The Gift of SONG

Do you remember the group Hanson? Their song "Mmmm Bop" was popular in the late 90s. The lyrics weren't especially compelling but pretty much everyone I know was humming the song. Why? Because it was so catchy. It's funny isn't it, the way a tune can get stuck in our heads. THE GIFT OF SONG But sometimes we get a song stuck in our heads and we really — REALLY — wish it would go away. Right? So we try listening to other music or distracting ourselves to get the words and tune replaced ... [Read More]

The Gift of NEARNESS

Scott is in Brunswick, GA, this week leading worship for a revival there. He left yesterday before I got back from the (in)RL conference in Nashville. And I'll leave for Raising Generations Today THRIVE conference on Wednesday before he returns on Thursday. We're on our fourth day apart and I'm already feeling the weight of the distance. Yesterday (Sunday) he had to go to urgent care for kidney stones. He was in a great deal of pain and I felt far, far away. There is a gift in nearness, ... [Read More]

The Gift of RELATIONSHIPS

Scott started a new job last Sunday. And for the first time in my life, a new position at a new church didn't require an immediate move.  So, even though we no longer attend and serve at a church in our small town, we still live here. Which means, last night while we were eating out, we got to see several friends from our previous church. And yesterday while I was getting my hair cut and colored (hallelujah!), a sweet little girl from Calvary came into the same salon and we got to get our ... [Read More]

The Gift of CONTENTMENT

Have you ever had an epiphany? Periodically I spend the day at the church. (The practice began when we lived forty minutes away from our church, so I went with Scott on Wednesdays so we didn't have two cars there.)  One of our first Wednesdays at First Baptist, I walked up a few flights of stairs (and thought how I really needed to exercise more) and bounced into the room where about twenty women of all ages (college through senior adults) were doing my friend Katie Orr's study, Everyday ... [Read More]

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 of WISDOM It isn't just parenting that can leave us desperate for understanding and discernment, right? From choosing a job to sorting through difficult relationships, I'd venture to guess none of us makes it through the day without some ... [Read More]

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 believers. It's a gift we've received and it's one we're expected to give. Even when it's hard. Even when the offender isn't sorry. Even when we don't want to. Even when it takes doing it again and again, day after ... [Read More]