My family will come together this holiday season, holding the memories of what we’ve lost and the promise of what’s to come, as we celebrate with new faces and the stories that shape our lives. My sister, mother, brother—my unwavering support system, who, along with many others, upheld my family when my husband of 18…
Tag: Jesus
A Profound Mystery: Thoughts on the Church
The first years of my marriage were anything but easy. Yes, many times provided cherished memories that still make me smile, but we also struggled through tough terrain. We confronted fears that threatened to cause a civil war, healed from past wounds that followed us into our union, and drudged through days I simply questioned…
Remembering Thorns
Ouch! I glared at my pointer finger for getting in the way of the thorn attached to the rose bush. In North Carolina, even though I’m not a fan of summer’s hot humidity and daily mosquito bites, I still enjoy going into the yard to cut flowers to make a bouquet for the kitchen table. …
Daughter
God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. Ephesians 1:5 NLT I am a sister of King Jesus,Daughter of our great loving God.I wasn’t born into this perfect family.In fact, I…
Taboo Truth
One day Dinah, the daughter of Jacob and Leah, went to visit some of the young women who lived in the area. But when the local prince, Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, saw Dinah, he seized her and raped her. Genesis 34:1-2 NLT. She said I couldn’t write about the trauma I went throughIn the…
Braving Summer’s Heat
Summer is waning, but the sun is still beckoning us out into the great outdoors while concurrently threatening to burn and blister the skin. Thunderstorms periodically shake the skies reminding that tension forms when opposites collide. Warm nights and long days usher in a sense of restlessness and the temptation to throw off responsibility. When…
Stand in Awe
Let the whole world fear the Lord, and let everyone stand in awe of him. Psalm 33:8 NLT All my glory is built with strawHe is a fortress great and strongSo let the whole world stand in awe As we transgress His perfect lawWithout love just a clanging gongAll our glory is built of straw Never…
Wander Not Alone
John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’” John 1:23 NIV I wander in the wildernessOh my body of flesh and boneHaunted by crushing lonelinessAs despair grips my heart of stoneYet onward and onward I press Oasis in…
This Joy Complete
If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. John…
Old Testament Comfort for Current Times
Too often we forget how much the Old Testament can minister to our desperate hearts, and we miss out if we don’t sit with the truths it brings. In times when it is clear that man cannot save himself, I am comforted to know that the serpent’s head will be crushed, that God works what…
Anchored Voices 