Our lives can feel so loud. The ring of the phone and ding of social media notifications, outspoken newscasters and oven timers, horns honking and music blaring, the demands that seem to come from every corner. In the middle of it all, how can we know and hear God’s voice today? I’m sitting at a table full of women one evening, and we’re talking ...
Lord, Thank You for the gift of HOPE You gave us on Easter morning. Because of You we know That no problem is too difficult And even death does not have power over us. Thank You for the gift of JOY You gave us when You were resurrected. Because of You we know That no matter how challenging life may be, In the end we will rejoice ...
I’m sitting on the couch, laptop in front of me, typing so fast it sounds like a machine gun when my husband wanders into the room. He says something to me and I reply with a vague “Hmm,” which is my way of signaling, “I’m busy and being productive. Please come back later.” But he persists in his efforts to communicate with me, and I, such a kind ...
I almost burned down the house where I lived in college. This isn’t a figure of speech. Nor is it a clever expression of angst. This is a literal firemen-on-the-lawn fact. Throughout college I had an ongoing love affair with candles — specifically those that smelled like baked goods. One day I decided to light a candle while I worked. I couldn’t ...
Eighty percent of New Year’s resolutions are broken by February. I hear this statistic on an ordinary Friday at the end of an ordinary week. Already my hopes for 2019 feel a bit tarnished. I somehow continue to believe that with the turning of another calendar page everything will be made right. I will magically meet all my goals. I will overcome ...
The airport is crowded this morning. As I wait for my flight, I watch the parade of people. Disgruntled teenagers with caps pulled down over their eyes trailing behind determined parents. Bright-eyed couples holding hands with the honeymoon sun still on their faces. A group of grey-headed ladies in pink matching t-shirts laughing and exchanging ...
I stood in a park on a fall day, leaves a kaleidoscope of colors around me. I held a bouquet of burgundy flowers in front of my simple black dress, a gold ribbon wrapped around my waist. In front of me two of my dearest friends sniffled, trying to hold back a river of emotion, clutching the tissues they’d secretly wrapped around the stems of the ...
I’m part of a group of local writers who meets once a month. We call ourselves “Word Girls.” On a recent Friday, we watched the “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” documentary about Mr. Rogers. We showed up at the designated house in our pajamas. (I wore a t-shirt that said “Staying in is the new going out.”) We grazed among the snacks — popcorn and peanut ...
Today we're celebrating with (in)courage co-founder and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Holley Gerth as she releases a new devotional, Hope Your Heart Needs: 52 Encouraging Reminders of How God Cares for You. It's a little book that's big on encouragement. Enjoy the excerpt below — it will make you laugh, maybe cry, and want to find some ...
I’ve just come from a long walk in the summer heat (be thankful you can’t smell me). Mark and I were running errands, and he suddenly remembered he needed to be somewhere soon. I wanted to head home. When we got to the end of the main thoroughfare to our neighborhood I said, “You can drop me off at the corner, and I’ll walk. I was planning to ...
