The Bell Ringer

We heard the bell ringing across the parking lot before we saw the red bucket and the Santa-capped volunteer sitting in front of Walmart. My son knows the drill. His chubby fingers lifted towards me. “Money, Momma?” I smiled and sighed inwardly, reaching into my purse to scrape for loose change. I had already given out most of it to …

Hanging Out with God: The Football

Sometimes I think we humans give ourselves far too much credit. We think the world will collapse without us. We are irreplaceable. The universe begins with our birth and ends with our death. We have a mountain of tasks that depends on our follow through. Our own self-importance is staggering…or it can be, if we actually believe all this to …

Sippy Cups: When It Seems God Doesn’t Care

Have you ever felt God has forgotten you? Perhaps He showed you something phenomenal He’s about do in and through your life. The arrival of a long awaited child, a gift or talent maybe. Perhaps it was a vocational change or ministry calling of some sort. Perhaps it’s a long-held dream right on the cusp of fruition. God revealed that …

What’s Your Passion? Living for the Things That Matter

I’m preparing to speak at an upcoming women’s retreat and the theme is “Start a Fire”. No, this isn’t a retreat for closet arsonists. It’s a time designed to get fired up for our Creator. But in preparing for the retreat, I began meditating on the word ‘passion’ and started thinking about what most of us are passionate about.  What …

The One Christian Cliché I’ve Tossed for Good

Thees and Thous. Hedge of protection. Traveling mercies. Let go and let God. So many odd phrases pepper our western Christian culture. Some are rooted in Bible and some have been twisted over time. Some were never in scripture to begin with. Over the past two years, I’ve meditated continually on 1 John 2:6. “…the one who says he abides in …