(2 minutes, 49 seconds) Before my utterly botched hip replacement, I was a runner. For many years, I had dreamed of running in the Boston Marathon. In order to be given the privilege of an entry ticket into this prestigious race, athletes must first prove…

(2 minutes, 5 seconds) This time reading Leviticus, I’m slogging through, rather than skimming, the third book of the Bible. Every day as I read, I face two glaring facts: the holiness of God and my need for Jesus. In chapter 10, two of Aaron’s…

(Don’t!) Put Another Log on the Fire(2 min, 26 sec) Musical confession: I like to polka. Second musical confession: Oblivious to the words or gist of the song, I have polka tunes in my head that make my feet start in on a polka jig. Consider…

(3 minutes, 15 seconds) The Appalachian Trail is a hiking path in the Eastern United States. The trail is 2,185 miles long, extends from Georgia in the south to Maine in the north, and passes through 14 states. In 2011 as an experienced hiker, Jennifer…

Imitators(1 minute, 57 seconds) A friend recently asked me if I knew who Sally Clarkson was because she thought I would really like her. She said I reminded her of this author/speaker because of Sally’s and my shared delight in candles in the winter, our…

Someone dear to me chose to pass on her tradition of sending a Christmas family picture and letter last year. Challenging circumstances had pummeled her heart raw, discouraging her from documenting the previous year. Christmas letters aren’t the place to process grief.  Like her, perhaps…

My husband suffered a terrible blow a few weeks ago. After working for a company for almost 32 years, his position was suddenly eliminated. His boss, his boss’s boss, and an HR person dropped this bombshell on him in an impromptu meeting, assuring him it…

(Advent) 2 minutes, 5 seconds I called gently from the other side of the door to my 22-month-old son who had accidentally locked himself in his room. He was too young to have much of a vocabulary, but he knew my voice and could follow…

(1 minute, 38 seconds) Personally, I have a beef with Mr. Incredible in the 2004 movie “The Incredibles.” After lying to his wife for an extended period of time about losing his job, Mr. Incredible steps back into the world of superhero business without being…

(2 minutes, 19 seconds) I am typing with five or six pieces of kinesiology tape stuck to my low back and hip. The girl who put it there, Carrie, is brilliant at all things biomechanical. The tape, placed in a specific and intricate pattern, lessens…