The latest from my blog
I write on all sorts of topics such as Celebration & Wonder, Community & Discipleship, Intimacy with Christ, and Redemption & Grace. I share my random thoughts in Miscellaneous Musings.
I’m glad you’ve joined me!
Self-Denial, Coffee, and Easter
I wonder if everyone has a mantra, a philosophy that guides their life more than any other way of thinking? I wonder if others know what their guiding beliefs are? Something about writing a book, published or not, casts reflection and understanding on what your...
An Ode to Beth Yazdani and Her Exclamation of a Life!
"Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His godly ones" - Psalm 116:15 It's interesting how we lament the early departure of those who die young, even when they are God's people and have only departed this world, and in the truest sense, are flying Home to...
Calling All Story-Stiflers and Neglecters of Their Gifts
I am a storyteller. I don't mean the kind who makes up wild tales (although, I do love fiction and imagination). I don't have to make stuff up. I have the wildest, truest stories... of manna falling through the hands of strangers every, single day for the entire...
Resolving Conflict (for the Natural Conflict-Avoider)
I am in the middle of a conflict with a friend (No, you are not getting the juicy details as that would be the very antithesis of why I am writing this, and it certainly wouldn't help the conflict resolve, Besides, that would be hypocrisy.). It will have to suffice...
A Granddaughter’s Glee
A couple of days ago I babysat Laura, who I'd barely seen since we returned from LA and MS a couple of weeks ago. Simon and Alycia had gotten sick, so I avoided them and they avoided everyone. When I came to pick up my 10-month old grandbaby, as soon as she saw me...
Logos
Somehow, I always thought of the Greek word "Logos" (meaning "word") as though it were only talking about Jesus. "In the beginning was the Logos, and the Logs was with God, and the Logos was God... And the Logos became flesh and dwelt among us" (John 1:1 and 14)....
Thanks and Lament
*This is a chapter I've written, and figured it would be a good time to share, on this cusp of Thanksgiving. It’s funny how thanksgiving and lament can be like Siamese twins. They seem so opposite, yet at their core I suppose they are both opening us up to see God....
The Sweetest Day (lessons in abiding)
I've been wishing to tell you about one of the most wonderful days of my entire life. I sat, with a baby on my lap, for about 9 and a half hours straight (a few weeks ago). Her mama, who is also one of my favorite people, is a stay-at-home mom, but she had a little...
Eating My Way Through Louisiana
For a few years, Smiles and I had two states left on our Bucket List. We used to tell people, "We've been to 48 states... and they're not the two you're thinking of." Any time we would find out someone was from Louisiana or Mississippi, we'd ask them what we should...
A Million Small Decisions
It's odd how a million small decisions can lead up to a changed life. I noticed this recently, on our trip out west. How each unforeseen curvature in the trip didn't really stress me out. We laid out our best plans, scheduled time with specific friends, then kept...
Roman’s Remedy for Israel’s Sin.
Sometimes I read something and it feels like a threaded needle, piercing through different parts of my life and thoughts, pulling them taut and binding them all together. This morning it was Psalm 78. In three different parts of this Psalm it exposes different...
Don’t Get Buried in the Cemetery of Sameness
Michael Yaconelli once said (before he went to go hang out with Jesus), "Sameness is the cemetery where our distinctiveness is buried." (Messy Spirituality; pg. 79). Recently, I got to hang out with a friend who I hadn't seen in a couple months (which felt like an...
