Last week, I stood in my kitchen, doing dishes while listening to a John Piper message on Romans 5. His opening prayer prompted a volcano of tears and the mountain kept gushing over the next 38 minutes. Despite all my training and rational understanding, my heart doesn’t always incline itself toward the love of God. […]
Spiritual
Common Sense Has Left the Building
Imagine your neighbor comes over and plants a rose seedling in your yard. You don’t notice it right away, but even after you do see it start to develop and grow, you think, “Man, this isn’t a convenient time to have a rose bush. What do I know about growing and maintaining roses and do […]
Getting Your Kids to Think Deeper
The things my children say–and I in response to them–would never have crossed my imagination prior to having offspring of my own. You just can’t believe the quirky quips they toss….without even trying. At lunch time last week, my youngest–and most talkative–assessed the items on his plate. “What is this orange thing here?”My response: “Um, […]
God’s Plumb Line May Not Be What You Think
Growing up in a house of builders, I learned early on the value of a measuring tape, level, and T-square. And not just valuable tools, but necessary, unless you wanted to mirror Green Acres (sorry, if you are too young to understand that cultural reference). As in constructing a house, building a life requires exact […]
When the Future Freaks Me Out: What about ‘What if’?
Several years ago, when our children were still preschool age, a spring storm assaulted our town. The tornado alarm on our weather radio erupted with abrupt concern and we knew a twister was coming close to our subdivision. Having no basement, my husband and I deliberated. Do we drive the five minutes to my folks’ […]
Leaving a Life of Shame
Lately, I’ve noticed several faith-based songs affirm this cultural trend to live a life without regrets. Personally, I think regret is a healthy thing. We don’t learn or grow if we have no regrets. Remorse leads us to repentance and renewal. Furthermore, Jesus calls us to examine and turn away from our life of sin. […]
3 Words that Will Help You Say ‘No’
I’m a guilt-prone, overly-responsible, passionate and protective firstborn. Within my strengths creep my weaknesses. For example, my fervor and determination can often be interpreted as anger or antagonism. My prophetic tendencies to speak truth often get me blasted by those who don’t appreciate accountability or questions. Although I don’t enjoy confrontation like some, I won’t […]
The Humility of Christmas
This last week I’ve had one of those “sacred echo” moments where everything I read pointed back to one word: humility. My Advent reading, a message I listened to, a Facebook post, Scripture…all declaring a point of purpose: “Are you listening, Kristin?” I’m trying, Lord. But, humility is a painful lesson. Honestly, I waver between pride […]
Facing Death
Through my teen years and into college, I loved going to weddings. Not only did I revel in the romance and celebration of the day, but I also eagerly anticipated my own special day with my future spouse. What aspects did I like? What would I implement in my own ceremony? Etc. Weddings were enjoyable […]
When You Don’t Agree With Your Pastor
The first 16 years of my life, my dad presided as my pastor and primary spiritual teacher. When he preached, he regularly encouraged his listeners to be like the Bereans, searching the Scriptures daily to see if what they were being told was true (Acts 17). In other words, he’d say,”don’t take my word for […]