"Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits—who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. The Lord works righteousness … Continue reading Grief, God’s Goodness and the Work of Remembering
Every year, October rolls around. Even when I try to forget, my body remembers. Although I love the fall colors and the cooler temperatures, we have experienced too much loss and pain in October to skip into the month with excitement. Yesterday I received this email from a dear friend: “Tomorrow is October. I know … Continue reading Being Remembered is a Gift
Day 9: Psalm 18:1–2 — I love you, Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. When life feels uncertain, do you take refuge in who God is—or in what … Continue reading Refuge is not a place—it is a Person.
I recently had an opportunity to go on a service retreat with a group of ninth grade students. The main purpose of the retreat was to talk about servant leadership and what that looks like in high school while giving them the opportunity to spend some time sprucing up a camp for people with disabilities. … Continue reading Teenagers Get a Bad Rap
Day 1: Psalm 23:1 — "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want." Where do you act right now as though the Shepherd is not enough? This question comes from Day 1 of Who is this King of Glory?, the first journal in the Sacred Questions from the Psalms series. I learned … Continue reading Day 1: The Shepherd Has Everything I Need
Sacred Questions from the Psalms is here. Nine years ago, this started as a single prayer calendar idea, one Scripture a day so whoever used it could pray in God's own words. It has grown into something much bigger than I ever expected — a series of guided journals, each one built entirely around a … Continue reading Sacred Questions from the Psalms
The plan was to share the first three journals this week. I have not finished proofing them yet, so that's going to wait a little longer because life is happening. We just moved, school started, and this past weekend was senior retreat — which meant late nights, real conversations, and spontaneous schedule changes. Saturday night, … Continue reading When Life Happens
It all started with the simple idea of a themed calendar. My mom, in the middle of chemo, asked me to help her put one together for the church one more time. She was not sure she would have another Christmas. Over the years she had filled them with favorite recipes, wedding photos, all kinds … Continue reading Where This Began
Do you choose a word of the year and wonder what to do next? More than ten years ago, a friend shared the idea with me of choosing a word of the year. It was a couple of years after our son had run ahead to Heaven, and the grief I was carrying was heavy. … Continue reading Word of the Year Workbook
For twelve years, we have grieved the earthly loss of our son, Joshua. After he ran ahead to Heaven, I scoured God’s word, longing to learn as much as I could about it. Scripture doesn’t tell us much about what it will be like. For whatever reason, God has chosen not to tell us much … Continue reading Glimpses of Heaven
