Have you ever tried to fit some of the ocean into your hand? How about all of it? Can you measure the sky in miles? Can you weigh the Rocky Mountains? Could you even put the Ozark hills on a scale? Do you tell God’s Spirit where to go or what to do? Does God … Continue reading I’m Glad I Can’t Hold the Ocean
Good writers are good pruners. They know when to pick up the shears and how much to chop. William Zinsser taught me that. “Be grateful for everything you can throw away. Reexamine every word you put on paper. Is every word doing new work? …Is anything pompous or pretentious or faddish? Are you hanging onto … Continue reading On Writing, Weeding, and Walking in the Light
August 2 Before he was betrayed and driven to the cross, Jesus spent time praying for you. “I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours.” “Holy Father, keep them in your name…” “While I was with them, I kept … Continue reading Be Encouraged: You Are Kept
July 19 Jesus stands as our example of holy anger that loves, restores, and worships. Cain's anger hated and killed. The LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry and why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at … Continue reading Let Jesus In and Be Like Him
July 12 “God intends for the whole world to be able to praise him. He intends for Zion to set an example of faithfulness for the rest of the world. Zion cannot do this when evil persons corrupt others.”[i] Bleating sheep and bellowing salesmen swarmed the temple. But really? God's house was empty. In the … Continue reading Jesus’ Anger Gathers and Glorifies
June 28 Note: This is the second post in a mini-series on Jesus’s righteous anger, and how we can respond to evil like him. Holding my brother’s hand was the very last thing I wanted to do when I was angry at him. But as eight- and ten-year-olds, that was our punishment for fighting. My anger … Continue reading Jesus’ Anger Makes Room
June 14 Note: This is the first post in a mini-series on Jesus's righteous anger, and how we can respond to evil the way he did. Masked people held cardboard signs on my newsfeed this morning: “White counterprotesters mock Floyd’s killing.”[i] I clicked on the picture to read about people calling good evil and evil … Continue reading Be Angry Like Jesus
May 31 I journaled my way across Texas’s panhandle last June, writing things like this: I’ve noticed the plants here grow together. Only occasionally is a shrub brave enough to weather the prairie alone. And those that do wear brambles to prove their fortitude. My Missouri home is green and humid. The contrast between Southwestern … Continue reading Shrubs and Trees and Living Water
The Internet isn’t just bawling with dark news and death tolls these days. Look a little closer and you’ll find stories— hopeful ones. Old people still madly in love, communities using the web to unite, neighbors singing the Doxology from their porches at nine sharp each morning. And then there’s the story God’s spinning smack … Continue reading Story of stories
March 8 The older I get, the more I think about the coming kingdom. Maybe it’s because my sin is uglier. Maybe it’s because my suffering stings. Maybe it’s because I’m more in love with Jesus and the thought of endless days with him captivates me. I think about Christ’s kingdom, yes. But do I … Continue reading Part One: Do You Pray These Three Words?
