Life with God
In the Beatitudes, Jesus tells us how to live a happy life. This is not the stuff you will find on the bookshelf of best sellers at O'Hare airport. The Beatitudes challenge the current self-help mega industry offering counter-cultural concepts that may take you by surprise. Blessed are the poor in spirit. Blessed are the... Continue Reading →
At my Community Bible Study yesterday we read about Jesus retreating to a "desolate place" to pray. He was deeply saddened at the death of John the Baptist and we can infer He needed time with His Father to grieve and recharge. The CBS leader shared she has a friend who is fond of asking,... Continue Reading →
They hijack our joy - they rob our contentment. You know them. They go by the acronym, WASTE. Because that's their outcome. A big fat WASTE of time. Worry, Anger, Stress, Trepidation, EnvyI just came home from a delightful yoga class where Brian our teacher quoted an intention for our practice. Brian said when negative thoughts... Continue Reading →
I can still see the white pillowcase stuffed with rocks and ragged squares of torn sheets. She would carry it over her shoulder in Santa Clause fashion and plop it on the classroom table. "This is SO heavy!" my mom would exclaim. "What on earth is inside?!" She would take out the first rock and unwrap... Continue Reading →
“Life changes in the instant. The ordinary instant.” In her book The Year of Magical Thinking, Joan Didion talks about the "ordinary instant" when her husband died. The ordinary instant. Relative to which, we mark our lives as the Before and After. For me, there was the ordinary instant when the pediatrician told me my 4-year-old son who... Continue Reading →
For years, God's voice in my head mimicked that of my mother Peggy urging me to try harder, perform better, attain more. Don't you see? You're not quite good enough. So when my friend, Sally, gave me a copy of the daily devotional called Jesus Calling, it was a spiritual game changer. It turns out... Continue Reading →
My testimony of faith is not dramatic. It is not material for an essay, a book, or a Guidepost Magazine article (the latter having been annoyingly consistent in its rejection of my submissions - which I don't hold against them. Well, maybe a little.) My story of faith can be summed up by the preposition,... Continue Reading →
Here's what I know. Jesus wept. The shortest verse in the Bible. Perhaps the most profound. He was standing at the tomb of Lazarus overcome with grief. Jesus understands. God watched His own son die on the cross. God knows suffering. In the valley of the shadow of death, He is present. You cannot see... Continue Reading →
Codie has been studying the Sermon on the Mount and wishes to share these takeaways - Chill out. Smile a lot. If you look especially cute, which I do, you get more food. (“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body,... Continue Reading →
