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!
Suicide Prevention
Suicide struck close to home last week. It's not only my story to tell, and I'm not even sure I am ready to tell it even if it was, but if you are a pray-er, please lift us up, along with a host of our loved ones. This agonizing death has caused me to ponder my own...
The Grace of Knowing Our Poverty
The older I get, the more keenly aware I become of my own weakness, need, and inability to be faithful to Jesus even for one day. Yet the more I also become aware that He is keeping me, cherishing me (despite all my moment-by-moment failures), and tethering me to...
On the Eve of Thanksgiving
I plunked my elbows on the counter with a thud and leaned into my hands, covering the better part of my face, fighting to maintain the joy that has been so graciously given and required such fervor to maintain. I could hear that still, small voice. “Fight for your...
God’s Money and Stuff
I think most young Christians struggle with the idea of the tithe. We feel a little like God is prying our clutched fingers off our stuff, or like the church is bleeding us for money. Eventually, we may decide that tithing is a matter of trusting, and ultimately God...
Lye Or Hyssop?
We tend to translate the world and the Word through the lens of who we are. In my case, I am both a soap-maker and a backwoodsy-sort-of herbalist. In one realm, I am a professional, and in the other, I have an extensive library and an insatiable curiosity. I am...
On Overcoming Bitterness
Do you remember the play/movie “Little Shop of Horrors”? If I remember correctly (it’s been a few decades since I’ve seen it), there was a man who owned a Venus Fly Trap, and had to keep murdering people to keep his plant fed. The plant consumed his life and all his...
The Infamous Paw Paw Wreck
I stood on the outside of my soap table, crying out for God's mercy with a friend, who had come to my booth for refuge from the turmoil in her soul. She, among many others, had just witnessed the unmistakable sound of a massive car accident just outside the Paw Paw...
My Hard Pivot
Many of you may not know it, but I sometimes struggle with depression. I have learned, over the course of a lifetime, and a quarter-century of being led by the Holy Spirit, how to fight it, but also how to spot the warning flares in the road.
Squatting with Kids
They were coming to Him for relationship, rather than to capitalize on the Healer and Miracle-worker. They wanted to crawl into His lap and hear His blessing spoken into their ear.
Who I am Becoming
I think a lot about practicing who I want to become. You can see it on elderly faces... the deeply etched lines of complaining or gratitude. The naturally formed smile, practiced over decades of a life. But it's not only smiling or frowning, complaining or giving...
Joseph’s Unfurled Hands
Did you know Joseph was sold for less than the redemption price of a slave (Exodus 21:32)? (For the record, Jesus was sold for the exact price of a dead slave.). Not only was he sold for two-thirds the price of a dead slave... He was sold by his own brothers! He was...
Communion Precedes the Tithe
I peered over the pages of a well-worn story, noticing something I'd previously overlooked. Genesis 14 is the first encounter we have of one of Scripture's most puzzling characters, Melchizedek. In Hebrews, He is expounded upon, and sounds something like God...