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Posted in Perseverance on Aug 24th, 2008
Doctors embrace an oath to “first do no harm.” When they can’t figure out what’s wrong or the correct treatment, doctors fall back on this foundational principle. As Christians, we have a parallel, guiding principle—“corrupt no one.” Don’t be a stumbling block. Don’t cause someone else to trip and fall. Don’t violate someone else’s conscience. Don’t [...]
Posted in Adoration on Aug 24th, 2008
Somewhere past Toad Suck Park and Pickle Gap, a cabin nestles in the foothills of the Ozarks—the cabin I called home last week. I spent the Fourth of July in an Arkansas cabin outside of Mountain View, home to hillbilly humor and watermelon seed spittin’ contests. I witnessed both. My favorite part of the trip [...]
Posted in Job Description on Aug 24th, 2008
Job description for believers: bearer of the cross, guardian of the gospel message, conveyor of eternal riches, giver of grace, ambassador of Christ, lover of the unlovable, washer of feet, vessel of mercy, peacemaker for troubled hearts, reflector of His glory, whisperer of heavenly mysteries, declarer of His praise, keeper of His secrets—a chosen-precious-and-pampered child [...]
Posted in Mothers on Aug 24th, 2008
Life was good. I had a mom and a dad, two okay brothers, and a pet beagle. Frizzy hair in a spaghetti-straight world was bearable as long as my family and friends didn’t make a big deal of it. Then, Mom and Dad’s marriage broke up before my twentieth birthday. “Mom, I’m home!” [...]
Posted in Supplication on Aug 24th, 2008
“Mommy, can I have some Skittles, pleeeease?” my toddler begged in the grocery store line as she looked up at me with pleading eyes. Through the years, the requests involved sleepovers, kittens, cell phones, ponies, and trips, but the requests were almost always punctuated with a “please.” I do the same thing in [...]
Posted in Thanksgiving on Aug 24th, 2008
Thank you for the flowers and the green grass, thank you for the trees, thank you for the birds, thank you for my house, thank you, thank you, thank you, Jesus. Amen. As a kid, I didn’t have a problem with gratitude, at least most of the time. I could almost always find something [...]
Posted in Confession on Aug 24th, 2008
Psalm 51 is the universal Christian cry of confession, thanks to a wayward king who also possessed a “heart after God.” David’s choice to stay home from battle was his first mistake—he wasn’t where God wanted him. Also, roaming the palace rooftop while he played hooky from war was akin to today’s wayward male surfing [...]
Posted in Adoration on Aug 24th, 2008
No one will ever accuse me of being a Martha—just one look at my house and you’d know that peeling paint and dusty shelves aren’t the focus of my attention. Nor do I care to dictate to others what work they should be doing, because then I’d have to oversee the mundane jobs and that’s [...]
Posted in Prayer on Aug 24th, 2008
I gave my heart to Jesus during a West Texas thunderstorm. Twelve and terrified, I just knew the hundred-year-old lumber of my great-grandfather’s farmhouse provided little shelter from the imagined tornado that threatened to sweep me up at any moment. But over the clamor of rain pelting the tin roof, my heart heard the whispers [...]