Use it or Lose It, It’s Biblical!
Use it or lose it! We didn’t invent the phrase. It’s been around for generations, maybe for millenia. My Grandfather, though I never knew him to lift a weight or go for a jog, applies the adage to a quite familiar, but hard to swallow, parable which concludes… I tell you, to all those who have, […]
This is the day to have a good day
Have a Good Day. Such a hackneyed phrase we use upon parting, offered limply to someone we don’t know well. Why title your book this way? Apparently because Dr. Rilling knew he had something to say in the sermon he chose for the first chapter, its namesake (with added exclamation!). But truth be told, it’s probably also why […]
I want to write the book my kids want to keep
My bookshelves are piled high with titles from the past. Books I purchased because they were assigned. Books I used for reference. Books I consulted. Books that taught me how. Books that showed me where. Books, books, books, books! So many, in fact, that I couldn’t read many of the spines, because we were long […]
A Monkey Bar Faith
We let go of Mommy’s hand to enter pre-school.We let go of Daddy’s hug to board the bus.We let go of our beloved teacher’s smileonly to do it again next year because we must. We let go of the hand of the principalas she wishes us well on our way.We let go of our first […]
A Billion Prayers
What do a billion prayers sound like to God? Do they ring, like bells? Do they rush, like water? Do they sing, like melody? Do they echo, like canyons? Or do they shudder, like fear? Shout, like panic, Whisper, like despair, Rasp, like profanity? Do they run for their lives? Huddle in hope, Gasp, in […]
From Black and White to Living Color
So, we wait. We don’t rush to the finish. We don’t turn to the back of the book for the answers or the last chapter to see how it comes out. We don’t take the short cut through the peppermint forest if we roll doubles. We don’t jump to the front of the line. We […]
Expectant
How brave the mother cardinal, perched atop the feeder, not feeding, but performing, not performing, but calling. With words I do not know, but a voice I dearly do. I am here! I have a message for you! Come! She calls out and waits, calls out and waits, for the answering call in a pitch and rhythm […]
It’s not what you do, it’s…
“It’s not what you do; it’s who you become. That’s what you take into eternity. You are an unceasing spiritual being with an eternal destiny in God’s great universe.” ~ Dallas Willard, as quoted by John Ortberg in Soul Keeping: Caring for the Most Important Part of You This is problematic for the run-of-the-mill human being […]
The least common denominator primes us
Every class has those kids. The smart ones, the curve-breakers, who pick it up early and run with it. They get it on the first go around. Hardly need our help at all. They have natural aptitude. Sit in the front of the class, graduate first in their class. They are on their way. Hardly need […]
By Our Wounds, We are Healed
You don’t start out the best at anything. The only way to get better is to work at it. Things take practice and patience, trial and error, falling down and getting up. Three years ago this April, I fell and could not get back up. I needed help, which included a repair to the hamstring […]