He looked down at the hand that rested in his, reveling for a moment over all that it had done and would do. And the images came rushing like tidal waves through a hall of mirrors. This was a hand that knew work, had grappled with hard realities, had held her wearied low-slung head when […]
Miss you, me. But I’m still here, so it’s ok.
I miss this girl. But, also… I don’t. I miss that body that didn’t ache, that felt small and agile, and ready to jump out of a bus—and run across NYC’s Times Square with Jacqueline to try to beat the sunset to the top of a building for someone’s once in an all too short […]
Bubble Wrap
Trauma. Last month I had to fill out a form that asked for the address of my old photography business. I could not remember the street name, the house number. Nothing. My lovely little yellow Dutch colonial whose door I painted Irish green, whose walls I spent literal months rejuvenating, whose yard I turned into […]
Take me
Take my wounds, take my scars,Take our aching, quaking hearts,And make them into works of art.Take my tears, take my pain,Take our clouds weighed down with rain.Take my empty fragile vase,And fill it with your precious grace.Take my head and lift it up.Overflow my broken cup.You redeem each tear that streams, for every loss and […]
Listening
I stood alone in this wood with only the shuffling of a small sniffing hound. The hushed whispers of spring’s first movements made the only other discernable sounds. I stopped to listen and tune my ear from the stirring madness of the everything to the faint almost nothing rustling of earth’s symphony just under the […]
Weaving Hope in the Story
Gangsters go for the throatThe fingersThe knee caps LiarThief goes for the throatIf he can silence the story tellersHe gets to spread his fakenews“Death is winning every where. Might as well join up!” Living, speaking, praising, prayingIs our sweet revenge Writing another chapter about death in reverse Among the Irish, that band of merry death […]
Where are you staying
The Word showed upIn local time and space The same size as the rest of us, but he contained much more His followers peppered him with questions Where are you staying? COME AND SEE He gave no fixed address: 1- he didn’t have one2- he wanted us to seek him and find him even into […]
Can I be done?
Little legs swung from a Scandinavian named chair from the blue and yellow store No matter how much they ate Five bites yet remained The daily cry was “can I be done?” The voice of frugal wisdom said “two more and you can be done.” All my heroes were cut off in their prime Gospel […]
Hope and hurt
Hope and hurt go hand in hand, permanent partners, like ocean and sand. Like love and loss. Like Christ and cross. If one is to be cunning as a serpent but is not innocent as a dove, she ceases to be either. Hope is no more in the absence of hurt like a bird without […]
The gift without a bow
I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Psalm 27.13 NASB This verse has been both a balm and thorn in the side of a friend who is going through a trial that has no end in sight. Is it […]
Out with the old
Well, we got the old oven and its cabinet the left side lower cabinets, and all of the badly worn laminate flooring out. I have a problem. I actually sorta love the original tile. It has shiny white divots that catch the light. And I just love the dark floor being gone. Unfortunately, the tile […]
23
This is us on our Honeymoon in Lake Tahoe. We got married 23 years ago today. We were tiny babies. Everyone who met us that week thought we were teenagers that eloped. He was 25 and I was 20. All perfectly legal. 🥰 Sometimes people who know us tell us how cute we are together […]
Paper Trails
Sailing ships and fairy wings, dragons’ hoards and precious rings, lands, languages, philosophies, broken hearts, and fantasies flit like feathers on a breeze, like ashes floating out to sea. Salt drops fall to ocean leagues like single sheets to libraries for lovers lost and battles won, for softened hearts and souls undone, for wolves that […]
Not My Home
This world, this earth is not my home. (Oh blessed hope, oh hiraeth that quickens now my breath.)Her much hailed princes and her thrones are void of any power to change the heart or bring about shalom. The haughty eyes of man so full of plans they’re bulging out of place, cannot contain the fullness […]
Tentacles
Trauma has no expiration date, no “use by” stamp, no certificate of death. Just when you thought, “Well, I’m glad that’s through,” its fungal rot wraps silent slithering tendrils ‘round your ankles, neck, and arms. Loose at first. Invisible at first. Like a mosquito on your neck, too small to tip a tiny scale or […]
Portfolio
I have been unsure of where to go with my photography website for the past year or so. I am not currently pursuing photography full time as I am working full time at Samaritan Ministries. However, I did not like the idea of zapping all of my images off of the internet forever. I also […]
Under The Dirt
This song was our comfort on one of the hardest days we have endured together. We held onto each other and cried our eyes out as this song beat its rhythm on our eardrums and hearts. It will never not make me cry because that day ripped us wide open, but it was in that […]
No Going Back
“How do you pick up the threads of an old life? How do you go on, when in your heart you begin to understand… there is no going back? There are some things that time cannot mend. Some hurts that go too deep, that have taken hold.” – Frodo Baggins Frodo was right. There is […]
Cloud of Witnesses
The worst text I’ve ever received. The words that pull the air right out of your lungs without your permission. A year ago at almost just this time. The moment you know is guaranteed to come but you are nonetheless completely unprepared for when it does. When I think about it, I still can’t help […]
Listen Up, Brother Pastor… You Are the Broken Beloved.
Rev. 3 1“And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: ‘The words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. “‘I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead. 2Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I […]
The Countdown is On
I could never have planned how Burke’s first year out of high school would be. In a million years I would have never imagined we’d get to spend so much “bonus” time together. Never could have imagined we’d be co-workers or that he would be going to University of Kentucky or joining the Air Force. […]
Echo His Beauty
A friend posted this passage tonight, I’m sure for much different reasons than me. It ministered to my soul though as I lay here, awakened by my dreams and kept awake by thoughts that so easily wander and wonder if God can truly be trusted over the fears and anxieties that clamor for mental center-stage. […]
The Undertow
My heart aches this morning as I think about all that is so broken about our world, nation, cities, churches, families, and hearts. As I read the thoughts of people who think the way to prevent children from being unwanted is to violently kill them before they can realize they are unwanted. As I read […]
Peace in the Storms
Tonight I’m struggling to hold onto this truth as I awoke suddenly from a bad dream that brought up flashes of time against my will, things I must daily bury deep at the foot of the cross. Tonight I must hold fast to the truth that peace is something that Jesus brings where there was […]
I Got Nothin’
9 As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed. 10 For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to […]
Adoption
Adoption is a beautiful thing. It changes each life touched by it, whether by sheer beauty or by the washing of constant waves of trauma. Not every adoption story involves the same level or variations of difficulties. But it is a double edged sword, for it always involves grief, and often compounded grief. It might […]
Strong Spotless Lamb
Exodus 12:5-6 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats, 6and you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs at twilight. How many times have I […]
Breaking Yokes
Isaiah 58 3‘Why have we fasted, and you see it not? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you take no knowledge of it?’ Behold, in the day of your fast you seek your own pleasure, and oppress all your workers. 4 Behold, you fast only to quarrel and to fight and to hit with a […]
Jesus Math
We cannot know salvation until we know that the life we need is found only in a dying savior. Our salvation is in the confounding mathematics of Christ that to decrease is to increase, to lose is to gain, to die is to live. Minus equals plus. It goes against everything rational within us. We […]
Joy in Jesus
In some of my darker moments over the last year or so I have cried out to God and asked him why this life has to hurt so much. I felt the darkness wrap around my heart and mind such that it seemed my joy had been stolen from me. But even in those times […]
His Eye is On the Cardinal
And I know he watches me… This morning I watched this beautiful, cheerful little friend of ours take his last breath. We saw his lovely lifelong friend fly away after he hit the window with a loud bang and fell to the ground. We heard her calling him from a nearby perch near their nesting […]
Counselor Cred
It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man. – Psalm 118:8 Put not your trust in mere people. This includes those whom you are naturally inclined to trust. Jesus is infinitely more trustworthy than any one person or entity to which you have given too much power in your […]
Beyond the Blue
The more you let go of in order to follow the sometimes terrifying leading of the Holy Spirit, the more you find your greatest treasure is not something you can let go of at all because in fact he won’t let you go. Beyond the Blue by Josh Garrels
Benefit of the Doubt
Do not believe everything you hear about people. Especially if it doesn’t jive with what you know from actually knowing them. We owe one another a debt of love. That debt being paid is sometimes going to be in the form of the benefit of the doubt. Owe no one anything, except to love each […]
A Winter Prayer
A Winter Prayer Good Maker, I stare at my bare branches and feel naked AshamedDid I not sign up to be Always Spring, Always Green?As I look down I can’t even see my roots All I see is leaf litter, the waste product of my past beauty – which may never come again. But as I think […]
What is salvation for?
It is the crushing of the serpent’s head by the Seed of the woman. The Seed that died and went into the ground and sprang up to new life. As James 1:18 says we are a kind of firstfruits. We are the buds on the tree of the new creation inaugurated when that shoot of […]
Master Craftsmen
This may come as a terrible shock but people are still going to die in 2017. It is right, of course, to be angry that death plays such a relentless role. And yet we are perennially shocked at its audacity. It’s like an endless game of whack-a-mole. And we hate it for its persistence in […]
It’s A Wonderful Life
Mary has always been the hero in this story to me. Her character came to mind many times as I have labored to beautify the homes God has given us by his grace. And her tenacity and belief in her husband and his devotion to his calling and community has always been a huge inspiration […]
Promises, Promises
God makes promises to His people. Can you imagine, as a child perhaps, being promised something and never paying attention to what the promise is? Most kids will pretty much never let their dad forget the ice cream he promised, or the puppy, or the special time together. And they will never ever forget what […]
Far as the curse is found
I love it that at Christmas so many people, even those who don’t believe, find themselves singing about a savior who came to earth as a baby, about a world long laid in sin, about a divine night when heaven broke through the night sky and proclaimed to the forgotten and the lowly, that the […]
Thanks
I’m thankful for God’s faithfulness through the hardest year of my life thus far. I’m thankful for my job and for the opportunity to work with people who love Jesus so much. I am thankful that I get to pray with and minister to hearts that are afraid, in shock, grieving, tremblingly trusting as part […]
WTNFTT
The last few weeks on social media has had me going: WT #&%*@! The sadness, fear, and rage that it stirred in me was ugly. This media may be social, but, in many hearts, has only led to forming more polarized tribes. (This point has been made very forcefully and eloquently by Senator Ben Sasse […]
Unless a Seed Falls to the Ground
This was my dad’s bill plate, a quintessential ingrained memory for us as kids. He walked in the back door every day holding this. He would kiss mom and then go directly to his cupboard where he would open his bill plate and file all of his paperwork. This system, like much of what made […]
Pastor, you need a Nathan.
II Samuel 12:7 Nathan said to David, “You are the man! Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘I anointed you king over Israel… —- For clarity’s sake, Nathan was not a yes man. He was not saying, “You da man, dawg!” He was ripping David’s blinders off so he could see the ugly […]
Sans Dad
Apartment ownership/management is not for the faint of heart. It’s hard work. I’m so proud of my mom, sister, brother in law, and nieces in their first “sans Dad” apartment turn-over. My mom found out this was going to be vacated just a few days after Dad died. I was so worried this notification was […]
He Gives Us Words For Our Pain
Give ear to my prayer, O God, and hide not yourself from my plea for mercy! Attend to me, and answer me; I am restless in my complaint and I moan, because of the noise of the enemy, because of the oppression of the wicked. For they drop trouble upon me, and in anger they bear a […]
Learn to Love Like Jesus
We must learn to love as Christ loves us. Giving love. Being present for people in their hardest times. Being living sacrifices. And we must do it all without any expectation that they will be around for us in our loneliest or most painful experiences. None of Jesus’s best friends stood by him or cried […]
Art Therapy
It’s good, in the midst of a year of deep losses, to find a thing to do that feeds your soul. I just began painting last year. I have done a few acrylic pieces. The other day I decided I wanted to learn to watercolor so I bought some supplies. I painted an apple and […]
Trusted Sender
In Sunday School, our teachers have been leading us through the key doctrines that anchor our understanding of the Church and Discipleship. This past Sunday we were discussing the inerrancy and authority of Scripture. The main points emphasized were the Authority and Clarity of Scripture. Scripture is authoritative, not because it is a magic book […]
Porch-Sitting
I was never one for fishing. You used to be happy to sit on a couch or a rocking chair on a porch and ponder. No book in hand. No phone at your fingertips. Nothing to twiddle. Nothing to entertain, besides the world and your brain. Sometimes I wondered how you could just sit and […]
Being mothered
The week your dad dies and all of her grown up kids come home feeling small, quivering like a clutch of ducklings caught in a flash storm, is the week you see what your mom is made of. You see her strength as her adult kids intermittently bury their heads in her neck leaving it […]
Altar Builders
Though through the stress and strain of lifemy thread of trust may breakthe cable of his faithfulnessno storm can ever shake. —— These ladies… each have left and are leaving a legacy that has the name of Jesus all over it. Women who have shown me how to love uncomfortably, fiercely, beyond “safety.” They walk […]
Walk on Your Knees
Excited. Cheerful. A little wide-eyed but you don’t know why because you’re called and equipped and assured that God’s at your side. You don’t understand, dear friend, that today you walk into the vapor of Satan’s breath, into the very jaws of death. Why at your steps do tremble the very gates of hell? They […]
He is Seated
Are you in Christ? Are you called by His name? If you say yes and amen to this, it is only true because of what HE has done. HE started this work in you and HE will be faithful to complete it. HE bought you with a price. That’s why the fact that he is […]
12-70-Multitude
I love it when I’m reading the Bible and something strikes me as just crazy cool, revealing just a little more of God’s heart for us. I’ve been reading through Exodus lately, and just yesterday came to the part where God parted the Red Sea before the Israelites so that they could walk across on […]
The Secondborn who becomes the Firstborn
In my recent readings through the Old Testament, in particular, something has jumped out at me a lot about older and younger sons. Older sons were, of course, supposed to receive the lion’s share of any inheritance. Culturally speaking, this was a no-brainer. Older son takes all. But for some reason, we see this culturally […]
Eat and Remember
It’s interesting how nostalgias are passed down through generations. And it’s significant how strong a reminder food is of the stories that go with it. Growing up, mom would occasionally buy this bizarre tubular food, Boston Brown Bread, known to me as “brown bread in a can.” She bought it because it reminded her of […]
Love is Risky
There is no love existent in the light of glory that has not the shadow of sorrow moving around it. Friends, love is inherently risky. It’s dangerous even, because we know some days it will be painful. Some days it will require more than we want to relinquish. When we choose to love another with […]
All will look
I love it that people gathered and gazed in awe at the beauty and wonder at God’s amazingly synchronized heavenly light show today. The sense of anticipation. The shouts of wonder. The laughter. Now imagine the Son of God in all of his glory… Revelation 1 16 In his right hand he held seven stars, […]
How to Love a Racist
A fellow Christian, in a conversation I was reading today, mentioned how much of a struggle it is for her to want to offer grace to the racist. I loved her honesty in admitting that she really rather hated them. I think it’s the struggle we all face when we hear of someone promoting an […]
20th Anniversary
20 years with Shawn. That’s a lot of socks picked up, a lot of stray cereal bowls recovered, a lot of coffee, a lot of lessons learned, a lot of arguments, a lot of “I forgives,” a lot of kisses, a lot of places lived, a lot of pets, a lot of laughter (and a […]
Staying up late
I love all my boys, but I particularly love staying up late and getting to know the hearts of my teenagers better. I love it every bit as much as I did rocking them to sleep when they were babies. Parents, don’t let your frustrations with all the emotions and attitudes that come with the […]
Big Picture
We may argue more than once about every phase of a big project but we share the same big picture. We want to make things pretty and not go broke in the process. This is analogous to our whole marriage. We do bicker and can get into some pretty sticky disagreements but we share a […]
Break us, Lord
Psalm 10 1Why, O LORD, do you stand far away? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble? 2In arrogance the wicked hotly pursue the poor; let them be caught in the schemes that they have devised. 3For the wicked boasts of the desires of his soul, and the one greedy for gain curses […]
Faithful Hurt
Oh, faithful hurt, the one that heals, that breaks and wounds the heart that feels, come once again and bid me die, tell not my soul a lovely lie. Tell not my heart to heed itself, nor tell my mind to trust its doubts, but wound them gently with your help whose whisper drowns out […]
Forced Fruits
The silence is long in the night of the soul where the darkness wraps ’round her like a deepening well. But you’re breaking up ground that’s as hard as a rod and you’re growing her roots through the clay and the clod. The spring lies beneath the frost hardened earth that you’re forcing away, and […]
He’s Mine
Inspired by Josh Garrels’, “Heaven’s Knife.” I’ll take your hand and won’t let go. You were without help, so alone. I’ve looked for you, the one my heart loves, my life long, as words to a song that we know and knew we’d sing forever. Like the first girl in the garden cleft from your side, I […]
You’re Not Equal Here
Little One in hibernation let us start your education on the mathematics of your current incubation. Your first lesson, you know, is easy as a piece of pi. One plus one is two and there you are: a gote of zy, a little addition going through cellular division. You grow and grow quite exponentially and at […]
The Unacknowledged Longing
I’m in the process of reading a great deal of writings by Margaret Sanger in an effort to understand the mind that went into the formation of one of the most diabolical organizations in America today, that of Planned Parenthood. Tonight I spent a good amount of time reading The Pivot of Civilization. (Lots to wade […]
Sanger’s Many Ironies
I’ve been reading some of Margaret Sanger’s writings lately to catch the many obvious flaws but also the many ironies in her thought processes in order to elucidate the trajectory of ideas that led to Planned Parenthood in its current diabolical iteration. Ironically she nailed some real societal ills. She effectively calls out Christians for […]
Trembling Gates
“Beloved, if it had been possible to destroy the church of God on earth, it would have been destroyed long ago.” -Spurgeon And the gates of hell quiver at her love and submission to His call. For they know she will prevail because every footstep in her humble sojourn on this ball through stormy gale […]
The Prodigal and His Brother
You can’t see it clearly, you don’t even know the emptiness of all of it, cause you’re so caught up in the afterglow of everything you’ve conquered of everyone you’ve bought, the arms of empty strangers, the love of all your stuff that even now disintegrates, gets beaten up and scuffed. For all your fancy […]
It’s Dark
Zeph. 3:17 The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing. Friends, if you are suffering or fearful or afraid that the trials you are facing mean He’s […]
I Will Rejoice
I cry out, O LORD, for your help. Will you not save me or hear my voice? Violence arises, injustice goes forth. Does none of it reach your ear? Does none of it reach your ear? Your glory shall flood the whole earth like water’s that cover the sea so deep. As the fish, we’re […]
Christmas Fractals
During some of our recent Advent readings I’ve had some great reminders of how God shows HImself in fractals. You know what fractals are, right? Fractals are essentially self-similar repeating patterns whether you view them from far off or extremely close-up. They are all over the place in nature. They are where math and art meet. As […]
Yours is the Kingdom
That night when you find that you’re lonely, and the dark clouds of gloom seem to rise, the feeling you have you’ll go hungry that the cupboard and shelf might be bare and the world is upturned and your trust has been spurned, like chaff blown away on the air; Fear not, little flock, fear […]
Have you heard this song?
Amazing. Play it loudly. Really loudly. Close your eyes. There is more, friends. See the city through your tears? It shines with His glorious face. Into the land of the living Black bleeds orange into blue I am coming to life, Light is breaking throughI can hear the bells in the city Across the ancient […]
Walk with me
(For my friends who grieve.) Walk with me or I walk alone. I cannot talk; There are no words. Nothing helps or heals this broken open gaping wide jagged edges bleeding on the inside. I’m like a vapor. Barely here and still I Walk walk walk. Walk with me as my covering in the black […]
Walking through God's open doors
This morning I read this post by Alece at Grit and Glory. Basically she argues against the common Christian sentiment, “If God wants us there, then everything will work out. The doors will keep opening for us, and everything will just come together.” I must say that I agree with her. Of course most people probably […]
Making the Best of the Distance (AKA Why I love Skype)
My hunkahunkaburninlove comes home from Staff Orientation in Arizona at Food for the Hungry tomorrow. Oh, I’m so happy. I’m so happy he’s coming home but I’m so so happy he loves his job. I’m so excited about this organization. I’m very thankful. But I’m still really happy he’s coming home tomorrow. It’s not quite the […]
Be Weak
Jesus loves me, this I know For the Bible tells me so Little ones to Him belong, They are weak but HE is strong WE are weak. We are cast down. We are burdened. We are mournful, weary, empty, shaking and crumpled at our savior’s feet. We cannot even lift our heads. What becomes of […]
For our friends today and for all who grieve as ones with hope…
It's my birthday…
Wow. What a marathon of a birthday. My 35th was a strange, sad, happy, crazy, blessed birthday. Started my birthday by finishing watching The Help with Shawn at around 12:30 a.m. Woke up at 5:00 to get ready to take the Mr. to the airport for his 10 days of orientation with Food for the […]
Joys and Sorrows
Joys and sorrows crows and sparrows droughts and downpours hearts and arrows Is life ever and forever all a mix of pain and pleasure Blood and water ice and fire grace and graveyards doom and shire hopes and fears crowns and crosses cribs and caskets gains and losses Will the always be a never this […]
And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. Ephesians 5.2
Christ Entered In
Oh, there is a day, and it hurts like hell, when it seems like the sun has gone away, soul sorrow so deep that no mouth can tell, but Jesus has felt it on the world’s darkest day. Sleep will not come and tears will not end, the sorrow so great it’s just under your […]
Come untrue…
Sam’s question is the cry of our hearts today. But Sam lay back, and started with open mouth, and for a moment, between bewilderment and great joy, he could not answer. At last has gasped: ‘Gandalf! I thought you were dead! But then I thought I was dead myself. Is everything sad going to come untrue? What’s […]
Thoughts on Christmas Sunday
I recently read this post by Ed Stetzer along with other articles on the same subject several weeks back. I must humbly say that I am both truly sad and disappointed about this 6%. Our lives are not our own, our time is not our own, our money is not our own, The Lord’s Day […]
I don't have a title.
I’m tired. Too tired to come up with a fetching title. Physically, emotionally, spiritually and in every other way. Tired. I’m tired of the daily grind, the trials and responsibilities of parenting, homeschooling, cooking, working, looking for work for my husband. Tired of moving and tired of thinking of moving. Tired of messes, stresses, laundry, […]
Bring on the Rain?
Someone this morning posited the question; “If you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain”. Anyone else think this applies to home educating? How? The rainbow… A sign of God’s promise not to destroy us all…. yes, I need that regularly. We are a testy bunch. The rain of trials and testing […]
Praying to Facebook
Recently, in the heat of my 1st world miserable annoyance with FB as fellow human beings around the world go hungry and without the knowledge of a savior, I was pondering the role of FB in my life. I was pondering, “hmm… what did we do with all of our unexpressed thoughts before FB (and […]
Beautiful
God is teaching me so much about His grace and infinite mercy and kindness lately. Circumstances are not ideal and they rarely are for our own liking. As humans we always can think of something, diminutive or grandiose, worth tweaking that would presumably make circumstances just *that* much more pleasant for us, one way or […]
Living Water
Last night I was awakened at 3 a.m. by someone who didn’t feel well. Unfortunately for me that meant that I could not fall back asleep until about 6 a.m. because I was decorating our new place (that we move into in about 3-4 weeks) in my head and the decorator in my brain would […]
Gentle Shepherd
Gentle Shepherd, fierce protector bind my wounds, my soul inspector. Table turner, Humble servant break my heart, and crush the serpent. Sea Commander, water walker calm my spirit as I falter. Gracious Savior, sin’s contender grant my heart a calm surrender. King anointed, older brother let me never serve another. World creator, people buyer, wash […]
Word Clouds
Words are like clouds that float out of reach, hovering vapors, looking solid to touch, they come in as thoughts that drift into speech, like sprinkles or showers, too little or much. Some words like cirrus are high wisps of cloud if the pressure agrees and conditions are nice, but many will make their way […]
Imago Dei Coram Deo
You fashioned us in Imago Dei, soft moons to the sun’s bright glorious ray. We see through a glass though dimly light, a pallid opaque between morning and night. We are but mirrors all broken and cracked, your light, we, in imperfect prisms refract. Coram Deo, we live under your gaze, though your face yet […]
How beautiful…
Everyone needs to see this. As English speaking Christians we have completely lost the wonder and amazement of being able to read God’s word in our own language. We have copies of it everywhere… Lord, that I might treasure your word as these people do. My husband and I wept as we watched this and […]
A Labor of Love
Tonight during our advent reading we read about Mary. The reading pointed out that she was really the very first Christian. Kiss the Son She was the first one that believed, the first to call Him Savior, her savior Jesus, she received, was Emmanuel inside her. The Holy Spirit wrought in Mary salvation’s only hope […]
Barren One, Rejoice!
You were cast off and deserted like a wife, in your spirit you were grieved for the innocence of youth you lost. Your spirit was ravaged and bereaved. You were afraid and shaken like a widow, confounded at your sure disgrace. But you shall not feel your loss forever, the memory of reproach shall be […]
The True Son
Jesus, the true Adam Jesus, the true Joshua Jesus, the true Moses Jesus, the true Israel Jesus, our Immanuel Israel once fled to Egypt’s gleams during famine in their own lands. God ordained it through Joseph’s dreams and Israel’s sons’ corrupted hands. Jesus was ushered to Egypt too. Corruption of Israel’s “sons,” it would seem, […]
The Conquering King
Oh Christian, take heart, no need for despair for hope is the thing that is filling the air! No fear for tomorrow or what is to come for Christ is the King and earth his Kingdom! At Christmas we hear the songs of the king the babe in the manger who changed everything. We hear […]
Repentance
How can I answer the Lord of Hosts? Behold, I am of lowly account. I can do nothing but cover my mouth. Before God to what do I amount? I’ve spoken once, which was one too much I will not attempt to answer the Lord. Should I proceed and answer twice, the aftermath I could […]
When God Answers
A whirlwind thundered and God spoke aloud demanding, “Who dares question God? You speak as if you know my ways, as if you hold my measuring rod! Tell, me if you understand it all! Where were you when I laid out the earth, when the sea was established in form? Where were you on the […]
Testing Testing 1-2-3
Recently I heard some arguments from Christians that God doesn’t test us. A look through scripture will clearly reveal the opposite though. God most definitely tests us. Clearly we don’t like the idea of tests. They make us squirm. They might make us feel sick. We are typically afraid of failure. As I thought about […]
My Redeemer
Who is righteous before our God? Who can contend with his might? One could give a thousand answers, but not a one would be right. Wise in heart and mighty in strength, He seals up the stars and rules the sun. In his anger the mountains he uproots, for who can ask, “God, what have […]
The King
Hallelujah! Salvation and glory belong to Him Each one of His judgments is true and just. For He has crushed underfoot the whoring one who corrupted the earth with her craven lust. For all of the righteous who e’er have been slain He’s avenged upon her that blemished His name. The blood of His prophets […]
Thought
All things seem very large to us as children because we are so small. People seem big, cars seem big, buildings seem big… everything. Big, big, big. And as we grow those things seem to shrink somehow, sometimes to disappointing proportions because we are bigger, we’ve seen more, we know more. We’re not looking up […]
The Word
In the beginning was the Word, the Word by which the world was given birth, the only Word that holds all things together and brought salvation to the earth. This Word is with and is our God, that Word which is the light of all mankind. This Word which is a lamp unto our footsteps, […]
The Vine
I have learned a new song this past week and I am rather ODing on it at this point. I really like ODing on songs of praise to our God. I don’t think I can quite do it often enough. Something tells me I won’t get bored at all with all the constant praise going […]
Not Forsaken
Common Grief by Edith Hays Mulligan (my Great Grandmother) We are all crushed in the winepress of a common grief, squeezed by death one way or another, yielding a drink sweet as wine or bitter as vinegar, a thank offering to God or a sour sponge to the parched lips of a crucified Christ. The […]
Well Chuffed….
(picture taken from JO’s website) I just have to tell the world that I am forever indebted to Jamie Oliver. I think I shall write him a fan letter. You know why? My man, The Pastor, has cooked dinner three times in the last 7 days. Thanks to Jamie Oliver and his free five minute […]
The Pastor…
He’s not only hot, but he’s a great preacher… if I do say so myself. I love it that even though I live with him and see him in all of his fallenness (How do you spell falleness?) his sermons still move me. I think it’s because he is honest in his preaching about his […]
Brag On Your Man…
You all know from experience that I love bragging on my man here at my blog. It’s just one of the ways that I let my husband know that I’m thinking happy thoughts about him even when he’s not around. It helps me to remember all of the things about him that I love so […]
The Hot Pastor: Episode 1,393,211
Okay, so I don’t think I’ve posted quite 1,393,211 times about The Hot Pastor that I am allowed to spend the night with. Every. Single. Night. But a picture is worth a thousand words, right? Today, however, couldn’t go by without me mentioning just how hot I find The Pastor to be. Don’t get you’re […]
Consider the Lilies of the Field
‘”So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; 29and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and […]
Old Hymns
I love them. Okay… not all of them, but so many. They are so deep and rich and relevant for today. I like my share of modern worship music as well but the songs that bring the most comfort to my soul in just about any kind of hardship are old theologically robust hymns. I […]
Two Books
I’m just about to delve into these two books, one that we picked up several weeks ago and one that we just got earlier today. The Reason for God This one is by Dr. Tim Keller, Pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City. He was invited to Google Headquarters a while back for […]
Will you pray?
I have to step out of my normal, light hearted way of writing to ask you all to pray for my Mother in Law. She has battled cancer off and on for the last 28 years. She had her first battle with breast cancer 28 years ago, had a single mastectomy and chemotherapy. Then just […]
Randomocity
This evening I was repeatedly told I was the best Mom ever and that I was like Mr. Magorium because I “made” some new bath toys. All of the kids old bath toys had gotten disgustingly corroded. I never did find a good bath toy storage solution. Plus I’m just lazy about bath toys. So […]
My song for the day…
I love this song. And I have always loved this particular version of this wonderful hymn, performed on At The Foot of the Cross; Clouds, Rain, Fire by the late Mark Heard. I looked for this all over the internet but I couldn’t find it anywhere so the only way I could figure out doing […]
I wanted to post this yesterday…
but I never got around to it. I love this song. It captures the beauty and the mystery — the scandal — of the cross. Lyrics | Beautiful Scandalous Night lyrics
Excuse me while I swoon…
Amen.
Roses are red, violets are…
who cares about violets? (okay, really, I do… okay? For all of you violet lovers who just decided that I needed to go eat snail poison after what I just said about violets.) But really… violets don’t so much matter right now when I have these sitting in my kitchen. (((((sigh))))) I don’t get flowers […]
They grow so fast…
Children grow so fast. It makes the mother’s heart go pitter pat doesn’t it? It sometimes even draws a tear. Or two. One day they are just little kids… And before you know it they are big. Real big. Super tall long legged strangers. And husbands… well, they go the other way I guess… You […]
Prayers
So we’ve had a few discussions about human reproduction lately with the older two boys using science books from the library. We’ve had some really great conversations. Not at all “scary.” In fact we take joy in teaching them about these things, knowing that we are teaching them that sex is not only a really […]
The Pastor
I like him. He’s my pastor. He’s my friend. He’s my man. He’s a good Dad. Did I mention that he looks incredibly hot when he wears all black. After watching Walk the Line and being on a Johnny Cash kick, I insisted that he buy a nice black shirt. Boy, am I glad I […]
The way to a man's heart…
I am having problems viewing this post in Firefox. You may want to just click on over to my food blog to read it. I don’t think it’s having the same issues. You all know the rest of the saying. “The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.” Yeah, my husband thinks I’m […]
I read something once
Okay, I’ve read a lot of things once and some things more than once. But once when my husband and I were newlyweds I read that you ought to occasionally surprise your spouse with a smattering of little love notes around the house about how much you love them, about why you like them as […]
Well, I knew it was bad…
But I didn’t know it was this bad. 78%How Addicted to Blogging Are You? Mingle2 – Online Dating I’d hate to see what being 100% blog addicted looks like. I suppose it means you do absolutely nothing else. How addicted are you? I always say that it’s a good thing when life takes over to […]
Hey look what I did for my hubby today!
Click it! So this is what I do for fun now. Play with blogger templates! Nan
Food for thought:
Self-deprication is the forlorn widow of self-discipline.(Read the comments for further explanation.) :^) Nan
Tightening the Belt…
For a very long time I have been a very frugal person. In the past I have always shopped primarily at thrift stores and garage sales. I got cheap haircuts. I scrimped and saved and bought in bulk where food was involved. Never paid full price for anything. Routinely said no to any extraneous wants […]
Tonight's dinner was problematic.
I simply did not feel like cooking dinner tonight. Okay so I never feel like cooking on Sunday nights. I don’t know why. But Sunday nights are often breakfast for dinner nights where I make pancakes or eggs and toast or canned soup or something relatively easy. Still, rarely do I feed my children flat […]
We've come a long way baby! Ten years to be exact…
My husband and I have been my husband and I for 10 years as of today. He was 25 and I was 20. The day was beautiful. It was a Sunday. We had a beautiful outdoor wedding with over 200 friends and family members there to share the day. Ten years goes by terribly fast […]
Men in Gowns
There is something terribly and inexplicably cute about a man in a hospital gown. I don’t know what it is but there is just something about it that makes me want to kiss him and touch his cheek and feel his forehead and take his temperature and hold his water cup for him and tenderly […]
My husband
Not only does he have clean ears, he is an effective communicator of the gospel of grace. We are hoping to have more up soon but I’ve been looking forward to being able to link you to his sermon audio. Currently there is only one up and online but I’ll be the first to tell […]
Momtrepreneurs in the Spotlight!
I love it that the internet has made it all the more possible for Stay at Home Moms to pursue more of their goals while maintaining their personal priorities at the same time. So many of us desire to stay at home with our children. Some of us strongly desire to homeschool. Before the internet […]
What is your image of a Pastor's wife? (WARNING: I'm gettin' churchy on ya!)
Does it look like this? Or what about this? not to be confused with this… Do you have a preconceived notion about what type of individual becomes a pastor’s wife? Do you think of the minister’s wife as the dear lady who sets her hair regularly, always wears pantyhose and extremely dark red lipstick? Does […]
Sociological Mathematics
Sometimes kids say things that hold more depth and meaning than I think they even know. The other night while riding in our car our seven year old had been quietly contemplating something for a few moments and then suddenly said this, “People all over the world are plussing and people all over the world […]
What's so good about Good Friday?
Why is it called “good” when it seems like such a depressing day? I really hate it that Good Friday has somehow become such a solemn and somber affair. Was it sad that Christ died for our sins? Why can we not go into a Good Friday service with shouts of glory and triumphant joy? […]
I Know that My Redeemer Lives
I’m just mulling over this in my mind this morning. Thought I’d pass it on… Job 19: 23-27 23“Oh that my words were written! Oh that they were inscribed in a book! 24Oh that with an iron pen and lead they were engraved in the rock forever! 25For I know that my Redeemer lives, and […]
Hi. My name is Nan and I am a perpetual practical joker.
Admitting that I have a problem is the first step towards recovery right? And I already have my higher power… So… what? I’m already at step three? Talk about rapid progress! If you don’t like April Fool’s Day, you won’t like living in my house. I can’t shake the constant nagging desire to tormentingly tease […]
Christian history for kids
As you know, I homeschool my kids. History is a high point for all of us. We all love reading and listening to history. Christian history is best, I believe, when weaved (as it was/is in reality) in with the rest of world history. It fits. All of history is part of God’s story and […]
Paige Benton Brown
Wow. Just. Wow. Ladies, if you ever want a spiritual kick in the pants. If you want to hear a woman speak specifically to women about what ought to be our focus in all of life, about “What’s my point?”, about the glory and majesty of Jesus. Go. Buy. This. DVD. Now! It might seem […]
In Other Words…
I never participate in these, but this one caught my eye. “Every time you make a choice you are turning the central part of you, the part of you that chooses, into something a little different from what it was before…either into a creature that is in harmony with God,…or into one that is in […]
Hymn for the day…
As I think about a fellow Pastor’s Wife, Leigh Anne Salter, who recently lost to God’s loving embrace her dear husband and family shepherd who preached this sermon three days before his accident… and as I think about their young children that will grow up without their daddy, my heart aches. I only met Dustin […]
Our hearts are with his family and friends…
My husband blogged about this already so I won’t spend any more words on it. Please keep this family in your prayers and pray that God uses this to glorify Himself and draw others to Himself. I’ll just copy his post here: In Memoriam: Dustin Salter RUF Minister The news just came through the blogosphere […]
Broken Sojourners 