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 eating plan for the new year that includes more vegetables, earlier bed times, and less…
The Gift of Nostalgia
With Advent, we can wrangle the power of nostalgia by looking backward and pressing forward with our eyes fixed on Jesus in either direction.
An Advent Poem
Crude shelter, dirty manger. Wrapped up tightly in His mother’s swaddling clothes, He left His kingdom to begin His kingdom, He left the riches of His father’s right hand. A baby needs everything. He was helplessness but deity. He left His golden, kingly seat to be wrapped in frailest frailty. Poor teacher, humble healer, gentle…
Jesus Makes Us Family
The newlyweds from Korea began visiting our church during the summer. He came to the U.S. a couple of years ago to begin his Ph.D. work, and she followed him this summer. The first time we invited them over for dinner, we all had to work a bit to understand one another. He’s had more…
You Were Made to Yearn
It’s a bitterly cold night for December. My kids are in bed, the house is warm and quiet, the lights are turned out except for the twinkle lights which I’ll miss come January. It’s the kind of night that I love. Everything in me should feel content. Some long-awaited answers to years of hard praying…
Devoted to Prayer: the Gift of Keeping a Record
I crossed off her name from my list. Scratching in yesterday’s date next to her name, I felt the pressure of tears behind my eyes. A faithful saint who fought brain cancer for several years finally went to be with Jesus yesterday. I haven’t seen her since we bumped into one another at a friend’s…
Church, You Must Do Better.
I had the privilege of speaking to a group of over one hundred pastors’ wives this week at a conference. In the weeks preceding the event, I had prayed much about what to share with this group of women. I’ve been a ministry wife for over fifteen years, specifically a pastor’s wife for more than…
My Prayer for My Children
The world is in your eyes, all is fresh and new. You take me by surprise, uncomplicated you. There is much that I desire though some would be unsure. Success does not appear in this my prayer for you— Be broken, humble, set apart. Fear the Lord with all your heart Of flesh instead of…
Jesus is Not a Helpful Addition to Your Life
Our house was built in 1940. It’s got a large front living area, three small bedrooms, four tiny closets, hardwood floors, high ceilings, and wide trim—all hallmarks of little craftsman houses built in that era. It’s also got perpetual heating and cooling issues, plumbing problems, a roof that leaked, a kitchen desperate for renovation, and…
Not Why, But Who
“You don’t get to know why. You just need to trust me.” I cannot count how many times this phrase has left my mouth over the last few weeks. I have a three-year-old, and nearly every question out of his mouth these days is “why?” I only answer my son’s why questions about half the…