Welcome to the Blog!

“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, b

“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

How are you expectant? I can remember a time when I was expectant. The memory of it is significant because it was unlike anything I had ever done or experienced before. I was traveling to India to meet the parents of the man I later married. I had never been there. I didn’t know the language and was not very well informed about the culture. As I prepared to go, I wondered what it would be like. I wondered if his family would like me. I wondered if I would fit in. You can be e

“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 at

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 drive by the farmland in the fall and witness the wonder of the harvest. You may be noticing some of the abundance of the harvest near you - piles of pumpkins, fresh apples, produce from a nearby farm, or just an overall sense of bounty as you think ahead to Thanksgiving. The harvest overflows with blessing, with goodness. Goodness is a word

I noticed the school bus stop near our driveway the other day. It got me thinking. I wondered how school might be different now than when our children went (they are in college now). As my thoughts continued to wander, I had deep thoughts, such as, 'What will the world be like when these children are my age?' And some random thoughts, like: Do they still teach children how to read maps? I would benefit from a refresher course on this myself! You may recall visiting a large sh

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...

One of the secrets to a life lived well is to learn to be open. It’s often only after we open our minds to a new way of understanding or...

An icy cold drink on a hot day. A cool breeze at the summit of a long hike. A clear kitchen countertop to greet you. An encouraging word from a loved one during a challenging time. These are some things that refresh. We need refreshment. We were made to be refreshed. We hear a lot about rest. We need rest. Many of us need more rest. But did you know that we need more than that? We need a rest that leads to refreshment. This is how things were intended to be. It is a sign of a