Last December, one of our faithful elderly church members passed away. As frail as his health had been prior to his death, his wife of seventy-one years had already been suffering from Alzheimer’s. She was recently moved to a nursing facility that specializes in the type of care she requires. As restrictions have recently lifted…
Everyday Faithfulness
Sorrow, Joy, and Forty Years
A warm June rain soaks the world outside my window. We’ve had a few of those wild, humid summer storms that send us to the basement listening for the tornado sirens. But not today. Today, it’s just a good, gentle soaking. While I sit at my dining room table tapping away on my laptop, everything…
How Do I Study the Bible with Others?
Several years ago, I joined two other women from church for a weekly Bible study. I was no stranger to study as I’d been digging into the Word for years and growing by God’s grace through daily reading and prayer. I’d never really done this with others, though, and I wasn’t sure how it would…
Christians Survive Differently
I well remember the exhaustion of brand-new motherhood. When my first son was born, I didn’t pick up my Bible for months. I was so sure that I’d arrive at the magical land of discipline later when my baby wasn’t so needy. I didn’t realize that keeping the habits of Bible reading and prayer when…
Aging Doesn’t Make You Faithful. Jesus Does.
When I was in my early 20’s I did not have any regular habits of Bible-reading or prayer. None. That hadn’t always been the case, but somewhere around the time I graduated from college, I allowed busyness and other pursuits to rule my time. I had every excuse: I was working a lot, I was newly…
4 Questions for Your Bible Reading in 2021
Every year, in the days following Christmas, I make promises to myself. Weary of traveling for most of the holidays, sleeping little, and eating one Christmas dinner after another, I spend the last days of December mapping out a healthier life plan for the new year that includes more vegetables, earlier bed times, and less screen…
The Book I Needed in 2020
Last December, I decided to memorize the book of James. I’m not a goal-oriented person. I don’t like setting expectations for myself. New Year’s resolutions are not something I make or stick to. I have never chosen a “word of the year,” and I get anxious just thinking about those yearly planners that encourage you…
Maybe We Knock on the Door
I pulled a loaf of sourdough bread from the oven and popped it onto the cooling rack before getting out a blank greeting card and pondering what to write in it. I didn’t know my new neighbors’ names, so after jotting down our names and phone numbers on the inside of the card, I simply…
Daylight Savings and Spiritual Disciplines
I’ve long used January 1st as the day I’m going to get my life together. New diet? Clean slate starts January 1st. Exercise plan? I’ll begin on the first of the year. Keep the Tupperware cabinet from throwing plastic containers at me every time I open it? Organization will commence on the first day of…
Two Days, One Word
Yesterday, I opened my Bible to the passage in Hebrews 12 I’m studying with my Bible study group, and I read it a few times before closing my Bible and thinking, “Well, that felt a little pointless.” At 5:30 a.m., my brain was foggy, my thoughts were tangled up with both the events of the…