My guess is that not many people cry when they read Ezra chapter 3. I did.  And then I kept crying right along with the old men who wept in verse 12. Ezra chapter 3 is about rebuilding. After living in captivity in Babylonia for…

Many moons ago, I was the majorette for our high school marching band. Truth be told, one of the reasons I tried out for this extra-curricular job was because of the adorable, white tasseled boots that were a perk of the position. Yes, the boots…

“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.”Psalm 19:14 I like words and quotes and pretty scripty fonts. I have words and phrases and scripture references deliberately hung and…

1 John 1:9  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. I leapt without looking last December.  And landed in Haiti. Throughout the week I felt generally unsafe and mildly afraid….

On a ledge above my kitchen sink, the words of Micah 5:5 are displayed in brilliant white lettering on a lovely dark wooden plaque.  “He will be our peace.” This verse is a reminder for me that when my world is spinning, my heart is…

Several years ago as a grown woman with four children, I naturally began to think more often of my own mom and the sacrifices she made for me and my three siblings. I borrowed the idea of making a Grateful Jar for my mom filled with…

This 100 day challenge of documenting the “Goodness of the Lord” has been good for my soul. Actively looking for goodness is quickening my gratitude response. And I’m glad about that.   It is a bit shallow though “just” being grateful for the cat (though…

On a very early Monday morning over a year and a half ago, I lay wide awake. Turning to face my clock, I sighed. There were still two more hours before our alarm was set to go off. My mind was racing as I anticipated…

I woke up this morning with a hangover. No, not “that” kind of hangover. It was a “still-thinking-too-much-of-myself” state carried over from last night. My selfishness, and more accurately my self-centeredness, manifests itself in the subtlest of forms. I was unusually vulnerable with a small…

Our dog Greta barely passed her Doggie Obedience class. She failed miserably the sit, stay, and heel part of class. But she was the all-star, the top dog in her class in one category….. it was when the command “COME” was given. During this part…