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Do you have a sensory superpower? I recall noticing that a close friend of mine had a superpower of smell. It was so obvious to me because I was not able to smell as they could. All kinds of things were connected to their sense of smell that seemed a bit foreign to me. My husband sometimes jokes that I have hawk eyes. I see things. I have always liked the beatitude: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” It is quite amazing the way our eyes were designed. Al

Certain words are both so common and at the same time so profound that they seem almost indescribable. These are words you know best through experience. Grace is one of those words. Our goal here is to consider how living into the word grace could help us grow in faith. Here are at least four ways we can experience grace: Grace is love. “The Lord longs to be gracious to you.” (Isa 30:18) God’s gracious longing to love us runs throughout the Bible. In the beginning, God was ev

“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever… When hard pressed, I cried to the Lord; he brought me into a spacious place. The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid… I will not die but live, and will proclaim what the Lord has done… The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes. The Lord has done it this very day; let us rejoice today and be glad. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is goo

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?… All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads. “He trusts in the Lord,” they say, “let the Lord rescue him.” … I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint…My mouth is dried up like potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; you lay me in the dust of death… All my bones are on display; people stare and gloat over me. They divide my clothes around them and cast lots for my garments… All

“ I have a message from God in my heart concerning the sinfulness of the wicked: There is no fear of God before their eyes…The words of their mouths are wicked and deceitful; they fail to act wisely or do good…Your love, Lord, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies. Your righteousness is like the highest mountains, your justice like the great deep…How priceless is your unfailing love, O God!” (v1-2, 5-7) This is a very timely psalm. Our lives may be different

“Out of the depths I cry to you, Lord; Lord, hear my voice. Let your ears be attentive to my cry for mercy. I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope…for with the Lord is unfailing love and with him is full redemption.” (v 1,2,5,7) In the eight verses of Psalm 130, the name Lord appears eight times. We see that suffering is real and that God is a real presence in it. God brings forgiveness (v4), hope (v5,7), plenteous redemption (v7, KJV), and l

“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.” (v5) Psalm 23 is a beautiful declaration of God’s love and care. Goodness and mercy come not only at the end of the psalm, but run all the way through, encouraging us to be confident in God’s presence with us. It is interesting to notice the language in the psalm. It begins in the third person: “He is my shepherd”. “He makes me lie down in green pastures”. David tell

“O come, let us sing to the Lord…Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving…For the Lord is a great God…He is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. O that today you would listen to his voice! Do not harden your hearts.” (Psalm 95:1,2,3,7,8) I was in a church choir years ago. I remember we sang an anthem based on Psalm 95. It was a joyful, upbeat song. I often think of that when I turn to Psalm 95. However, as you stay with the Psalm, i

I lift up my eyes to the mountains — where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth… The Lord watches over you — the Lord is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night… The Lord will watch over your coming and going, both now and forevermore. (Psalm 121: 1-2; 5-6; 8, NIV) “You can learn to live carefree before God. He is most careful with you.” (IPet 5:7 MSG) There is something we all have i

“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you. Do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you. Many are the woes of the wicked, but the Lord’s unfailing love surrounds the one who trusts in him. Rejoice in the Lord and be glad.” Psalm 32: 8-11a “When we align ourselves more closely with God, he finds pleasure in this, and we find

Please join me in a Lenten Journey meditating on the Psalms. We will look at one psalm each week. Together we will reflect on God’s word and let it be a part of our day and our life - a strength and a trustworthy guide to light the way forward. How it will work. Short Psalm Reflections will be shared on Monday. During Holy Week, I will share a Psalm on Good Friday and Easter Sunday. The Psalms selected will be from the Revised Common Lectionary. As I looked at the collection

An old song refrain came to mind as I thought about the word ‘stay’: “Should I stay or should I go?” By this time of year, you may want to go away from the goals, intentions, or plans you made when the new year started.” Stay with yourself. Stay with your best thoughts. Stay with your good goal or with the thing you need to do. As the old saying goes - stay the course. It is not only resolutions that may prompt us to go. There seems to be something in us that wants what’s bet

“Let the peace of Christ rule your hearts.” Col 3:15 Hopes. Dreams. Goals. Resolutions. Ideals. Plans. Projects. Habits. Change. Possibilities. Have you been hearing about it? Thinking about it? Do you already have a plan? A word? A goal? I am entering the new year gently - peacefully. I have been hosting out-of-town guests and enjoying our college-aged kids home from break. I have been trying to be in the moment. I have been taking it all in. It is not easy to live gently,

“Angels can fly because they take themselves lightly.” G.K. Chesterton It’s the end of the year. Christmas is around the corner. There are things to do, things to figure out, things to face, things you would like not to face, and in the middle of it all, we find a story. Consider the one told by Matthew. His story seems to start a little slow with a list of names, but of course, a closer look reveals something wondrous - it’s a list of names! Each name on the list is a person

“Praise the Lord, my soul. Lord my God, you are great; you are clothed with splendor and majesty. The Lord wraps himself in light as with a garment.” Psalm 104:1-2 This may be what the shepherds saw when they encountered Baby Jesus. Angels appeared to them and told them, “I have good news.” Imagine that. The angels said there is good news of great joy that on that very day when the angels appeared, a savior was born. (Lk 2:8-11) When they heard the good news, the shepherds

“Faith in God is less apt to proceed from miracles than miracles from faith in God. ” Frederick Buechner I am at a new beginning point right now. The beginning of something brings both anticipation and uncertainty. Will what’s ahead be good? How will it all work out? I guess you may be wondering the same thing if you are in the middle of something. Andrew, John, Peter, Phillip, and Nathaniel may have been asking those same questions as they started to follow Jesus. He had inv

“Bless the Lord, O my soul, all that is within me, bless thy holy name, Bless the Lord, O my soul, and do not forget all his benefits - who forgives…who heals…who redeems…who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good as long as you live. Ps 103:1-5 This is one of my favorite psalms. It tells us to bless and not to forget. We are to remember. When does forgetting begin for you? It often happens sooner than I would like! I sometimes forget to look

They left a nightlight in the bathroom of the rental we stayed in recently. I notice things like that and find such gestures very thoughtful. We need light. If you wake up in the dark in a strange place and try to find your way, you will bump into the truth, into reality. It may feel like a stubbed toe in the morning. Light brings clarity. It helps us see what is really there. Of course, you need to look. How often do we not see what’s right in front of us? “What do you want?

The area where I live was once a farm. When it was developed into a residential area, they retained some land for farming. It is fun to...

I was a radio show host during my college years. The memory of it popped into my mind as I thought about the word engage . We called our...