The Blog
of grace & gumption
Last week, we discussed three reasons why you should read your Bible. Discover another bonus reason by taking this short, ten-question quiz! Think you know your Bible well? Read these familiar quotes and sayings to see if you can guess if they originated from the...
I always think that January 1st is a nice time to start a new Bible reading plan, so that means that you have exactly one month to figure out how your Bible reading will look in 2012. First, as far as reading goes, I want to be perfectly clear. When I say you should...
I never knew that I had a tutu-shaped void in my life until I had a daughter. After having two sons, I was nervous about venturing outside of “boy zone” with a girl. But I have to admit, there is something about dressing her up in cutsy hair bows, frilly dresses and...
Last week I wrote about T-shirt Verses - those comforting verses in the Bible that feel cozy and warm and remind you of God's great love for you. I absolutely loved reading about your own T-shirt verses in the comments! Since then, another type of verse has come to...
If you like Christian mysteries, you will love the Million Dollar Mysteries Series by Mindy Starns Clark. The series follows a young widow named Callie who has a fascinating job as a private investigator. Her mission is to investigate charities and non-profit...
Last week was not a good week. When I got to work on Monday, I felt fine. But by two o’clock, my head throbbed, my body ached, and my stomach sounded like a bowling ally. I counted the minutes until I could go home, and all I could think of was my Sam Houston State...
Every year, Nikon hosts a photography contest called The Nikon Small World Photomicrography Competition. It's a competition that celebrates the beautiful combination of microscopes and photography. Scientists-turned-photographers from all over the world submit images...
He would have been one yesterday. Our son, Benjamin Spross Ryan, was due on 10/10/10 but died in my tummy during the second trimester. We met him, we mourned him, and then we let him go. But we will never forget him. Officially, October 15th is Pregnancy and Infant...
One of my college roommates, Jen, was an animal lover – a trait I’ll admit that I do not share. So although she really wanted a sweet little dog to scurry around our apartment, what we compromised on was a hamster. She searched far and wide for the perfect pet and...
If I had written the Bible, I think I would have included one extra book just after Revelation. It would be kind of like a P.S. to God’s letter to us. An addendum of sorts like the Maps or the Concordance, but more holy that than that, of course. And I’d have named it...
It’s the morning after. You’ve just experienced a weekend of great teaching and biblical inspiration. You were on an awesome spiritual high. You hoped it would last. You prayed it would last. But then, Monday came. There is a “low” that often follows spiritual...
When my son, Gideon, was young, my husband and I were at a restaurant with him when a waitress stopped to dote on him for awhile. "He's so sweet," she said. "What's his name? When we told her it was Gideon, she exclaimed, "Oh! That's a great name. That's from the...