Power of the Tongue “O, Lord: Help my words be gracious and tender today, For tomorrow I may have to eat them!” “Sticks and stones can break my bones, but names can never harm me.” I can still hear that childish chant echo down through the years. Trouble...
Trying Harder to Believe a Lie Are you concerned that you’re not “doing” the Christian life right? Perhaps you’ve believed the lie that you need to try harder to do better. I was raised to believe that as long as I worked hard and worked smart, I would succeed...
Selective Vision and Selective Listening As a writer and freelance editor, I’ve seen first-hand how easy it is to fall into the trap of selective vision. Some of my editing clients are convinced they don’t need an editor, that is until they receive the edits...
Confessions of a Recovering Pharisee Have you ever looked up to a pastor or teacher, wishing you could be as good a Christian as they appeared to be? Perhaps you are the one whom others admire, hoping to be more like you in their Christian walk. In Jesus’s day,...
Dayenu – That is Enough! This has been a significant week on several levels. From a Good Friday presentation of “Messiah in the Passover” to rejoicing in the resurrection of Christ on Sunday, to celebrating a personal milestone later in the week. A common...
How Desensitized Are You? As I write this, my phone is dinging. Breaking news: “At least 12 dead after massive landslide overtakes village in Ecuador.” Yesterday’s headline: “38 killed in fire in Mexico migrant detention camp.” Two days ago, breaking news...
Life-Changing Advice I’ll never forget Betty. Betty was an older woman I knew from church when I was a young newlywed. She was a retired nurse, married with adult children. Her father-in-law lived with them because he could no longer live independently due to...
World Kindness Day World Kindness Day is November 13 this year. And that makes me a bit sad. Not because kindness makes me sad, but because we’ve reached the point where a day dedicated to kindness is even needed. Kindness has become the exception rather than...
Are You Rearranging the Darkness? “Spring ahead, fall back.” Repeating this phrase is the only way I can remember which way to change the clocks each spring and fall. This year, Daylight Saving Time (DST) began on March 13 and will end on November 6, 2022. In a...
Quiet Quitting Christianity If you spend any time on the internet, you’ve probably heard about “quiet quitters.” This is a relatively new term describing a very old practice. Quiet quitters do the bare minimum on their job. Just enough to get by, but not an...
Aging Gracefully Is it possible to age gracefully? What does that even mean? Facebook is great about reminding...
Trusting God for the Next Five Minutes In a world that seems to be spinning out of control, can God be trusted?...
Walking in the Light When It’s Dark Have you ever been in a situation where you were walking in a well-lit...