I was getting a bit bored, driving through soggy rice fields on my way to a prison in Arkansas, preparing to speak to inmates on a drizzly Sunday morning. Maybe it was the lack of scenery that made me notice it. Maybe it’s because it was the only building around for miles other than a few silos. But when I …
I’m asking our Father to give you joy, peace, and strength for this day. You are loved! ~Tara
A glove lay on the table, its yarn soft and clean. It was proud of its red hue, striped with black and white. No knots marred its design. It was perfect. One day, a boy slid his fingers into the little glove. What a surprise! The little glove could move and wiggle, each one of its fingers working together . …
“I think I thrive under a lack of accountability.” ~Michael Scott, The Office Welcome to Accountability 101. Truth is a very valuable commodity. I think it’s safe to say it’s the most valuable commodity. That and love. And time. And hummus. Okay, maybe not hummus but that’s why I need accountability. I need people to tell me when I’m off …
Something that cracks me up about believer lingo is the way some of us inadvertently slip into Christianese—you know, that unique way of speaking that identifies us as “Christian” to the outside world. The problem with Christianese is that it’s only understood by people within the same subculture. Much like consulting the Urban Dictionary to understand what on earth your …
What is it about a car wreck that keeps us from looking away? No matter how busy our morning or crammed our schedules, when we see those flashing blue lights and watch the EMTs stooping to help pull a driver from their mangled car, we slam our brakes to get a better look. Is the person okay? Is the car …
Fear wears many masks. I used to think it was a one-dimensional kind of thing. A nail-biting, knee-knocking kind of reaction to anything that made me nervous or afraid. But fear that doesn’t warn us away from harm is not of God. It’s darkness. A tool of our enemy. And a smart enemy doesn’t announce his attack before he strikes. …
“Slow of speech doesn’t mean slow of mind.” I stuttered as a child and I remember the frustration of a brain that was brimming with ideas and words, yet was burdened with a tongue that refused to obey. I would be desperately trying to share something with my mom or dad and my lips would stall. My parents patient admonition …
Most of us are ready to kiss 2020 goodbye. It’s been a marker of disease and death, upheaval and shock. Yet simply turning over the pages of a calendar doesn’t mean life magically rids itself of pain. No one but God knows what the next year holds which is why I’ve been so thoughtful about what word I’ll choose to …