Long ago, a children's sermon delivered by a wise, older cousin unexpectedly became part of the fabric of my spiritual life. "When thoughts come to our mind," he said, "we have to figure out what to do with them. Is it something that goes in the trash? Is it a thought to put in our …
Tag: Hearing God
The gift of silence
After an especially stressful day of work at the hospital, I often find myself postponing my return to our home in town and driving out into the country. Will and I have forty acres of land in the beautiful Gyp Hills a few miles outside town. On our land bordered by hills and a tree-lined …
Bible deism
A few months ago, a reader sent me an email asking me some questions about what I called "Bible deism" in one of my posts about hearing God's voice (for the entire series on hearing God, start here.) I do not have time to write a thorough dissertation of the subject, as much as I …
Accusations
Recently someone sent me a letter, urging me to pray about the contents and think about changing my ways. "What in the world does this even mean?" I thought in bewilderment as I read the letter. It was full of Bible verses and vague interpretations. I had no idea what to make of it, other …
Participating with God during the COVID-19 pandemic
The internet is an overwhelming place right now. Yesterday Will and I discussed it as I dropped sweet corn seeds into a newly-tilled patch of earth in our front yard. "It's like walking into a room where 30 people are all screaming at you," Will said. The current coronavirus pandemic has made many people nearly …
Continue reading Participating with God during the COVID-19 pandemic
Shame and Criticism
Is shame the only thing that grows into criticism? Is criticism always based in shame? Some of you asked these questions after I wrote about criticism's mother. No. As I stated in my last post, criticism can be healthy. Even in unhealthy criticism, other causes can be present such as pride and hardness of heart. …
God speaks through a parking lot
Some say that God's voice always results on us falling on our faces with the force of His glory; that if we doubt it is His voice, we haven't heard Him. And they have a point--the awesome presence of God is capable of melting us in an instance. I have felt that force. But I …
The wisdom from above is peaceable
Sometimes my head hurts with the clamor of the world around me. Social media is full of arguing--people are angry and opinionated and sure that everyone else is wrong. Families divide over differences, refusing to see how each generation has unique gifts to offer. Churches debate the Bible and get ugly over what should be …
What Do Women Want?
I woke up around 12:30 this morning with a familiar pain in my knees. With no mother to look after them, I got up and crept out to the kitchen to find the Tylenol. Downing a couple pills with a cup of water, I realized I wouldn't be able to go to sleep until the …
Our Best Life Now
In Joel Osteen's popular book Your Best Life Now, he details how to go about securing the best life possible for yourself, mostly through positive thinking and believing that God will give you everything you want. I thought about this "best life" while struggling through wondering if our family was truly living the life that God …
arabah rejoice 