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Coffee dates. A luxury I savor as much as a chai tea latte. Though they require some schedule juggling—deadlines wait for no one—the schedule contortions merit the pain. Time with friends refreshes my spirit. It gets me out of my home office where the walls can close in, my only companions wear fur, and they…

In Mark 6:30-32, Jesus called the disciples for a getaway. Remember those? Getaways? You and your sweetheart. Time alone. No interruptions. No responsibilities. Getting away with God has some challenges. Even Jesus had to search for a quiet spot, “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house…

February points us toward chocolate, Valentines, and love, so this month, our training centers on dating God. Jesus gave this warning to the church of Ephesus, “Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first (Rev. 2:4 NIV).” We do well to heed this one, because we live the…

Refusing to love? This quote from the author of A Wrinkle in Time stopped me. “The refusal to love is the only unbearable thing.” Madeleine L’Engle Like a tiny gift that gets lost behind the larger packages and is only found when the brittle Christmas tree is hauled away, I knew I had discovered something…

“Be still, and know that I am God; . . .” Psalm 46:10a (NIV) Just the facts. That’s what I want. For God to spell it out, step by step, where to go, what to do, with whom, the end result, and all the whys behind it tied neatly with a bow. God, instead, puts…

Instant goose bumps. Instant answers. Instant change. The exception, not the rule in Scripture. What’s a lot more normal? Perserverance. Noah spent 100 years digging out splinters, shaking sawdust from his feet, and pleading with lost neighbors as he built the ark (Genesis 6-7 NIV). Abraham and Sarah endured twenty-five years of negative pregnancy tests…

Today’s post stems from a recent class assignment: Visit a museum, choose a piece of art, and write on it. Carl Rungius titled this work Caribou’s Death Struggle. The two caribou battle to the death, but inadvertently lock horns. Trapped, the victor faces death himself. When I saw this painting, I immediately thought of Galatians…

One of my dearest friends passed away last Tuesday after a battle with cancer. We made an unlikely pair, Becky and me. She was everything I’m not. Extroverted. Set a Martha Stewart dinner table. Laughed easily while glowing with a deep love for others. When I first met Becky Done, she struck me as kind…

I love the book Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss. Sam I am pesters a poor unsuspecting fellow to try green eggs and ham. Sam hammers the guy with question after question, “Would you eat them in a box? Would you eat them with a fox?” So I have some questions for you. If God…

The air crackled with shekinah glory. The faint scent of frankincense spun through the whirlwind. A fiery chariot rumbled behind a pair of flaming steeds, burning an image in Elisha’s brain he would never forget as he watched Elijah depart. Depart, because, like Enoch, Elijah didn’t die. One minute, Elijah walked beside his successor. The…