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Every spring the weather app on my phone suddenly becomes an object of intense scrutiny. I’m longing for the sunshine, the spring temperatures, and for trees and flowers to bud. After a cold, dark winter the thoughts of sunshine on my skin and watching the earth come back to life fill me with anticipation. So […]
The Friday morning coffee date. It’s an oasis in the midst of every week. I sit across from my husband with my Cafe Breve and we talk about ALL THE THINGS – ministry, especially our conversations with people, and our children in all of their ages and stages. Sometimes we talk about plans for the […]
Investing in the lives of people is work – the gritty, dirty, sweaty kind. The kind that requires stretchy pants and a pony tail and comfortable footwear – metaphorically speaking of course. It isn’t confined to tidy schedules, and predictable flow charts, and it doesn’t make for an impressive lifestyle blog or instagram pictures. And […]
If the heartache of 2020 was confined to a pandemic and civil unrest, things might be a little more manageable. But the craziness out there hasn’t put an end to the things that go wrong in our homes and churches. Sometimes the troubles roll in like waves and you find yourself shakily pulling yourself up […]
Criticism in ministry seems to come in waves, at least in my experience. We seem to enjoy sweet seasons of an encouraging and upbeat atmosphere in our church body, and then – wham! You find out in a week or two that people aren’t quite as pleased with you as you had been thinking. I […]
Christianity is, at its essence, a willingness to let Someone else be the hero of the story. I find this immensely comforting, because right now I am anything but the hero. In fact, the overwhelming feeling is helplessness. As I write this we are in the second week of social distancing from Covid-19. People in […]
Maybe you have a 100% perfect record in pastoral care, but I must confess – my husband and I don’t. Over the years the accusation has been made on more than one occasion that we haven’t cared for a hurting person like they needed. It’s hard to hear. I always want to defend us, explain […]
I had begun memorizing it a few days ago, that haunting question from James 3:13, “Who is wise and understanding among you?” Of course I meant to memorize the rest of the verse and the verses that follow, but some of my kids came down with the flu, so for the next few days I […]
Christmas is about atmosphere. We all have the atmosphere ingredients that stir us. Cinnamon scented pinecones, or the smell of a fresh tree. Christmas music, children’s excitement over presents. The muted glow of Christmas lights in a dark room, or the flicker of candlelight. Something warm from the oven – pumpkin pie, or sugar cookies, […]
Motivation is an incredibly popular word these days. We talk about needing motivation and losing motivation. We have motivation boards on Pinterest and find our methods of motivation. If we take a minute and think through what we mean by all of that, it’s a little humbling to realize that all this motivation talk is […]
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