza answers quite practically, “Then mend it, dear Henry!” And he asks her, “With what shall I mend…
For anyone who’s ever defaulted to a straitjacket of fear – reading about Jesus telling his followers they will have trouble can be enough to drive us to hide quivering behind locked doors. John 16:33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I…
I’d done what I was supposed to and it still wasn’t coming together. I knew God heard my prayers; I didn’t doubt that. So why was it so hard this week? I had thought that things get easier the more you practice them, not harder. So, I was surprised, after a decade of experience, at the unusual degree of difficulty…
I don’t actually drink wine, but I participated in a Wine and Canvas event last year at 12 Corners Winery. (The owners are amazing, and their sparkling juice is phenomenal!) This fun and relaxing art entertainment event took place in the winery’s banquet room overlooking pristine vineyards. We brought nothing. We set up nothing. We just showed up. Every seat…
I am somewhere between the apples and the strawberries in the produce section when it grabs hard and stops me in my tracks. My insides feel twisted. An all too familiar feeling. I grip the handle of my grocery cart with one hand and stare down at my list in the other, pretending to read but unseeing. Hope desperately no…
