He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
Jeanne and I used to laugh when classroom teachers were smothered in flowers during Teacher Appreciation Week, or when they amassed stacks of Starbucks gift cards during the weeks leading up to Christmas. As reading teachers working in small intervention groups, we might have received a candle that looked like it had been lit, an apple-pin slightly tarnished,... Continue Reading →
When the sun is shining, when relationships are sailing, when CostCo has restocked its Kirkland pinot noir from Oregon - that's when I am all-in with God - praising, humming, brimming with spiritual contentment. But when life takes a turn, or as someone recently put it, "When life throws garbage cans in your path," my... Continue Reading →
God, I pray with expectation that you will... I used to think prayers like this were presumptuous, even manipulative. He is God after all. But then I got to thinking... Jesus criticized those who doubted God's miraculous power - "Oh ye of little faith" he called them. And when Jesus did perform a miracle, he... Continue Reading →
You sit in the doctor's office waiting for test results. A midnight phone call bodes difficult news about a loved one. You don't get the job. (Or worse, they neglect to inform you that you don't have the job.) At such times, there are different responses falling into two categories -- ignoring (or resenting)... Continue Reading →
Last night Brett and I sat in our backyard watching with great concern as a baby sparrow flailed its tiny wings and flitted across the grass. One of its wings seemed underdeveloped and the little birdie could not get airborne. However, it was not lacking confidence as it circled our yard, pecking here and there,... Continue Reading →
My mother loved this verse from Isaiah 45, "I will go before you and make the rugged places plain. I will break in pieces the doors of brass and cut asunder the doors of iron. And I will give you the treasures of darkness and hidden riches in secret places that you may know that... Continue Reading →
My neighbor, Mary, a longtime nurse, commented, “I am not very religious, but I have witnessed the power of prayer. I don’t know how it works, but when people pray, I have seen healing.” I believe in the power of prayer. Prayer to a God who is all-powerful, all-knowing, and all love. This God is... Continue Reading →
The year was 1964. My mother sat in the waiting room outside intensive care, a coast away from the rest of the family. She did not know whether her 21 year old son, in critical condition, would survive the head injury sustained in a car accident. Hours stretched into days as an untenable future loomed. ... Continue Reading →
First a caveat -- Biblically speaking, I should not be writing about volunteer work . Such deeds should be done in secret, keeping your right hand in the dark as to what your left hand is up to. But the truth is -- I am quite selfish. In the toddler room at South Park Church,... Continue Reading →
Brett and I are sitting at the gate in the Albany airport - a full hour before the flight boards. Plenty of time for my mind to conjure up all that can go dreadfully wrong in this short flight to Chicago. I hate short flights. And I especially hate small planes which gyrate with the... Continue Reading →
The banker slid the document across his desk and handed me a pen. "Sign and date on this line." I took the pen and signed my first name, Barclay. Then I began with the first syllable of my last name, Mar. Quite unexpectedly, my mind veered from the signature line to imagining the banker's impatient... Continue Reading →
When I was a teacher, the first week of August brought heart pounding anxiety. I envisioned new initiatives and curriculum, new kids and colleagues, meetings that would entail post-it notes and sharing-out. My anxiety had a voice -- no matter how many classes you take, or books you read, or years under your belt, your... Continue Reading →
August 10, 1986. The sun had broken through the clouds and was shining brightly against a deep blue backdrop. Our wedding ceremony and reception aboard the Free Spirit, cruising through Chicago's Burnham Harbor, had exceeded all my dreams. Brett had been dashing in his white tuxedo, our vows had been heartfelt, and there had been... Continue Reading →
We call her Kacie-Facie. Or simply The Face. I mean, how could you not? Just look at her! Fifteen years ago, on a sunny day in early May, Alex and I drove to a Denny's parking lot, off the highway, midway between the Indiana breeder and our Chicago home. We had done our research. According... Continue Reading →
Corrie Ten Boom's autobiography, The Hiding Place, tells the story of an unlikely heroine -- a 50 something, unmarried watchmaker from Haarlem, Holland, who alongside her sister and father, worked with the Dutch underground during the Nazi occupation, hiding Jews in the secret annex of their home. They were ultimately caught and Corrie and Betsie... Continue Reading →
Shadows and Shelters 