How is heaven to come down to earth? Often in the prayers of the early church God is referred to as Eternal One. In some records of the prayer Jesus taught his disciples to pray, it ends with these words: Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever. God is the forever One—an idea we both cannot comprehend and that the strangest things bear light upon it… Read More
Free…Like Freedom and Free Book
Well, the day is beginning to wrap up as I send this out or maybe it already has where you live. Whether the sun is beginning to peak out or hide-away, here’s a story for you. But first, if you don’t have a lot of reading time tonight—I want you to have this free gift from me—my book is free on Amazon Kindle! Click here to go get it. Once upon.. Read More
How Freedom Sings P.S. It’s not how we thought
When I got married I wanted to dance. I don’t mean I was so in love that I felt like dancing. I mean there was that too. But, really I wanted dance to literally be a part of our ceremony. Or, at least, afterwards? I had grand schemes, all locked away in my mind. For several reasons none of this occurred, but there was a woman I knew who did dance. So.. Read More
Kick “Perfect” to the Curb, Where it Belongs
I have often made the mistake in my thinking and operating as a mom that if I am not doing it “perfectly” then I am not doing well enough. The other day I sat around the table with my kids, after a previously sad day. I could feel we were all still on the mend. The day before one of my children just flat out decided there was something he.. Read More
Exploring His Presence to Live More Present in 2016, Part 2 of 3 (OR: Waking up in a different language)
Lately, I’m on my way back to go forward again. And the best way to describe that is to say, I am here. Mercy is teaching me this. I’ll back up on what I mean by that for a minute…One morning a few years ago, I woke up speaking Indonesian. Yeah. (For those of you who don’t know me personally: I grew up a Midwest gal and currently have got.. Read More
I Choose Joy Because God
It’s what the children know without an explanation or need for one. It’s what they don’t know too and why they need me to know it. Joy is a choice. The often cited “research” results that children laugh 400 times a day compared to the 17.5 times of an adult has been revealed as an urban myth. However, as a mom to several young children I can vouch that there.. Read More
Burnt Toast: A Prayer, (and poetry too)
Wouldn’t it be just the way of it? The morning I have this wonderful break-through thought, a certain breath from heaven kind-of-thought that transforms my affections and makes me ache with the longing to honor my God even as I cook breakfast for my family, all filling me up warm and bright inside—I burn the toast.
I don’t mean burn in the toaster kind-of-burn the toast, I mean, “Everybody open the windows before the fire alarm goes off!”, kind-…
A Choice: A Prayer
It was the middle of the night. One of the little one’s had a potty accident. Walking and working with my eyes barely slit open, I had this hope that if I didn’t open them any further, somehow, that would make them easier to close again just as soon as I could get my head back to my pillow. I didn’t want any big thoughts here, just: get it done, go back to sleep. Sometimes it works, but not this night…
It’s here! (With a give-away to celebrate)
It’s here! The hush of the evening after a brimming-with-life day aaaand!! the second edition of my first book came in the mail! I didn’t say much about it this summer. There’s been so much happening and much to learn I hardly knew where to begin, but I’m excited to unpack a little at a time this journey, tell you more about what I’ve been learning and all the good.. Read More
Temptation: A Prayer
Another week is beginning, how’s our hearts? Those hurts that came, that come and come again in different ways, but sometimes feel the same? I’ll always hold on to a simple whisper that literally changed my life a few years ago. Imagine me in the kind of pain where you curl up on the floor and ugly cry, “This is too hard, too hard!”… And then—so simply, “It’s suppose to be.” Lord,.. Read More