(1 minute, 29 seconds) I wore winter gloves to a conference a few weekends ago, and by mid-afternoon, I had tucked my mitts into my bag, along with two sweaters. ‘Tis the season when upper mid-westerners like myself must check the weather in the morning…

1 minute, 57 seconds Do you have a circumstance in your life that makes you so scared, vulnerable, or anxious that your heart trembles within you? I’m grateful if this unsteadiness of soul isn’t your current state. At some point, however, you may have fear…

2 minutes 22 seconds Most mornings, I greet my twelve hens by name as I open their little coop door and release them into the bright summer joys of worms and all things yummy and green. Most summer evenings, I “tuck them all in” and…

Building Relationships With Your Adult Children(1 min, 59 seconds) I’m grateful for friendships where we can pass on the small talk and go right to the good and hard. Where we can humbly savor together the sweet places, and honestly confess the painful stuff of…

1 minute, 59 seconds A high school wrestling match is six minutes long. I know this because, for four of my teenage years, I sat cross-legged on my cheerleading pillow right next to the wrestling mat where I got a close-up view of what it…

1 minute, 27 seconds At one memorable triathlon I competed in, a guy in flip-flops and a captain’s hat initiated the start of our swim. Trumpet in hand, the sandal-clad race director stood near the end of the dock that stretched out into the lake…

Photo credit: Mathew Coulton, Unsplash Trusting the Giver of Good (2 minutes, 2 seconds) Our daughter’s dog, Greta, was sweet and snuggly. She was also sneaky! We caught her many times mid-act, stealing and swallowing raw eggs from our chicken coop! Perhaps because of this…

I Don’t Need That(1 minute, 4 seconds) I squat down, peering into the dark brown eyes of a darling five-year-old who happens to be decked head to toe in Pepto-Bismol pink. I smile warmly and say with a sparkly, sing-song voice, “I love your outfit!”…

(1 minute, 12 seconds) One day last October, I realized I was tired. Not the “I need more sleep” kind of tired, but rather the sort where I was bearing an everyday burden of fatigue that wasn’t shaking. In December, when a random sickness going…

(51 seconds) “Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!” Psalm 115:1 John the Baptist’s life purpose, his sole mission, was to point his generation to the Messiah. (John…