The Idols of Ought
“Do you realize that you are ruining your life?” With that question, what I suddenly did realize was that this was an Intervention. Some well-meaning friends had sat me down to “bring me to my senses” and help me see…
Know Rest for the Weary
“Never wake a sleeping bear!” says Aunt Margaret. “Or Aunt Grace!” pipes in then two-year old Zippy, wise beyond her years. I am not a morning person. I’ve often joked that the answer to “When does human life begin?” is…
Bumper Cars: Let Him Drive
In each of the last several years, at the beginning of Advent, God has given me a theme for the upcoming year. One year the theme was “receiving”; another was “silence.” Each has been a theme that God developed powerfully…
Night Vision: A Reflection on the Transfiguration
I often receive images in prayer, but that night in prayer group they were different. Usually, the images were personal—if not for me, then for someone else with me. They were usually something to encourage or inspire, or perhaps (gently)…
Love in All the Wrong Places: On Leaving Behind the “Land of Transactions”
C.S. Lewis once wrote that God “whispers in our pleasures, but shouts in our pain.” Years ago, l was living a “season of shouting”—when I was wrestling with deep spiritual longing and angst, but not yet recognizing God’s voice in…
The Lie of Lack
The women on both sides of my family loved to play cards. My grandmother and my aunt introduced me to all sorts of fun games. Most of them I’ve forgotten, but I do remember that my favorite was War, and…
