I should tell you up front that this is not going to be your basic religious-sounding statement on prayer. Sorry, I just don’t have it in me. No, I’m not sorry. To be painfully honest with you, most of the stuff I have ever read or heard said about prayer has either left me under […]
Read MoreTag Archives: Psalms
Wooing the Wayward: Loving Your Prodigal until He or She Comes Home
Shattered. Your dreams of your children growing up to be godly Christians now lay like splinters of glass on the marble floor. “Mom, I’m gay,” your son announces. Your daughter reveals, “Dad, I’ve moved in with my boyfriend.” These words take your breath away. Your adult child is running not only from God, but from […]
Read MoreTo the Fatherless
A lady approached me one day and told me point-blank about the pain she feels every time the church celebrates Mothers’ Day. She would even find ways to avoid attending on that particular Sunday because she was childless, and even though every attempt was made to include all the women of the church on those […]
Read MoreLosing Our Training Wheels
The fall season often reminds me of the day when one of my daughters learned to ride her bike without training wheels. (The “fall” was an appropriate time for this event.) As she sped down a hill toward a huge ravine, I saw written all over her face the message: “I’m not in control!” So […]
Read MoreGod News and Bad News
“I have some good news and some bad news.” Ever heard that before? We often choose to hear the bad news first, hoping the good news will provide a joyous overshadowing of the other. And sometimes we have to come up with the good news ourselves. I’ll share some of my own good news and […]
Read MoreDating My Daughter
Dating is nothing new for my daughter. Years ago Rachael began leaving our house once a month for dinner and a movie with the guy she loved: Her dad. It wasn’t for lack of alternatives. Boys proposed to her when she was three, four, and twice when she was six. Each time she most emphatically […]
Read MoreBeyond Today
If you can look into the seeds of time, And say which grain will grow, and which will not, Speak, then, to me. —William Shakespeare1 Who wouldn’t want to hear from someone like that? Who hasn’t felt him- or herself standing on tiptoe, straining to see what lies ahead? Every generation has had its share […]
Read MoreAll of a Quiver
I love to spend time in the Psalter. The Book of Psalms is a collection of songs and prayers. Some have referred to it as ancient Israel’s hymnal. The poetry of the psalms is compact and profound – they work like pictures for the mind and emotions; and we know a picture is often worth […]
Read MoreCount Your Blessings
Read Psalm 95. Sometimes when you don’t feel like praying, or you’re consumed with needing to speak to the Lord but can’t gather the words, try that old standby—count your many blessings, count them one by one. It’s amazing how you can get carried away from worries and woes and self concern when you start […]
Read MoreEndangered Species
Psalm 78 Remember when men were men? Remember when you could tell by looking? Remember when men knew who they were, liked how they were, and didn’t want to be anything but what they were? Remember when it was the men who boxed and wrestled and bragged about how much they could bench press? Remember […]
Read More