My beloved is mine, and I am his; He pastures his flock among the lilies. ~ Song of Songs 2:16 God’s story is a love story. We can read His story in the Scripture, behold it in the seasons, wonder over it in the oceans and maybe more than anywhere else, we can catch glimpses of His great love in our relationships, the completely broken and the less broken ones. The completely broken ones point the way, even.. Read More
Praying HOPE: Through The Children’s Eyes (Edition 4)
Hope can seem elusive. It’s shadows are long ones draped across the landscapes of our lives but often instead of perceiving an invitation to adventure chasing toward the light, we hesitate at the darkness of the shadows, as though it is a darkness to be avoided. Children and adventures seem to go hand in hand, they are good at leading the way. I often need their help. Before I ever had.. Read More
God’s Word, and Us, His Children: Gifts, Through the Children’s Eyes
God’s Word is a beautiful, beautiful gift. Did you know that the word “grace” that we learn and see of God in the New Testament is often missed in the Old Testament because it is more often translated as the words “mercy” or “lovingkindness”. I’ve heard it said otherwise though. That this lack of the word “grace” in the O.T. was for a different reason, that it was because Jesus, (Yeshua in.. Read More
Beloved not Perfect: The Way to be Rooted and Grounded Even in the Strange Day We Live
We live in a strange day. Freedom seekers and protectors are portrayed and persecuted as human rights violators. A nation violates freedom while a president watches it’s baseball game. I know it’s not new, it’s all been beneath the sun before, but it’s here now, in our day. Our strange day, our call to preparedness and being a city on a hill, a light not hidden. It could seem hopeless… Read More
Through The Children’s Eyes, (edition 2)
Reading the story of Naaman in 2 Kings 5 was heavy with discussion and wide-eyes. Before I go further, let me be clear in the picture I paint for you: the 8 year old is coloring and listening half of the time (I think), the six year old is building with Legos and making a LOT of rocket blasting sounds, but still sometimes seems to be listening enough to tell us the last few things we said. (I’m just glad he’s still around the table with us.) And the 3 year old, well, that depends on the day. But I keep him as close by as I can because the 10, 12 & 14 year olds were that little once, and today, as I read the story…