No matter how carefully we plan, things sometimes just don’t go accordingly. There are times when life can feel like a suspense thriller, with one “suddenly” after another, and, depending on your personality, that can either be exciting or terrifying. You wake up on a Sunday, pour that first lovely cup of coffee, planning to dress for church, put chicken in the crock-pot for your eldest and his wife and son, who are coming for dinner, and thinking the most challenging part of the day will be remembering to stop by the grocery after church to get fresh bread. Then the phone rings. Your mother-in-law’s neighbor is calling to let…

We are dreamers, both of us. The sky had grown dark, and fire was flickering in the fireplace. We had been companionably quiet, my husband and I, for a long and lingering hour, when suddenly he said, “I’ve found it. Our cabin in the woods.” Following this declaration, he thrusts his tablet across to me. “Here. Take a look.” Eagerly but quite deliberately, I walked into each picture. The view down the tree-lined path leading to the front porch. The inside rooms, small and quaint. Taking the time to consider and imagine the two of us actually living there. We spent the next hour discussing the various possibilities and the…

When our father would return home from a trip, he would drop his bags in the kitchen floor and spread his arms. My sister and I would run into his warm embrace, not having dropped anything. We carried whatever we’d been holding at the time: a doll, a bouncy ball, a shoebox masquerading as a puppet theater, a bandaged finger or a scraped knee. Treasures to be shared and wounds to be comforted. It never occurred to us to withhold anything, because Daddy was big and good and kind and wise. We knew this without ever thinking about it. It simply was so. Child-like trust is precious. “Jesus called for the…

I have two tattoos. This is personal, and not something I usually talk about. Whether you do or don’t, you probably have feelings about this type of artistic expression, and that is also personal and unique to you. For me, the two that I have are significant, were chosen with great care, and they are constant reminders to me. The process is not painless, but it does have permanent results. “Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands.” (Isaiah 49:16 NASB) This remarkable imagery also suggests permanence. Here God speaks to His people of His promise to keep them, to hold them, and to always be with…

We went out to dinner last night and ordered hot tea to go with our Japanese cuisine. The ceramic cups were brought to us. Each one piping hot, filled with water and one tea bag. It is an interesting visual to watch tea being infused in a cup of hot water. Water turns into tea, and the transaction cannot be undone. “Infuse: to cause to be permeated with something that alters.” (Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary) We are altered, changed, by the presence of God. When we receive His salvation, the grace of His person infuses our being, and we are given new hearts, out of which flow the obedience of love. We…