• 04.09.2010 In Full Bloom
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    Cheery lilies grace my sun-drenched dining room table this week, thanks to my sweet in-laws who had them delivered to me for Easter. Just as each blossom has gradually opened day by day, so have my thoughts on the amazing truth of the resurrection. We, too, will one-day be transformed into a new creation, and are even now…coming into full bloom.

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  • 04.05.2010 50 Simple Everyday Pleasures
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    morning sunlight a clean kitchen waking up to children giggling fresh cut flowers forgiving with sincerity hearing the word “Mama” Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening a lingering hug the smell of brisk morning air a handwritten card finding something that’s been missed and misplaced unsolicited kisses from your children live music–in my own home discovering something anew in the Word of God my husband’s eyes a meaningful conversation having dinner fixed for you a perfect cup of coffee made for me by my love limiting myself, and enjoying it going to the library with the boys finishing a project having a dinner plan feeling genuinely grateful to give something away cilantro laughing so hard it hurts repentant children finding a new use for an old item jeans that fit loyal friends memories freshly vacuumed carpet scoring the perfect thing at the perfect price recognizing answered prayers Sovereign Grace music turning my […]

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  • 01.07.2010 Worry and Rest
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    It’s a new year, and while many of us are starting afresh with new goals and a fresh outlook, some things have inadvertently followed us into the new year. If worry is one these uninvited tag alongs, listen to what Paul David Tripp reminds us from Psalm 4 and Matthew 6: Worry and rest always reveal the true treasures of your heart. You will rest the most when what you treasure the most is secure, and you will worry the most when what you treasure the most is at risk. What does your world of worry reveal about the true treasures of your heart? In the cave, David had it right when he said, “For you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety” (Ps. 4:8). It’s as if David is saying, “My peace isn’t found in locations, relationships, or circumstances; it is found in the Lord. Because it is, I […]

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  • 11.16.2009 Morning Light
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    …streaming in a {quiet} room at the start of day… …serves as a reminder that no matter what yesterday was, joy comes in the morning today.

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  • 10.15.2009 Self
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    I recently read an article on selfishness from an issue of The Journal For Modern Ministry, a subscription I received as a birthday gift last year from a long-time friend. This article by Lou Priolo caught my attention, as selfishness is a sinful trait that marks, invariably, those we love, work with, minister to…and of course, ourselves. In my fight to love those who may act selfishly towards me in my life, I find my own struggle to love borne out of selfishness notwithstanding. Priolo points out that “selfishness is directly related to sinful fear.” There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. 1 John 4:18 “Fear is the opposite of love,” he reminds us, and “love is the opposite of selfishness.” Fear of being hurt, rejected, or taken for granted often […]

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  • 01.10.2009 The One Thing That Is Needful
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    My husband’s been getting up at 5:30 in the morning again…to pray.  That’s about when I head back to bed after another groggy feeding that usually results in one spit-up, one blow-out, and one half-hour of trying to get back to sleep.  Lest you think this comes naturally to my sweet husband, you are mistaken.  Every morning he struggles with the same fog that rolls through my head, and yet, when I suggest that he won’t make it if he doesn’t get more sleep, this is his reply:  “Babe, I won’t make it if I don’t pray…the Lord will provide.” This is a busy season of life in our household.  Between a full house of children, a church plant, a school start-up, and various other relationships and commitments, we keep a steady pace around here.  There is a joy in working hard and being productive…that is, until the joy is […]

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