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Why Lent? 3 Reasons to Observe Lent This Year
If your only familiarity with Lent is Mardi Gras, you may have a few questions. What is Lent? How did it start? And why practice it? Lent commemorates Jesus’s 40-day period of fasting and temptation in the wilderness. Historians point to the practice after the Council of Nicea in 325 A.D, but church fathers like…
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How to Love Well: 7 Tips from Ruth and Boaz
February brings a scent of romance to the air, and it doesn’t get better, biblically, than the account of Ruth and Boaz. Scripture tucks the Book of Ruth between Judges and 1 Samuel, two hefty historical books. In actuality, Ruth deserves the spotlight. Top billing. Because it shows us how to love well even when…
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Divine Intervention: How to Spot God at Work
Divine intervention. I’ve seen it countless times. A kid stops short, right before he face-plants into a saguaro cactus. An interview, one the college senior hadn’t planned on keeping, led to her dream job. Specific guidance was given for prayer regarding a son going through (and successfully completing) Navy SEAL training. Three unexpected years of…
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This Little Light of Mine: How to Shine
Christmas. The season of lights and a season where my light easily dims. My workload for December is proving intense, and that’s just work. The pressures of the season are enough to snuff out the brightest of lights. My friend Pam quipped that men believe in Santa because they woke up Christmas morning and everything…
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Thankfulness: Make It a Hard Habit to Break
Fall spices. I love them. The aroma of cinnamon throughout the house. The punch to the palate of ginger and cloves. The gritty texture of nutmeg and cardamom. When no one’s looking, I usually double their amounts in any recipe whether it’s pumpkin pie, gingerbread, or molasses cookies. And chai tea lattes? My favorite. Sprinkled…
Read More 3 Ways to Make Room for Joy
“When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.” Matthew 2:10 NIV I love Matthew’s account of the Magi (please note they were not at the stable), but I’ve always found joy rather elusive. It plays hide and seek with me. Ever feel that way? Could it be that joy was right there and I hadn’t…
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My Never-to-be-a-Best-Selling Book
In April of 2019, I wrote Bite-sized Theology for Little Bits, a series of theological concepts on the lower shelf for younger readers. My first topic? Sin. Hence, the never-to-be-a-best-seller blog title. But God put His fingerprints all over it. He even woke me up at 2 am to work on it. So, what better…
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The Secret to a Joy-Filled Christmas While Juggling Pinterest-Perfect Holiday Expectations
My friend, Pam, always said that men believed in Santa Claus because when they woke up Christmas morning, everything had already been done. They neglected to see the behind-the-scenes work: baking, cleaning, shopping, etc. Know the feeling? Joy bursts from the Christmas story like fireworks on the Fourth of July. When we still had kids…
Read More A Christmas Quiz for You
It’s finals time. As my college student takes his finals, here’s a quiz to test your biblical Christmas knowledge: How did Mary and Joseph get to Bethlehem?a. Chariotb. Covered wagonc. Donkeyd. No one knows. Jesus was born in:a. The Bethlehem Innb. A stablec. A caved. A manger The angels told the shepherds to look for:a.…
Read More Good Manners and Our Good God
“Give thanks in all circumstances.” 1 Thessalonians 5:18 NIV Yes ma’am. No sir. Please. Thank you. If you were raised in the South, you learned these manners before you could walk. “Thank you” was imperative whether you received the best present ever or Aunt Ethel’s yearly gift of tidy whities. Which of us have never…
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