Lord, Come Quickly

“Soil activation.” That’s what the lady at the local garden shop says our winter-worn ground needs. The dry winds of the cold season have left our lawn thin and soulless. One more week of droughty, windy weather and our hope for springtime renewal will be all but blown away. My nose wrinkles and my eyes … Continue reading Be Sure To Water It In

Rejection is bad—through and through—or so I thought. When we are cast aside, dismissed, and overlooked, it cuts—deep and wide. The benefits of betrayal? None. The upsides of being downtrodden? Zero. The advantages of being abandoned? Seriously!? And then along comes this honest-to-goodness, 21st-century shepherd who completely upended my perspective on this: Healing Father, may … Continue reading The Acceptance Found In Rejection

He had never seen a river before, this Mole in “The Wind in the Willows.” “He thought his happiness was complete when, as he meandered aimlessly along, suddenly he stood by the edge of a full-fed river. Never in his life had he seen a river before—this sleek, sinuous, full-bodied animal, chasing and chuckling, gripping … Continue reading Listening To The River

  My friend leaving on vacation asks for my prayer requests. I am flattened. She wants me to write on an index card the desires of my heart, along with the other requests she is collecting, so that she may lift them heavenward each day of her get-away. On her trip she will talk with … Continue reading A Prayer Gift

This is the first Psalm I wrote out in my own words as a prayer back to God. In the middle of a night over the Christmas holiday I started to write out just the first three verses of Psalm 40. An hour later, the whole Psalm had spilt out. I found Micha Boyett’s reflection to … Continue reading Psalm 40: In My Own Words

Let’s say one day my skin cells decide they know best how things should operate in this vessel I call my body. So they holler over to my bone cells, “Hey tough guys! You should really be more like us: soft, shapely, curvy.” And let’s say my bone cells actually listen to them. Already feeling … Continue reading What A Crazy World It Would Be

“Make every effort to live in peace with everyone…” This is the verse that greeted me upon opening my calendar this new year. Funny thing that verse showing up in January. All throughout December, as a year marred by terror attacks, beheadings, and ugly discussions on which lives matter drew to a close, it is … Continue reading Let There Be Peace On Earth