Ah, Easter: that glorious day marked by egg hunting, honey ham, and zombies. Wait—what? Yep. Zombies. It's actually one of my very favorite parts of the Easter story, and for the life of me, I have ZERO idea why it so often gets overlooked in church. But it's right there in the middle of Scripture:... Continue Reading →
We've just crossed the official threshold of spring. Time to think of warmer days and an early harvest of juicy fruit. Soon the markets will abound with zesty lemons and sweet strawberries, peaches and nectarines, grapes and bananas and oranges. In the spiritual realm, we can keep an eye out for a fresh harvest, too:... Continue Reading →
He comes on that day to be glorified in His saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed. (2 Thessalonians 1:10) I'll let you in on a little secret about God you may not have heard: He's a glory hound. He is out for His own fame and praise. We've dwelled a... Continue Reading →
Over the last couple of weeks, we've been looking at the radical nature of the fruit of the Spirit. First came love, then joy, and now peace. Since this is one of my personal favorites, let's get right down to it, shall we? In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for You alone,... Continue Reading →
If you could time-warp back to middle school and give your younger self some hard-earned wisdom, what would you say? How about high school? College? Your first year of marriage? We all live and learn, usually the hard way. In honor of Pastor's Wife Appreciation Month, and because I have a particular heart for planters'... Continue Reading →
Every believer used to be part of an angry apple orchard, just like the one in Oz. Our natural state was to grow bitterness, selfishness, deceit, pride, fear, and a host of other rotting things from the core of who we were, lobbing them at anyone unsavvy enough to pass by. Last week we looked... Continue Reading →
In my mind, March is the last month of winter (despite the inevitable snow drifts of April in Connecticut). The garden seems to think so, too—daffodil stalks are already peeking through the frozen ground. This is a cold, hard month, both physically and spiritually. Pain lingers here: a cross raises up, and a tomb is... Continue Reading →
When's the last time you strolled through an apple orchard hunting for coconuts? Or bananas? Or peaches? Hopefully never. (If you have, we can schedule a time to sit down and talk.) The fruit you'll find in nature always depends on the seed it sprang from. Unless you intentionally cut off a branch of the... Continue Reading →
The sage-colored plastic lid lifts off the barrel to reveal bundles of lace, sequined leotards, creamy evening gowns, and fluffy blue tutus. Costume jewelry swims at the bottom of it all, along with a few purses and gloves. My six-year-old self runs for the makeup set and applies what I imagine to be the perfect... Continue Reading →
March is Pastor's Wife Appreciation Month. Well, it was a couple of years ago, but I guess the hype wore down, the sexy wore off, and the champions wore out. Now it's just a sad trail of broken links. Be that as it may, few groups out there are as missionally essential and as massively... Continue Reading →
The Dwelling Place 