Resolve to Rejoice11-19-21 (2 minutes, 11 seconds) Hands down, my favorite holiday is Thanksgiving. One family tradition that I especially treasure is right before pie-feasting when we each create our sheet of thanks. Family and guests alike at our Thanksgiving table are given a blank…

October 27, 2021(2 minutes, 13 seconds) At nine years old, with burns on 100 percent of his small body, John O’Leary nearly died. In his riveting and inspiring book, On Fire, John shockingly says as an adult, and with much conviction, that if he could go…

October 14, 2021(1 minute 22 seconds) We are in this together you know, dancing, skipping, or shuffling forward. One day at a time, one inhale followed by one exhale. Seeking to live Kingdom-minded and walk in a manner worthy of the gospel as we sojourn…

9-30-21(1 minute 20 seconds) A treasured friend entrusted a secret to me last night and with her permission, I share this.My friend had seen the brokenness of her husband’s heart from childhood trauma long before he did. For more than three months in the still…

9-16-21 (2 minutes 11 seconds) Back when we lived in central Iowa, the phone rang very early on a Sunday morning.Our distressed hog farmer friend needed us to come immediately to help. There was a severe crisis brewing in his barn. We hastily threw old…

8-26-21(1 minute, 54 seconds) “I’m very sorry Jill,” the assistant said to me apologetically. “We weren’t able to save your sole.” Ever since my botched total hip surgery, I’ve had a “hitch in my get-along” and a difference in the length of my legs. This…

God, Who Never Lies(2 minutes, 12 seconds) Growing up, my credulity, which in most cases is a good thing for little girls to have, led to several points of confusion.Take Santa Claus, for instance. And the Easter Bunny and Tooth Fairy. Multiple times I questioned…

3 minutes “He satisfies me with good / He fills my life with good things.”Psalm 103:5 My mom adored and sort of personified dogs. Her strategy from their first slobbery lick, excited jump, or unruly barking episode was to drown them in kindness and spoiling….

(1 minute, 8 seconds) When my oldest son and I shared the adventure of traveling to Sweden a few summers ago, we had the enormous joy and privilege of staying with new friends who would become like family to us. They generously hosted us, introduced…

5-31-21 I have never seen a check-out line as long as the one I and about twenty-five other Walmart shoppers were standing in. Only two “staffed” checking lanes were open, and apparently, it seemed to all of us that the self-check option was going to…