A friend and I squeezed in one precious hour together the week after Christmas last year. They had gotten a bouncy house that fit perfectly in their garage—an ideal gift for all our energetic children. While the big ones bounced and the babies snacked, my friend and I dove deep. What have you been reflecting […]

Just off the grassy trail, I sat in an opening between tall weeds and white wildflowers. With my Bible on my lap, I gazed at the still water before me. Ants crawled across my legs while a biting fly swarmed my head, a picture of the thoughts harassing my mind. After just one sinful thought—a […]

It’s mid-afternoon and I have almost nothing to show for my day. Instead of crossing tasks off my list, I’ve spent hours replaying a conversation I had yesterday with a friend from church. I’ve been repeating her words and rehearsing what I could have said that would have made the conversation more fruitful. But I […]

The emotional despair of rejection and loneliness can have us looking for love in all the wrong places, much like the oblivious heroine so often portrayed in movies. I watch in silent frustration as she strives to earn the love of some unworthy guy. As the trope goes, she is overlooking true love—the faithful affection […]

At 8:45 pm on a quiet Sunday night, I noticed my nine-year-old son’s shadow appear in the dark hallway while I folded laundry and watched television. He approached me, sniffling with his head hung low. His tears alerted me. Did something scare him while he was in bed for the night? Pulling him close, I […]