The Gift of WISDOM

“Lord, help me know how to handle this!” Whether your child is a toddler or a teen, I’m willing to bet you have prayed that same sentence.  Parenting, above all things, has made me aware of just how much I need the gift of wisdom from the Lord. The Gift […]

The Gift of FORGIVENESS

Okay, this post is the one I almost decided not to write. I mean, I get to choose which topics to include and which to leave out. So, naturally, I considered leaving out the ones that are hardest for me. But here’s the thing: forgiveness isn’t optional for us as […]

The Gift of SERVING

Yesterday Scott and I joined several of our friends, standing under a gray sky holding brightly colored balloons. We listened carefully as the group organizer explained the schedule and purpose for our gathering. The juxtaposition of the big red and blue and green and orange balloons against the gray, cloudy […]

The Gift of GRACE

“Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves. Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, communion without confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate. Costly grace…is the kingly rule of Christ, […]

The Gift of SALVATION

She crawled up into my lap in the midst of all the Sunday morning chaos. Her face serious, her eyes full of tears, she simply said, “I need to get saved.” April 1, 2007, sitting in that big ol’ green recliner of her Daddy’s, I had the honor of being […]

The Gift of ABUNDANT LIFE

The gift of ABUNDANT LIFE. You’re thinking, “Well, TL, obviously I’m thankful for life. What’s your point?” But here’s what I think — we are thankful for our lives. But sometimes I miss living in the fullness of life God offers because I’m so caught up in the mundane and […]