These northern winters, I've watched a lot of snow fall. I've sat for long amounts of time, just gazing up into the sky, seeing which way the snowflakes go. Did you know snowflakes don't fall straight down? Each one of them is born on the wind, so they tumble this way, at first, and then they swoop up and twirl around a bit, before wafting slowly, slowly down to their resting place. I read the whole book of Galatians this morning because I was so hungry for it and utterly captivated and it spoke to me a lot of following the Spirit. I learned once that being born of the Spirit is kindred to the ways of the wind. (John 3:8) You can't see the wind, where it comes from or where it's headed next, but you can hear the movements of the breeze. The way it lifts the branches and rustles thro[...]

I’ve got this one kid in particular who just happens to be a real house-wrecker. (Well, they’re all house wreckers but this one…he’s just the worst.) He doesn’t mean to be, I don’t think. It’s just they all seem to go through this exploratory stage right about the time they’re two whole feet tall, and they really do need to examine every single content in the Tupperware drawer. And this kid, he gets a strange compulsion to pull every article of clothing out of the chest of drawers, say oh, five times a day to see if that one pair of underwear will fit around his scrawny little head. And then he notices the strangest things. Like that one pile of laundry in the bathroom, that looks an awful lot like that other pile of clothes over there by Daddy’s closet. So I suppose he de[...]

There are some moments that are just so beautiful, they hurt. Like, Saturday morning moments, when my little girl in her mismatched pajamas wakes up early enough to go with her Daddy to retrieve donuts. She's got this certain little grin on her face and that extra bit of glimmer in her eyes because she gets to ride in the Jeep with Daddy and surprise her brothers with overly sprinkled sugary goodness when they wake up. I had stood there by the front door and watched them go as the sun came up over that rustling corn field back behind the neighbor's house. There were just enough clouds to make the light soft and pink and the sun a round smear across the sky. Yes, there are some moments when I can feel the worth of my soul. When the edges of my heart bump up against the nearness of[...]

Today I had this anxious heart. It was all tied up in knots and I knew that I could keep knocking out my to-do list at this frantic pace, or I could just come away and be with Jesus for a minute. I chose to come away and be with Jesus. I spilled out my guts to Him and then opened up His Word to Colossians 3 and I began to pray those things into my life. I let His Word make its home inside my heart and I praised my God. Then I sat still in His Presence and breathed deep and let Him calm and quiet my soul. God's perfect love flooded out all my fears. Then I sat on the couch and sang. This is what I sang: I don't know if you've got an anxious heart all tied up in knots, but if so, well, consider this me singing to you. Little heart, why are you troubled? Why do you walk aroun[...]

Rain falls. I slide open the glass door and listen in the dark to the gentle pattering on the leaves of that big Maple out back. I pull the curtains back and tie them with a string of jute--my morning ritual--and then sit on the couch and sip coffee as morning light seeps in. Leaves quiver. A lot like my trembling heart. I survey my heart and come to the conclusion that I've been far too anxious for far too long over things that I cannot control. Situations I'm just not sufficient enough to handle. But, this rain, it ministers to me. There's something about all the drizzling down that reminds me of God and the way He comes with His peace to a heart that quivers like a leaf. He is constant, bringing with Him grace and I am drenched. Soaked right through. This peace that pervade[...]

A friend told me once that this moment, the one right here, is actually the most important moment of my life. He said it's because this is the only moment we've got. None of us knows if we'll have tomorrow's moment. Or another moment in the next hour. All we have is this one. This one right here.  And this moment is the the most significant moment of my life because it's the moment in which I can meet with God. John Ortberg wrote a whole book about that. A book called, "God is Closer Than You Think." I'd like to read that book someday. And when my friend told me that, I sat spell-bound. Because this sort of thinking can revolutionize a life. It can help a person with their fears. It can help them with their angst. It gives them cause for celebration and  joy, even in the midd[...]

Do you ever get lost in your day? If you happen to be in the same season of life as I am, you might find yourself standing a little bewildered in the middle of your kitchen, as your five year old and nearly four year old are on their hands and knees on the linoleum, simultaneously wailing at the top of their lungs because of the wretched disappointment in which their lives have turned out. You know, because your boy doesn’t like the toast with “nuts” in it and your girl seriously needs her chocky milk “warmed up.” All the while, your eight month old is pulling all the cook-books off the shelf for the umpteenth time. A momma can feel so lost before 10 a.m. And if you’re not careful, everything will ream out of control from there and you’ll only get more lost-er. (No, that’s not a [...]

You know what's amazing about rest? When you're resting, your face is all full of peace. Like, someone took a soft, warm washcloth and washed all the worry away. And all the stress. And all the trying-to-control.And the thing is, everybody in the whole entire world has to rest. No matter if you're a world leader or a millionaire, or just a common, ordinary fella without a penny to his name. At some point, we all have to relinquish control and quit striving and stop the stressing and just lay our heads down and get some sleep. Every last one of us. When you're resting, you just get to relax and be restored. It's such a good thing.We could live all our wide-awake moments full of this calm serenity. Because God doesn't get tired so He doesn't need sleep, and He offers us His Presence to be ou[...]

We went to Arkansas to see our family, but we timed it just right so we could go to my friend’s wedding.