I bet that if Johnny Appleseed had a wife, every year she’d get to the point where she’d say, “Johnny, if you bring one more apple into this house, I am going to throw it at your head.” Because a girl can only do so much with bushels of apples before she gets to feeling…Read more »
Category: Devotionals
In Just a Little While . . .
Have you ever felt as though you ended up in the middle of a story, but you don’t know how you got there? Like you were thrown into a cast of characters, who, despite your best efforts, remain a mystery to you? Like you were parachuted into a plot, but figuring out what advances it…Read more »
Why Are You Worried?
Worry. Fear. Anxiety. Ugh! The feeling when they begin to creep in – I hate it! The knot in my stomach. The way my heart races and my breathing becomes shallow. The inability to direct my thoughts towards something else – anything else! You know what I’ve noticed? The more these feelings pile on top…Read more »
The Passion
Have you ever met someone you’d define as passionate? Someone who walks into the room and suddenly everything feels a bit brighter and a lot more exciting—a person so full of life, that just being near them makes you feel more alive? Caught in the grip of intense desire, even the thought of complacency or apathy is…Read more »
Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep
When my oldest son was a baby there was a stuffed angel I would place in his crib as I laid him down to sleep. If you were to squeeze the angel’s belly, it would speak this prayer in the soft, innocent voice of a child. Through the years, it was a prayer I often…Read more »
On Being Small
If you could convey a message to young women stepping out into a big world, what would you say? This question was posed to me three years ago when I was asked to write a letter to women preparing to graduate. I thought long and hard about what to say. Looking back on what I…Read more »
Persist!
Persist. It’s a word that’s been lingering in the background of my life the last couple of years. Sometimes a whispered encouragement. Sometimes a challenge, a goal I feel too tired to achieve. It can sound inspiring – like when we hear it attributed to Olympic athletes who have endured bruises, blisters, long practices, the…Read more »
Strengthened by Grace
It was a lazy Saturday. There was nowhere we needed to be and what ‘needed’ to be done had been determined by us, it wasn’t dictated by outside parties. The children milled about doing odd jobs and odder activities – one was wearing pajamas and rubber boots and burning things in the fire-pit, I busied…Read more »
Happy New Year!
Today we stand at the beginning of a new year and most of us are looking forward. Maybe with excitement and anticipation wondering what the year will hold. Maybe with resolve, determined to change certain behaviours in the hope the year ahead will be better than the one behind. At this time of year, many…Read more »
Season’s Greetings
A couple of Christmas’ ago Rob and I were particularly excited about the season. Wanting to sprinkle the dust of Christmas cheer on those we loved, we decided to make a family trip to the toy store. We felt generous and wanted to look around with the kids for ideas. We joyfully anticipated seeing their…Read more »