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...

Embrace the Wait

There are three types of people when it comes to waiting for the microwave to ding or the coffee pot to fill: the watchers who stare unblinking and press the button the second the timer gets to zero, the time-management experts who linger nearby using those few...

More Lessons from Tortoises

It’s no secret I have a deep-seated fascination with tortoises and turtles. (Don’t ask me to explain the difference, it’ll only make me sound even weirder.) My aunt shares my obsession, regularly sending me adorable videos of baby turtles, giant tortoises, and all...