The Blog
of grace & gumption
There are moments when you don't have time for long, wordy prayers to God. You're in the trenches. You're at the end of your rope. You're in the middle of life and just can't push the pause button. Other times, you couldn't formulate a prayer even if you had all the...
Ten years ago, I was living in the city, surrounded by great friends and fun times, thoroughly enjoying the single life. I definitely had the desire to be married some day, but after years of fighting with God on His timing for me, I had finally come to a place of...
When you measure your life in loads of laundry, it seems eternal. So long, even, that you find yourself feeling defeated sometimes. Like maybe life is too long. Like maybe, if you had a choice, you’d declare that this load, the one with 83 socks that used to be white...
If you have young kids or grand kids, (or if you work with youngsters at your church), you know that children's music can make you or break you. You can only hear "The Wheels on the Bus" so many times before you want to rip your ears off! Several years ago, my in-laws...
You may have heard the report that Pastor Rick Warren's son, Matthew, committed suicide over the weekend. Rick Warren is the Pastor of Saddleback Church in Southern California, one of the largest churches in America. But you may know him best from his book, The...
Now that The Bible Series is over, we can explore the question: was it worth it? If you watched all ten hours of the miniseries, you have probably formed your own opinion. For what it’s worth, here is mine, the perspective of a writer. I know that some were put off by...
Reflection There was something about watching the very first Easter unfold on my television set this year that made this Easter a little more special. Even though I wasn't looking forward to seeing the blood and violence present in the crucifixion of Christ, I also...
“My mother died when I was ten, so you can imagine my surprise when I came home from school one day to find her sitting on the couch, knitting. And the only thing that seemed strange at the time was that she never used to knit when she was alive…” This is how one of...
Reflection There was an irony to this week that I hadn't really noticed in the Bible until now. But it's there. Hiding in the Scriptures. Hiding in the lives of some people in the Bible. Hiding in my own life, and maybe even in yours as well. It's the irony of...
I'm fortunate in that I was born into a great family. If people know my dad, they assume I'm a hard worker like him. If they knew my mom, they assume I'm creative like she was. Their legacy has served me well, and I've always considered my roots something to share,...
Reflection This week was an exciting one. The central figure of the entire Bible - Jesus - finally came onto the scene! I especially enjoyed watching the nativity scenes. Since I've been involved in more Christmas pageants than I can count, I was interested to see if...
Last night, in the third installment of The History Channel's "The Bible" series, some new characters came on the scene. Most notably: Jesus! [For our online study on the series, click here!] The episode covered his birth, his baptism, his temptation, and the...