Being Prepared for the New
I was at the kitchen sink, tiredly washing dishes, when I heard the sound of shattering glass outside. I sighed, asking myself, “what now?”. So many things had been breaking lately. Some of them trivial, some of them expensive, but all of them broken. All of them discouraging. I walked outside to investigate and saw…
When the Weariness Sinks In
The weariness fully sinks in when I am alone. When things are finally quiet and I am not having to wade through all of the competing voices that try to hold my attention. Right now, it’s just me and You, Lord. Even for just these few moments I feel the full weight of what I’ve…
Darkness is Deceptive
My heart pounds. My blood pressure rises. I am so afraid. Awakened in the night by yet another dark and oppressive dream, I am paralyzed with fear. I feel an evil presence in the room, despite crying out the name “Jesus” just moments earlier upon wakening. The evil delights in the fear that is marinating…
Meditating Verse by Verse: John 15:6
“If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.” –John 15:6 If you do not remain in me. Thus far in the chapter, Jesus has been telling us to remain in Him so that we…
Meditating Verse by Verse: John 15:5
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” –John 15:5 There is a lot of commonality between verses 4 and 5. They both tell us to remain in Jesus as He remains in us…
Meditating Verse by Verse: John 15:4b
“Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.” –John 15:4 No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. If your gas tank is empty, the car…
Meditating Verse by Verse: John 15:4a
“Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.” –John 15:4 Remain in me…I also remain in you. When first looking at this verse I was frustrated! It’s a verse that I’ve…
Meditating Verse by Verse: John 15:3
“You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.” John 15:3 In the first 2 verses of John 15, Jesus compares himself to a Vine, and God to a Gardener. But then, in verse 3, the focus turns towards Believers. Initially, to me, verse 3 feels out of context to the…
Meditating Verse by Verse: John 15:2b
John 15:2 “He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.” This was an interesting half of a verse to meditate on, and there is A LOT to unpack! Every branch that does bear fruit. Although…
Meditating Verse by Verse: John 15:2a
John 15:2 “He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.” Cuts off every branch. This feels so harsh. Whenever I heard this in the past, skimming over the verses, I felt like it was basically…
Meditating Verse by Verse: John 15:1
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.” John 15:1 I recently wrote on meditating verse by verse. And though that I’m not an expert in this area, I believe God blesses my attempts to gain deeper understanding of His Word. So, come along with me as I explore John 15! God…
Being Afraid in my Circumstances
The ladder wobbled much more than I would have liked as I carefully climbed each rung. Higher and higher I went, but I knew better than to look down. I was already nervous and regretting my agreement to participate in this endeavor. “This was a bad idea”… I kept thinking over and over the higher…
Meditating Verse by Verse: The Scripture is Alive!
“For the Word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to the dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” –Hebrews 4:12 I don’t think we fully begin to understand how alive the Word of God actually is, until we…
I am Overwhelmed
I think many people have a tendency to stop trying when they get overwhelmed. It’s easier sometimes to do nothing at all, than to tackle a big project. Or sometimes we choose to avoid what overwhelms us by filling our time with other things. I frequently coach my children through huge piles of laundry, scattered…
“Lord, What Should I Do Today?” 7 of 7
Our final day of the challenge. In the video, let’s talk about how these different approaches to asking God what we should do each day can help us get in the habit of doing so!
“Lord, What Should I Do Today?” 6 of 7
In today’s video we talk about asking God to show us what we should surrender today.
“Lord, What Should I Do Today?” 5 of 7
Today in the video I talk about asking God what He would have us see today.
“Lord, What Should I Do Today?” 4 of 7
In today’s video I discuss why we should be asking God who and how we should serve each day!
“Lord, What Should I Do Today?” 3 of 7
Today in the video we focus on giving God the glory in everything we do. Let’s ask Him to show us how He would be glorified through our lives today.
“Lord, What Should I Do Today?” 2 of 7
In the video, I explain day 2 of this challenge: asking God to direct our prayers. When we ask God, “What would you have me pray today?”, we allow ourselves to see our prayer requests in a different light. We also open ourselves up to divine interruptions and new prayer requests.
“Lord, What Should I Do Today?” 1 of 7
In the video I explain why I want to embark on a 7 day challenge of asking God each day what He would have me do. Each day I will explore that concept from a slightly different angle—hoping to develop practical habits to consider God’s will in all of my decision-making. Come along with me!
By This Kind of Hard Work
When I was a teenager my parents bought a minivan with a VHS tape player—it felt super high tech at the time. One of my favorite memories in that van was a day when I was driving our family home from the Boundary Waters in Minnesota. My dad was in the backseat, and to keep…
Not Knowing What to Say
The other day I texted one of my friends, who happens to be black, just to say “hi” and check in. She’s one of my closest friends and we communicate multiple times a week, with seldom a week going by where we don’t see each other at least once. She said she was “OK” and…
Salvaging Hospitality in a Pandemic
My youngest son’s 2nd birthday is this week. Normally I’d be in the middle of finalizing all the birthday party details, doing what cooking prep-work could be done, getting the proper groceries, making a pinata (if I had waited this long to make it!), etc. But this morning my mother asked me what we are…
Hungry for Righteousness
I get unsatisfied sometimes, with how things seem to be going in my life. I want to be further along in certain lessons, I want to have accomplished more good things for God, I want to have been a better steward of my talents and resources, I want to see how my efforts have been…
He Has Already Provided
Last September my family and I took a trip to Colorado for my brother’s wedding. It was a big, long, and expensive (for us!) trip. Earlier in the year, I put money aside from our tax return in order to pay for the trip. However, while we were out there, I couldn’t help but get…
Living with Lemonade Instead of Lemons
Life is weird right now, isn’t it?! Many of our routines have been upended and we are being forced to adapt to new habits. And just as we are suddenly spending less time with certain people, we are forced to spend more time with others! But this sudden quantity of time doesn’t necessarily mean quality. …
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Lucy with the Broken Sword 