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…
everyday faithfulness
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…
Feed the Better Hunger
Someone asked me recently, “How do we remain faithful to the Lord when the world is just so distracting?” Without saying it, I knew this conversation was about input. Between my phone, computer, podcast app, and television, I can get to the end of a day and wonder what in my life fed my faithfulness…
The Power of a Hidden Word
A few years ago, my mom was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Between the day the tumor was discovered and the day it was excised from her head, she had to wait about six weeks. Living in another state, I called often to see how she was doing, to see if the mercury at the…
The Real Reason We Don’t Practice Spiritual Disciplines
If coming up with excuses not to do things was a marketable skill, I’d have the best-looking resumé around. Take laundry, for instance. I never have more dishes to wash, books to read, shows to watch, or emails to return than when a mountain of clean laundry is piled on my bed waiting for assimilation…
Please, Take a Bite
It looks like one of my kids is going to follow in my footsteps as a foodie. A couple of months ago, I walked my twelve-year-old through the process of making a simple pasta dish. He is terrified of cutting his finger with a knife or burning his hand on the stove—things he’s seen me…
The Danger of Drifting in a Pandemic
Last summer, my family spent a week at the beach on Tybee Island in Georgia. Like most vacation beach spots, the Tybee shore is dotted with brightly colored condominium rentals anchored in the sand. While swimming in the ocean with my eleven-year-old son, I pointed out a bright yellow set of condos and told him…
Pruning
I had to watch a YouTube video first. I had never dead-headed a rosebush before, but the razor-sharp secateurs in my hand promised to make it an easy job. I watched the man on the video three times to be sure I had the process right. Grab the dead-head, go down to the first five-leaf…
Think Like a Farmer
I paused by my favorite field on my bike ride this morning. It’s hot for early June, and unless I was riding into the wind, the heat and humidity were relentless. I stopped by the field, though, to take a swig of water and snap a picture. Sweat covered every inch of my skin, but…
The Gift of Tangled Roots
On a trip to the California coast with my sister, I had the opportunity to explore Muir Woods National Monument, a redwood forest. As we walked through the woods, my sister and I noted how the massive redwood trees grew in groves. The national park signs throughout Muir Woods didn’t call them groves or circles…