“Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.” ~Psalm 34:14 Part of seeking peace and pursuing it, not just seeking it but making it a defining characteristic of a believer’s life, is not solely found in a list of things to be, but is discovered within the Bible as specific things to avoid. No matter how much we dislike the thought, walking with Jesus requires cutting away things that harm us. Relationships that poison our emotions and thoughts. Patterns of living that corrode away the joy and peace God so desperately wants to give us. I can’t…

"All of us want to be humble. None of want what it takes to get there." I'm not sure who coined the phrase but I've learned it's quite true. We long to have noble defining characteristics marking our spirit, but when we realize what we must endure to be shaped into that image, well, 'walking the walk' takes on a whole new meaning. 2018 has been the single hardest year of my entire life. My family and I have endured assaults on every front---multiple medical crises, emotional turmoil, betrayal, rejection, profound spiritual attacks, and more. It was as if everything…

"No room."  Most of us have heard the story. The fabled innkeeper who turned away Mary and Joseph in their hour of need. The calloused man has become a staple in the Christmas story, though he's never mentioned in the Bible. No, really. The only Gospel that makes mention of there being 'no room' is Luke chapter two. Check it out: "and she gave birth to her Son, her firstborn; and she wrapped Him in [swaddling] cloths and laid Him in a manger, because there was no [private] room for them in the inn." (Luke 2:7 AMP) No innkeeper, only a…

Past stars and galaxies, the glittering lights of mysteries beyond I flew. I was not alone. No, an entire heavenly congregation soared with me. We danced past shimmering hosts and luminescent wonders, winging and dancing, spiraling and speeding past the diamonds of the Holy One’s masterpiece until we pushed past the transparent glass of the blue marbled planet’s firmament. I breathed in the frigid air, peering through the night sky, to look down on this strange place…the King’s new home. Humble. Broken. Needy. Such a startling contrast from the glory of whence He had come. Indeed, the raw starkness of it swirled…

When asked what my favorite Christmas song is, a dozen tunes flicker through my mind: "Carol of the Bells”, “Be Born in Me”, "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day", and “Winter Wonderland” all top the list. But the one that never grows old and gives me sweet chills every time I hear it is “O Holy Night”. The origins of this beloved song are fascinating. The year was 1847 in a French village, and the local priest made an unusual request of the local wine commissioner, and not-very-religious Placide Cappeau. The priest asked this infamously worldly village man to…

I'm a beautiful mess this time of year. And I've learned that's okay. For years I lost precious sleep, valuable hair and added circles under my eyes to achieve the perfect Christmas. For my kids. For my husband. For my church. For my own ridiculous ideals. Christmas is the mother ship for us perfectionist types. Correction, recovering perfectionists, because that's what I am. I wanted to give my family the Norman Rockwell paintings of Christmas memories. You know, something they could look back on and say, "Ah, those were the good old days." I nearly made myself a nut job…