-
Getting to Know the Holy Spirit
“The Holy Spirit isn’t an ‘it,’ but a person. You can say ‘He’.” I don’t remember who told me that, or when. But someone did, and it sparked a Bible-quisition when I was a new Christian. The more I read about the Holy Spirit in Scripture, the more excited I was about the reality that…
-
The Opportunity You Can’t See Yet
You look around and nothing seems promising. The only way ahead, it would seem, is to keep trudging along. It feels wrong and it sounds hopeless. No opportunities have come up and you’re running out of ones to dream of. Hang in there. Nothing is impossible with God. That means that when there is no…
-
Praise the Most High!
I got dizzy as I crouched in yet another spot and angled the camera again. Though I tried very hard, I just couldn’t fit the lighthouse in one shot. It’s highest height was just too high. There was something satisfying about surrendering my desired photo perspective to just sit there and look up. My interest…
-
A Silly Question and an Insightful Answer
It was our first trip away together post-honeymoon. We’d driven all day, stopped to see a friend, and had been on the road for hours again. Since it was pitch black in the wilderness of Vermont and he was driving, I wasn’t watching the road closely until I felt the slam of the brakes. Looking…
-
Seeing People as People
They didn’t see a man. They didn’t see his pain. They didn’t notice his need. They didn’t care that he was in the house of the Lord. What they cared about was entrapping their perceived enemy, the one who threatened long-held traditions and the law that elevated them to a pious, powerful place. They wanted…
-
The Value of Asking “Why Me?”
Why Me? Reading straight through Scripture, I knew the book of Job was coming next. Sighing to my husband, I began to prepare myself. Job is one of those books that I stiffen up reading. His story begins like a fairytale- prosperity, happiness, abundance. That almost makes what happens next worse. Satan comes before God….
-
If You Had a Superpower…
You’ve probably answered the question before: if you could have one superpower what would it be? That’s a fun question, and it’s one that many of us have an equally fun answer for. “I would fly” you say. She might say that she would make herself able to freeze time, whereas her husband might suggest…
-
Standing Out and Standing On His Promises
No vacation will ever beat our honeymoon in my memories. I’d just turned 21. He was fresh out of college and I had one semester left. The two pennies we had to rub together reflected our motto the day we said I do: In God we trust. Generous loved ones let us stay in a…
-
Not My Circus, Not My Monkeys
I was taking a month-long class in Ecuador. We traveled around the beautiful country- even into the Amazon rainforest. There, a few monkeys determined to do what non-cartoon monkeys in tourist traps do: harass people. The agile creatures stole anything loose they could grab. We tried to ask how to get our stuff back. A…
-
A Sure Foundation
One by one. Ever so carefully. We stacked the pieces with fingers crossed. The tower stood tall, having occupied myself, a teenage helper, and several nursery kiddos for most of our time together. All it took was one wide-eyed, deviously grinning four year old. He slipped through our grasp, and, with one swift kick, it…