In Christmas 2020, our world clings to hope for rescue in so many places…vaccines, government power, cultural movements of justice, justice in the court system, human-made organizations. Honestly, my heart has been gripped this year by an overwhelming disbelief in possible rescue through any human system. This pervasive gripping hasn’t Read more
Merry Christmas, dear friends! Some of you have written to tell me you’re singing “O Holy Night” daily, even though it’s a challenging song to sing! You know, the Lord delights to hear us sing even if we don’t like how we sound. In Song of Solomon 2:14 (ESV), He says, Read more
It was a holy night. Jesus Christ, our Savior, was born. Can you imagine the sound filling the sky as the multitude of angels arrived? What a sound must have been the glory of heaven, lyrics from worship at His throne breaking into our earthly atmosphere, praising God! The song Read more
The pandemic canceled our entire summer’s travel plans, so my husband and I decided to plant a vegetable garden for the first time. Honestly, we needed a positive home project as we grieved heavy losses of not meeting our newborn grandson, not seeing our kids and grandchildren, and missing our Read more
We sing this hymn at Thanksgiving, but what if the words feel inauthentic to you this Thanksgiving? Do you ever have running thoughts like these when you sing? Come, ye thankful people, come, raise the song of harvest home; Lord, I’m not feeling thankful today, at least not thankful enough to Read more
As Thanksgiving approaches, we may not be gathering in typical ways. Our tables may not include those normally invited, we may be grieving as we miss those who used to fill the seats, we may not have enough money to feast. Our hearts may be too overwhelmed to feel like Read more
If we’ve all learned anything from 2020, we’ve learned that our plans actually submit to the sovereign Lord who orders all things. The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps (Prov. 16:9). Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that Read more
I wondered about the author of this hymn’s lyrics (God Moves in a Mysterious Way, Cowper, W., 1773). What happened in this believer’s life? His mother died when he was six. He fell in love but wasn’t allowed to marry her. He went to law school but couldn’t handle the Read more
David was in trouble. In Psalm 55, He cried out to the Lord, complaining honestly about his upsetting situation. He lamented, moaned, got it all out there as He prayed. He was hurt, burdened, and filled with anxiety. Can you relate? I sure can. As my students often say, “The Read more
I detest being in conflict. Relational conflict keeps me up at night. I run past conversations on repeat in my mind, ruminate on words I might say tomorrow, and kick myself with guilt for what I did or didn’t say today. When someone disagrees with me, my knee-jerk response is to Read more
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