As a child, I remember waiting for Christmas. It was a magical and exciting time, a mixture of expectation both spiritual and material. Although I would not have understood it this way at the time, it was a combination of a rather mystical waiting for the day of Jesus’ birth and a more down-to-earth excitement […]
Advice or Encouragement?
I was rushing around my newly purchased home about a month after moving in, getting ready to have a group of women from church over. My home wasn’t the only new part of my life. We were in a new state, new city, new church and had just purchased our home after five months in […]
Slow Learner, Patient God
My youngest daughter has a much higher tolerance for clutter than I do. As a mother I want to teach her good habits, and when I see the bathroom is strewn again with all the accoutrements that a teenage girl needs to get ready for the day it gets rather frustrating. Often I think “why […]
A New Song of Patient Hope
Psalm 130:5-6, “I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and I wait for His word. My soul waits in hope for the Lord more than the watchmen for the morning; yes, more than the watchmen for the morning.” A desire for newness isn’t new. I’ve often resolved to change the chorus and tempo of […]
A Challenge for 2022
In my Christmas newsletter I shared that I have never created a bucket list. The Bucket List is a term that began in 2007 by the writer of a film by the same name. It is a list of things a person wants to accomplish before “kicking the bucket.” Thinking about the idea of a […]
Practical Ways to Practice Patience as a Pastor’s Wife (Part 1/2)
As I sat down to write this blog, I realized I had some serious work to do. 1 Corinthians 13:4a contains just five little words but the deeper I dug into them, the more their impact compelled me to consider what they truly meant to me and how I was (and was not) applying them […]
New Year Twinkle Lights
Psalm 31:3-4, 23-24 For you are my rock and my fortress; and for your name’s sake you lead me and guide me; you take me out of the net they have hidden for me, for you are my refuge…. Love the Lord, all you his saints! The Lord preserves the faithful but abundantly […]
Joy in the Waiting
“Mommy, mommy, mommy! MOMMY MOMMY!!!” As my child calls for me with increasing urgency and volume, I try to quickly finish rinsing the heavy pan I have been washing, dry my hands, and go to him. It doesn’t take long, but that doesn’t matter to my son – I didn’t come immediately and he is […]
Not Your Hallmark Christmas
Every year as the Christmas season approaches, my daughters and I look forward to watching Hallmark Christmas movies. We love the romance and sparkle and magic that emanates from the screen. We love walking with the guy and the girl through the neat and tidy, very predictable plot, conflict and resolution, complete with the kiss […]
Labor of Love
“And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” Luke 1:38 “It was not a silent night; there was blood on the ground. You could hear a woman cry in the alleyways that night on the streets of David’s town. The stable was not clean and […]
