Lavish

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!—1 John 3:1 I love words, and LAVISH is a word begging to be savored. It drips with extravagance. It means sumptuously rich and luxurious. Who wouldn’t want to be lavished in...

From Mustard Seeds to Mountain Movers

Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” -Matthew 17:20 The journey of setting out to do something difficult and seeing it to...

Packing Light

As a child, each summer I packed my denim duffle bag to spend a week at my grandparents’ house. This wasn’t like a gym bag or a carry-on. It was closer in size to a serviceman’s seabag. I could stuff eight pairs of shoes and two outfits per day in that thing, along...

Bread, Baskets, and Blind Spots

Mark 8:12-21 When he heard this, he sighed deeply in his spirit and said, “Why do these people keep demanding a miraculous sign? I tell you the truth, I will not give this generation any such sign.” So he got back into the boat and left them, and he crossed to the...

The Gooodness of God

Sometimes when I see devastation, suffering, or horrific sin, I wrestle with the goodness of God. If He’s so good, why does He allow atrocities to happen? In His great power and omniscience, He could stop them…if He were good. I asked a wiser, more spiritually mature...

Parenthood Sprinkled with Grace

Recently, a friend and I were laughing about how hard it has been to keep my fun-loving kids alive—particularly the first one. You know, the one with no concept of fear or self-preservation. One story in particular stands out. He was about eight when a new family...