Lord, I want to be like Zacchaeus. That little guy in the Bible who climbed up a tree just to catch a glimpse of You coming round the dusty bend. Grown men don't climb trees but that street was awfully crowded and his heart was hungry and yearning for Your coming. He knew he might scuff his knees or rip his shirt and people would laugh, and though he was the guy who was known to have everything, he didn't have You. He was just a shorty pants in a world so big, so he had to take a risk and go out on a limb and crane his neck so he could see. What a surprise he must have felt to discover that You who came to find the lost were coming right for him. (Luke 19) Lord, this day gets awfully crowded with things to do. And sometimes I lose my way and feel afraid and small, but my heart, it yea[...]

Thank You, Lord for the way You showed up when I looked out my kitchen window today. I had forgotten how much I love all the sky showing through bare limbs. You have been my Helper and You are good.

Here lately I've been looking for beauty in the everyday stuff of life. Like in tomatoes and cabbage. Bell peppers and apples. That kind of stuff. It's pretty neat when you slow down just long enough to really look at something. In fact, it's astounding what you might find. So just recently a friend encouraged me to cut open an apple half-ways instead of the usual long-ways. (Sometimes in order to find beauty, you just have to go about things a little differently than the way you would normally go-along.) So I did just that. And I found this--a star right in the center. I didn't know there was a star right in the center of an apple. And then another friend told me about this book she had read about how you can look at an apple and it represents the Trinity. I actually read that boo[...]

 Today storm clouds tumble across the sky. Not just that big space that I see outside when I look up. But in here, in my heart. All about me shadows shift. Outside. Inside. Sometimes life feels a bit unstable and I cry. I cry because my emotions are fragile and all mixed up. I cry because someone I love has just got the rug pulled out from under them and they're trying hard just to stand up. I cry because the world keeps spinning and sometimes it shakes and we're just small people and it's scary when we're not in control.  When shadows lengthen and skies grey up and thunder rumbles and my world feels a bit unstable, I just need some good news. Some truth to keep my soul from shattering. And the good news? The truth that keeps me whole? I'm not left here without comfort. And [...]

Spring comes and we go for a walk in a garden. There's something incredibly life-giving about a plot of land full of wild things! I walk around like a little child who's just discovering something for the first time. I can't help but stop, sometimes stooping down to gaze at all the life.  Something about it heals me.I read that life first began in a garden. (Genesis 2:8) Sometimes I take time to think about what that means. I think about those first created people, the way their eyelids must have fluttered open. It's like they woke up one day and there they were, surrounded entirely by beauty. I wonder what it must have felt like to take that first gulp of air, God-breath filling their lungs. I love how He breathed into them and they were alive! And I love how He walked close to them,[...]

See this little gem? The way she lifts her face up to the sky, opening up all of herself to be filled with light? She lets me peek in. I think she's unashamed. And isn't she hopeful? The way she brightens up her little spot in the world? Even though there's death and decay all about her, she's not holding back. And though her life is brief, she seems to know her purpose. I should like to be like her.All of me, opening up, to be filled with all of Him--the One who made me. Unashamed. Letting others see the real me. And oh, so hopeful. That though there's circumstances all around me that make my heart say, "ouch," yet God is far more tender than I have realized Him to be. Far more merciful. Far more loving. Far more good. Let me not hold back, Lord, to be all that you created me to be. [...]

I have been loved all my life. Yes, even the earliest part of my life--birthed to a mom and dad who really didn't have much to give--so wrecked they were by drugs and alcohol. Even then, they loved me the best they could.  And they loved me most when they let me go...so I could be loved better.  And the Ma and Pa I have now? They loved me deeply. (Still do.) Now, they weren't perfect either. There are some days they would probably like to erase. (Don't we all have those days?) And even though there were hard, hard times between us, I always knew, always knew that they loved me more than anybody. I never once doubted that. Not even on the loud yelling days. Or the it's-too-awkward-to-even-talk-to-you-days. Now, that's a lot of love. And this husband of mine? He really loves me wel[...]

It's hard being a girl sometimes. Or maybe it's just that it's hard being a human. You know, when your emotions are telling you one thing and you're sure it's not the truth, but you just have the hardest time not believing it. And don't you just hate it when you try to tell yourself differently and you do a bit of explaining to your feelings that they're not gonna rule you, and they're not gonna trick you, but try as you may, your emotions just won't obey? (Big sigh.) That's hard. Sometimes I'm going about life and I'm doing just fine...until I hear that whisper. My feelings start talking. You know, Maggie, you really have a lot to be afraid of. Life is good now, but just you wait. You won't be able to handle it. Bad things will happen and you'll lose hope. You'll lose it all. You're going[...]

If I could hear the morning's voice, I wonder if this is what it might be telling me:Hey...psssst....little girl, time to wake up. Rise up, little earth-child, shake off your sleep--there's something I want to show you. Quick, go take a peek out your window. You might miss it if you stay there in your bed. Go, look at the dawn--the first gleam of light. See how it comes so quietly? So peacefully? See how it illuminates all the world? The light you need--here it comes. So you can see.Now, little girl, do you hear that Voice? Your Heavenly Daddy? He's calling for you. He wants you to come. He has bread for you--His Word. And He is the Bread, the Word. You need Him today. You need what He has to give you. Though all the world may try to live this life on their own, you need to go abo[...]