Hurdles. They bring to mind Olympic runners, not a blind man from the pages of the Gospels. Yet Bartimaeus was driven by far more than a gold medal. Let’s look at his story. He’s unnamed, known by his father’s, not his own. He’s alone. No family, no friends guide him through the streets of Jericho.…

Where the head goes, the whole body tends to follow. I’m leash training my puppy. A neighbor suggested a Gentle Leader, a collar that rests high behind the ears with another strap fitting over the nose. The leash attaches underneath so that when you pull, you pull the head and not the neck, similar to…

Mustard. Sharp. Pungent. Tangy. I wasn’t a fan until I met my husband. He loves it, and now I do too. For me, a little mustard goes a long way, but God says that’s true of faith as well. In fact, a mustard seed portion of faith is enough to do the job. So, slap…

I had done my homework in researching breeds (I wanted something more protective than our aging Lab.), so I was only mildly concerned when our vet tech said, “From retrievers to a Belgian Mal? Brave girl!” That concern grew when my husband’s co-worker sent him pictures of Mals wreaking havoc in a million different ways.…

Memories. We do our best to capture the moment. Graduations. Weddings. Births. We collect programs, photos, and party favors. Momentos of milestones. Remembering is a good idea. God chose everything from feasts to memorials to help His kids remember. Remember what? His goodness. His faithfulness. His provision. Moses challenges us to remember, “Only be careful, and…

“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” (1 John 3:1 NIV) Lavish. Extravagant. Where did we get the idea God is chintzy? Stingy? Withholding? Actually the idea came from the enemy (see Genesis 3), but that’s a different blog post.…

“We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you.” (2 Chronicles 20:12 NIV) We visited our son in San Diego recently and met some of the guys on his SEAL team. I was especially excited to meet their dog handler and his dog Max. (The SEALs use Belgian Malinois and we…

Conflict. It’s essential in fiction. Sherlock needs Moriarty. Batman needs the Joker. Wesley needs Prince Humperdinck. Without conflict, our hero remains—ordinary. Gandalf still wears gray. Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy remain in England. Harry Potter grows up without that scar. Many question God regarding evil—why He permits it. Why did He create Satan when He…

I was doing some memory work in Romans 1 when the phrase “suppress the truth” grabbed my attention. To suppress means to end, to stop something by force. Do you watch the news? This happens to God’s truth daily. While some actively suppress the truth—not only the truth of God’s existence, but the existence of…

Runners’ feet. They’re not pretty. I lost eight toenails after my first marathon. I go in for the occasional pedicure. But, I don’t let them touch my calluses. Those hard spots of toughened skin protect my toes from the constant pounding of running. Without my calluses, I start over. Blood blisters and all. Calluses form…