finding God in the wasteland (Isaiah 35:1)
If I were to try to convince someone to become a Christian, shame is not a quality I would advertise. I would probably talk about the wonderful sense of being set free from guilt, the comforting presence of a communicating God, and the indescribable joy of Spirit-infused life. Not shame. Certain verses have come alive …
Continue reading Enduring the cross, despising the shame
On a Thursday morning about a year ago, I received one text after another saying a variation of the same message: "We won't be coming to small group tonight." The house was cleaned (no small feat with my little children), the shopping was done and the food was made, and Will had a lesson prepared. …
Laughter regularly splashes over my life, such as when my three-year-old mischievously puts his clean clothes in the fridge, and when my six-year-old exclaims, "Mama look in the mirror! Your eyebrows are bushy." I find joy in new friendships and new opportunities. I am forever grateful for a good family and a cozy nest to …
When Will and I got married, we bought a dear little three-acre patch of overgrown property in the country. A crumbling-down house stood in one corner of the lot, and most of the rest of the area was covered with trees--a luxury for Kansas. We cleared out a space in the trees and moved in …
This year, the Advent season felt totally wrong. To start off, our family was sick for the first two weeks. Instead of being Mary in the Kid's Club Christmas program, my daughter laid listlessly on the couch, her little body burning up with fever. Mostly due to the sickness, Will and I didn't join an …
When I was small, I often woke up in the middle of the night with joint pain, especially in my knees. If I could get warm enough by piling on extra blankets, the pain sometimes diminished so that I could fall asleep again. Many times my best efforts failed; the pain increased until I couldn't …
"Everyone thinks I am weird!" I swept the kitchen floor late that night and cried. The house was silent except for the small sounds of slumbering. I hung up my broom and restlessly moved around the living room, straightening a pillow, putting away a few forgotten pieces of laundry. I switched off the last lamp. The streetlight shone …
About a year ago when Will and I were still driving the 75 miles back to our church in Hutchinson, I would often spend a good part of the drive reading Scripture aloud. Will would listen, and then we would talk about it. That was my favorite part of Sunday in those days--the early morning …
I'm sorry that you feel rejected, you mean more to me than you'll ever know. I grew among you, wrapped in love, cradled in grace. You laughed with me in my joys, and held my hand through my pain. When my unborn baby died, you brought roses and wept. Then later you dandled my fat, wriggling babies, …
To you I lift up my eyes, O you who are enthroned in the heavens! Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maidservant to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the LORD our God, till he has mercy upon …
