Sooner or later we all discover that the important moments in life are not the advertised ones, not the birthdays, the graduations, the weddings, not the great goals achieved. The real milestones are less prepossessing. They come to the door of memory unannounced, stray dogs that amble in, sniff around …
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the word “abide.” It’s used in scripture but not so much in everyday conversation – “If you abide in Me and My words abide in you…” For years, I thought that verse was more a warning than an encouragement, more about “better make …
The sun warms the ground below me as I lie on the grass and stare into the vast South Texas blue sky. Around me, the stone walls of the ancient mission stand watch, inviting everyone who enters to speak in library-hushed tones. Through each threshold, stories were given birth – …
It’s raining. There is at times a delicate mist in the air, and times when the silence is disrupted by the tap-tap-tap on the windows and the gentle rumble of thunder in the distance. It’s like a pulse, a heartbeat that embraces and covers and nourishes. It reminds all who …
I am a hunter, and I am a gatherer – a warrior and a princess. There is something about seeking and finding and treasuring that has value beyond measure. Scattered throughout my life are vignettes born of adventure and quiet, of both the active and passive parts of my heart. …
A friend once shared her dilemma with me. She had a beautiful backyard – a sanctuary really. Flowers bloomed everywhere, and the canopy of the trees offered welcome shelter from sun and rain. It was a most welcoming place. And tucked away in the corners were bird feeders, because my …
My kitchen is covered in cocoa and sugar, thanks to a wayward bowl that mysteriously jumped off the counter, doing a lovely swan dive as it fell in slow-motion. Sadly, the tile floor below wasn’t kind. It reminds me of my journey this past week in Jamaica. Two beautiful ceramic …
In simple humility, let our gardener, God, landscape you with the Word, making a salvation-garden of your life.” James 1:21MSG The single beautiful blossom greeted me at the Jamaica School for the Deaf. She was unlike any flower I had seen, basking in the sunlight. Her bloom was humbly peeking down, …
It was a rather purposeful accidental thing. I sat in the dark technical booth in the back of the room, with a lighting board to my left and a soundboard to my right. In front of me was a room full of shadowed figures listening to timeless words. We were …
I’ve been pondering a lot lately. Maybe it’s the time of year. It seems things just get more “real” when summer starts to wind down. Or maybe it’s all the stuff that’s been happening in this world – the violence and hardship and pain, and the wars of words between …
Praise the Lord and sing loudly to Him – big songs of praise to Him. It’s only right – it’s so very good. He builds a beautiful house and invites all the discarded to join Him there. He holds those who are broken, He tends to each and every hurt …