With Gifts Like These, Who Needs Enemies?

I will soon write a post about the opposite of gentle and quiet (vexing and contentious, if you must know… for more about gentle and quiet, see The True Christian Woman: A Gentle and Quiet Spirit ),  but I just wrote a devotion for my church that I thought possibly worth posting.
Whether or not it helps you, [...]

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The Dove and the Pigeon

In my last blog (The Journey to My Holiday ), I promised to write about several things that God appears to be teaching me during this season of my journey.
Even though I still struggle with doubts and distance,  it seems that God is up to something in my life.
I hope so.
During the NextStep school I attended [...]

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The Journey to My Holiday

Now I am about to take a detour to discuss the positive things that appear to be happening on my journey to find that Holiday at Sea.
Bet you can’t wait…
At the end of August, I attended a week-long seminar/school called NextStep. This course follows Larry Crabb’s School of Spiritual Direction (which teaches how to have spiritually forming conversations). The second course helps [...]

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Storing Up Thanks

A friend emailed this story to me a few days ago.  I usually ignore these sort of sicky-sweet email offerings.
But I actually read this one.  I needed to be jolted out of my whiny-hood.
This story helped: 
 A 92-year-old, petite, well-poised and proud man, who is fully dressed each morning by eight o’clock, with his hair fashionably combed and shaved [...]

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Assailed by Doubts and Distance

A year ago May, I hit my first real patch of doubt after more than 35 years of being a Christian. It was a scary time and I wrote several posts about doubt, starting with Doubting at Last.
I pulled out of that phase sometime later in the year, only to be hit last spring with a distance from God and [...]

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Compelled by Love

… Still recovering from my 15-month ordeal (see the last post, below). Who knew I could sleep so much?
Now, on to a more spiritual topic.
I wrote a while ago about the sense that Jesus is calling me to greater intimacy, a call, I realize, that at some level I am afraid to follow.
I think one aspect of [...]

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How Bad Can it Get?? Apparently Worse…

Ok, I notice my stats are down, so it’s time for another post.
Here’s the background to this particular post:
Hate my job. Husband out of work several years. Both of us looking for jobs. Neither of us finding anything. Economy sucks. No jobs out there. Feeling trapped. Etc., etc. So, we don’t need any more trouble…
I did have a [...]

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Son of Hamas Meets Son of God

A friend told me about a pretty amazing story yesterday: the son of a Hamas leader has converted to Christianity, renouncing his past.
Here’s a link to an interview with this young man: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,402483,00.html
I’d read the story instead of watching the very short videos.

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Bargaining with God (Who, Me?)

I never thought I was the kind of person who would get mad at God when things got tough, who would think she deserved better. 
But, here I am.
Two guys who’ve influenced me greatly say the following about this subject:
If, like the elder brother [in the parable of the 'prodigal son'], you seek to control God through your obedience, then [...]

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Checking Up on My 2008 Resolutions

A year ago, I set forth a summary of my New Year’s resoutions on the predecessor to this blog.
So, let’s see how we did. Here are the three overarching resolutions I made. I said that “I want to…
1) spend more regular time reading the Bible,
2) [spend] more time writing in my journal (my most effective way to pray when alone), [...]

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There’s Adultery Among Us

Our small group had a discussion about idolatry a while back.
We are studying a great book about Revelation: Discipleship on the Edge by Darrell W. Johnson. Johnson points out how the book of Revelation reflects the Biblical theme that the church is the bride of Christ. Our group discussed Johnson’s point that every time we [...]

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The Root of All Evil

The root of all evil.  They say it’s money (don’t they?).  Or if you talk about what’s the foundational sin, the root of all sins, the sin underneath our outward acts of sin, they say it’s pride.
Pride.
Well, I don’t buy it.
What is pride, anyway? When I try and connect the word pride with some of my sin patterns, [...]

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Just When I Thought It Couldn’t Get Worse…

There’s good news.
And there’s bad news.
The good news first:
Thank you to the many who prayed for my husband’s interview (see last post: Prayer Please?). Your prayers were answered!! He had the best on site interview he’s ever had.  The folks and he had some real fellowship – it didn’t even feel like an interview. Just [...]

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Prayer, Please?

Howdy, blogofriends:
I really do mean to use this space to ruminate, hopefully in such a way that you, dear readers, are revived and/or roused.
But, today, I seek prayer.
I recently reviewed (to some extent) what feels like our difficult circumstances in my post “The Job, The Interview, and the Cross.”
Well, my husband is interviewing for a [...]

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Ok, Ok… I’ll Be Grateful Already

Isn’t it the case that when you least expect it, some verse of Scripture jumps up and bites you? Like this one:
Do not be anxious about anything [who, me, anxious?!], but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  Philippians 4: 6
Ok, ok. I’ll do it. I’ll pray with thanksgiving [...]

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