Because I am here, Jesus will be worshipped in a dark place today. I have scanned my fingerprints, removed and refastened my shoes, been patted down, and passed through seven locked gates. Another signature and three more remotely controlled doors let me arrive at this little room with my Bible and my Korg. No one …
My first clue was the beads of water along the flooring joint between my feet. A quick scan revealed other bubbled seams around the kitchen. I opened the sink cabinet to an allegro drip beneath. Calls to a plumber and the insurance company. Visits from both. Removal of the whole wall of cabinets and evisceration …
I slid into the church pew next to my two brothers and my dad, my husband on my left. A group of senior saints, finishing up a monthly luncheon, made their way into the sanctuary. My mom’s Bible study ladies clustered in neighboring rows, and a few of our family’s local grandchildren took the front …
Back when I lived in Los Angeles, I gigged for a couple Christmas seasons with a company that supplied atmosphere entertainment for corporate events and mansion-size holiday parties. In other words, I dressed up like a character in a Dickens novel and sang four-part harmony while blending into the rest of the Christmas decorations. I’ve …
To be honest, I winced at the first topic I was assigned to teach the group: humility. Great topic. But unless you want to be a hypocrite, you gotta live what you’re gonna teach, and there’s always more to learn. I groaned. Teaching on humility, I figured, is in the same category as praying for …
Heroes come in all sizes. I find them in books, and I meet them in everyday places. It’s not their dazzle or perfection that inspires me as much as their ability to lay hold of a tenacious faith that is larger than themselves. Elli became a hero like that to me when I met her …
I’ve sat across the table from inmates who express a common struggle: “I believe Jesus died for my sins, and He forgives me. I just can’t forgive myself.” The struggle isn’t theirs alone, is it? We carry a sense of vague or specific disappointment in ourselves over what we should have done differently, where we …
The little girl in this story turned 21 this year. I celebrate with gratitude the physical and spiritual vitality God has given her. A nasty virus made a tag-team run through our family. As soon as one child began to recover, another would look at me with glassy eyes and say, “I feel hot.” Even …
They surprised us in the lobby of the theater. My daughter and son-in-law had met me in the parking lot before the ballet. When my husband showed us to our seats, along with two grandmothers and a cousin, Anna mentioned we would need three more spots for some friends of theirs. Shortly before the curtain, …
I forgot that I had written this–exactly six months ago. Maybe some things are best served at the proper time. I hope that’s true of this “food for thought.” I’m not one of those people who remembers the dates of every milestone in my life. I’m the mom who had to jot down my child’s …