The House You're Building

Last night I got to participate in a zoom meeting with a group of close friends.    Utilizing technology to connect with others is becoming more common as we seek to spend time with those we love by practicing social distancing.    This is my tribe, my life-group, friends who have been together +20 years in fellowship.    These are the people you call when you are moving, when you have something to celebrate or to grieve.    I hope all of you reading this have those kinds of friends and have had a chance to process the new reality we find ourselves living with them.    We needed to laugh, to cry, to share worries and how the shelter in place is affecting our lives.    We needed to pray.    To see facial expressions and hear voices was a comfort.    A few of us brought a word of scripture to share.    One friend followed up on last night’s digital hang out with a prayer via email.  ...

Dear Blog Readers, As I’ve been working on other projects, it has been a long time since I’ve last posted—so long in fact that I wonder who, if anyone, will read these words.  If you’re like me, life has been a bit different lately.  That’s not entirely accurate; life has thrown given us a hard left.  Our everyday lives, our busy schedules, our work and our plans have been almost entirely eliminated as we are living through the COVID-19 pandemic.  Many Christian teachers I follow have come out with sermons, blog posts, and podcasts addressing the state of the human heart and the place we spiritually find ourselves in.  And I am no different—though my influence may be small I want to use my voice to unite under one Spirit with those reminding us to turn to God.  I am so profoundly grateful that I have faith in a time where many are looking for answers.  Where I have peace, to counter the fear that is all around me....

The Joy of Christmas Christmas is all about joy.  Every commercial venue is selling this emotion; from model’s poses on a website selling sweaters to the latest Hallmark movie, there is an expectation in the air that life will make sense, our relationships will finally come together, and we will feel light and free, our souls wrapped in incandescent light.  In dropping off my son at a sleepover last night, my girlfriend recounted how busy she’d been shopping, how much she still had to do, and how her New Year’s party wasn’t turning out like she hopped.  I appreciated her honesty.  So many of us put on a happy face this time of year and get through the holidays, thinking that maybe that next tradition will give us the pick me up we are looking for.  I’m guilty of the perpetuating the deception of Christmas cheer.  Last night was my work holiday party.  The whole week had been filled with heaviness. ...

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind.  Romans 12:2 I had an unexpected lesson from God this morning.  The location of today’s encounter came at the Kia dealership.  A few months back we discovered the rear seatbelt in our 3 rd row had separated from the frame.  A bolt was not tightened properly and had to be reinstalled.  The shop had to order the part so this morning I returned to get the seatbelt fixed.  I have a dislike for sitting in waiting rooms in general but especially going to autoshops.  My dad was a mechanic and I’ve always felt they treated women differently.  Not that I’m a huge expert in car repair but I feel like I know more than most.  I started off frustrated because I was told I the repair would be free and take 30 minutes.  Then 10 minutes later I was updated that it would cost me $175 and take 90 minutes.  I called...

For who has despised the day of small things? But these seven will be glad when they see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel - Zechariah 4:10 I have a tendency to get excited about things.  I've always been that way about ideas or plans.  When I learn a new skill, I start planning 10 new projects to make.  When I go on a trip, I  immediately try to start learning the language.  I can spend hours on Pinterest planning things I want to cook.  I do make new things every week to the chagrin of my family...can't we just have tacos again...but for every new recipe I try I have 5 more that I sit on my "making soon" board.   This year God has given me the challenge of getting to know myself, my limits and abilities and owning who I am right now.  With that knowledge, I'm to embrace my capacities and make choices that reflect balance for my life.  Last week my busy season came to head with multiple thin...

Recently my friend had back surgery.     An avid runner, fitness instructor, and triathlete, you can imagine how hard the thought of a minimum 6-week recovery was to her.     Not used to holding herself back physically, she had to allow herself to rest.     Once the initial healing-stage is complete, to compete again, she has to slowly ease herself back into her normal workout routine.    I’m a little different than her.  Though I attend a fitness class here and there, I don’t teach them.  For me a run is a 3-mile jog around a lake near my home, not a 12-mile toughmudder.  I also don’t think I could swim a half-mile leg unless I was in a shipwreck.  For me having to take 6-weeks off and watch Downton Abbey on the couch wouldn’t be too tough. Physical recovery is one thing, but what if you’re facing a recovery of the heart?   I was led to this question as I recently pondered a phrase in...

What do you say to a woman who just found out she has terminal cancer?  How do you respond when this woman is a complete stranger? How to you encourage when she begins opening up to you about her currently reality and the trauma from her past that has caused her to drift from God.   This past Collide event I had a divine encounter on a carpet-worn step.  I noticed something in her face that bespoke her burden.  I sat down.  She told me a fraction of her story but the Spirit within me revealed that she was carrying much more.  I knew she had fear and needed answers.  Was she going to be okay?   Inside I started to panic a bit—for how do you proclaim to a hurting woman that God is still good when He allows that impending diagnosis over your life? Especially when your own cancer story was early detection, outpatient surgery, and regular dermatology checks to make sure it hasn’t returned?   ...