It’s 2016. The scent of brewing coffee wafts through my home. The front door is open. My dining room table is ready with my favorite coffee mugs, sugar and cream, spoons, and extra chairs in case the numbers are better than I hoped. I’d been longing for some kind of regular meeting with the women…
the Church
You Can Always Come Back to Church
After a four-month absence, I went back to the gym this morning. I had a significant surgery on my hand in early December, and the recovery was slow, but truthfully? I quit going before the surgery, and I could have gone back weeks ago. I also could have made accommodations for my hand and found…
Don’t Want to Go to Church? Go Anyway.
I didn’t want to go to church that day. You probably don’t want to hear that from your pastor’s wife, but the truth is on that particular Sunday, I was in a bad mood. I hadn’t slept well, I had been discouraged all week about both work and some relationships. The morning had spun out…
Tornadoes, Trees, and the Family of God
I was on a plane when the tornado hit our town last Sunday. My phone buzzed with notifications while I stood in line to board my connecting flight to California. My husband, sister, brother-in-law, and I had been planning our trip to the West Coast for six months, and I stood with indecision before boarding…
I Need Sundays
“Why do you cry every single Sunday, Mom?” I was rooting around under my seat for the wad of tissues I’d stuffed in my purse before heading to church that morning. I laughed at my young son’s whispered question because it’s true. I do cry every Sunday. My pastor-husband had just finished his sermon on…
How to Move a Church
Have you ever tried to move a church? Our church has a unique story that involves a merge between a predominantly white church and a predominantly black church to form a gospel-centered, multiethnic church that is committed to faithful exposition of the Word and incarnational ministry in our community.[1] The merge resulted in the ownership…
Ordinary Sunday
“Church today,” I wrote in my journal early Sunday morning. “I could really use the fellowship. I’m feeling low.” I put down my pen. I hadn’t slept much. It was a relief to know I’d soon be among my church family, distracted from the interior concerns running through my mind. Better than distracted, I knew…
There Will Be No Burden-Bearing if There Is No Burden-Sharing
I was having trouble walking that Saturday morning. Exhausted, fatigued, and discouraged, I had told my husband I couldn’t participate in the church leaf-raking service project we were doing for our widows and shut-ins. I felt embarrassed when my family left the house clad in boots and gloves and armed with rakes and leaf-blowers to…
Jesus is the Thread
“What brings you joy?” she asked me. I was sitting in a room full of women, having just shared some of the trials the Lord had brought me through in recent years. “Just in general?” I questioned. “In ministry,” she answered. “What brings you joy in ministry?” Oh, that’s easy, I thought and then said…
I Need You to Read Your Bible
“I can’t believe I’m asking you to pray for this,” I told my friend sheepishly. “It’s the dumbest prayer request. I mean, God has said no for such a long time, why am I still pushing for a yes?” I laughed into the phone, but an errant tear slipped down my cheek. “I want you…