Even before we married, my husband and I decided I would stay home with our children while they were young. At the time, in the early 90s, that decision was even less popular than it is now. And on a newbie pastor’s salary, it wasn’t easy to follow through with financially. But with prayer and a step of faith, we… Read More
Glow and Grow! or Blame and Shame?
I’m cleaning out my desk today and one of the fattest files I’ll be tossing has weighed down the file drawer for over a decade now. It’s my “rejection” file. I don’t know if most authors keep their rejection letters or not, but I held onto mine for years. Of course, after a while I no longer received rejection letters…. Read More
When the Going Gets Tough…the Tough Get Practical
Don’t let that title fool you. When it comes to getting to the other side of a difficult personal struggle, the real issues are always spiritual. God is at work amidst the mayhem and pain and disorder and change. And complete and uninhibited cooperation with Him is the only way to get through. This post is part of a series… Read More
You’ve Tried Everything…Now Try “Nevertheless”
Good day, friends. I truly hope it is a good day for you. We’ve been talking here in recent days about handling our personal struggles, those battles and tough situations we all have to face pretty much on our own. They are “assigned to us” and, while we may find solace and even wisdom from others in the midst of… Read More
Maybe I Need a Cone Collar
Sunday afternoon, when my dog-loving daughter Abby was home, we discovered that our smallest and most emotionally insecure dog, Benji, had a large, gaping, puss oozing wound on one of his hind legs. Abby freaked out. That’s Benji there in the front, fresh from the groomer’s last Thursday. Tommy rarely lets him out of his sight. And of course that… Read More
What To Grab in an Earthquake
I’ve experienced ground-shaking sadness and frustration in recent months. Some of it, yes, was due to my own vain imaginations, anxieties, and insecurities. But sometimes the ground on which I had so solidly stood before shook beneath me with startling fury because somebody or something completely moved everything that had once stood firm. I’ve had a jolt or two. Solid… Read More