Thirsty Together

It’s amazing how thirst spreads like wildfire amongst young children. When the first one says, “I am thirsty,” the room fills with echoes of the same. Everyone has to go to the water fountain to get a drink. Thirsting is catching just like yawning. I bet you just looked around for your water bottle. That’sContinue reading “Thirsty Together”

The Distilling

On a whim in 2001, my mother and I drove late into the night to West Virginia, to a little old house on a lake that once belonged to her grandparents. She loves genealogy, and we spent the weekend exploring cemeteries and old home sites in hollers left empty by time and progress. In Pax,Continue reading “The Distilling”

Crunchy

Confession: I make my own granola.  You probably just mentally labeled me a “crunchy mom,” if you use the new lingo. With the advent of an entire department of the government dedicated to “making America healthy again,” we’ve developed a lot of terminology for our latest health trends and crazes.  I like making my ownContinue reading “Crunchy”

Into the Deep

Our pastor brought a thimble to church. I was sitting so far back that I could barely see it. He held it up between his thumb and forefinger and stood in front of the pulpit. “If what there is to be known about God is an ocean,” he said, “this represents how much we know.”Continue reading “Into the Deep”

Jesus is Enough

Or, When Drowning Makes You Thirsty… For the woman at the well, carrying much more of a burden than her water jar.  For the hypocritical Pharisees who didn’t really want answers to their questions. For Mary and Martha, drowning in grief.  For Thomas, doubting the intangible, fearful of what the tangible might mean. For theContinue reading “Jesus is Enough”

Sure

This is not going to be an article about homeschooling, or the passage of time, or how quickly children grow up, but my oldest child graduated from high school last weekend.  The day was beautiful, and my take-away has been thankfulness that I can know what I’m sure of.  Launching a child into this coldContinue reading “Sure”

Impoverished

There are many kinds of poverty. Several weeks ago, an eleven year old boy told me that when he was younger, there had been no food in the house. He had seen puppies nursing and had realized that they were receiving sustenance. He was so hungry that he had fed alongside those puppies from theContinue reading “Impoverished”

The Shining Wire

For a snare to work, an animal’s gut instinct must drive it to kill itself. Struggling against the snare is precisely what strangles it. Snares are ugly things. Anyone who has seen an animal in a snare doesn’t want to talk about it.  The Psalmist recognized a snare’s connection to sin, as did the Prophets.Continue reading “The Shining Wire”

Chrome Commodes and Other Idols

The heavy metal door swung closed with a clang, and I was alone in the drunk tank. (That’s what they call the solitary confinement room in my local jail.)  The block walls and cement floor are bare. A shiny chrome commode adorns one corner. It seems larger than it is because it is the onlyContinue reading “Chrome Commodes and Other Idols”