Come to me all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28 One of my favorite ways to illustrate the need for daily self-care, particularly to parents of children with challenging behaviors but definitely applies to all, is the airplane oxygen mask analogy. It simply states […]
Devotionals
United at Last
And the crowds asked him (John, called the Baptizer), “What then should we do?” In reply he said to them, “Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise.” Luke 3:10–11 My tree is bigger yours! flap, flap flap Now it’s mine! No its mine!!! mine mine […]
Letting Go
Instead, strive for God’s kin-dom, and these things will be given to you as well. Luke 12:31 Today, in worship, we will dedicate our donations to Home2Homes. Shane and I are debating whether we will have the kids bring forward a representative wagon-full of our donations, or whether we will have them bring all the […]
No Room for Baggage
And the crowds asked him, “What then should we do?” In reply he said to them, “Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise.” Even tax collectors came to be baptized, and they asked him, “Teacher, what should we do?” He said to them, “Collect […]
Spaciousness
“God, you have been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.” –Psalm 90:1-2 Shortly before Fran and I headed off on our annual vacation in Florida, a colleague asked me what I was […]
Space: The Final Frontier
Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he said, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the law? What do you read there?” He answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with […]
Ash Wednesday: The First Day of Lent
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me. Psalm 51:10 Ash Wednesday is the day in the Christian liturgical calendar (our calendar of holidays and seasons, separate from the secular calendar) that begins the penitential season of Lent, which ends with Easter Sunday, this year on […]
Sunny Mornings
“Let us break bread together on our knees. When I fall down on my knees with my face to the rising sun, O Lord, have mercy on me.” (Let Us Break Bread Together, African American Spiritual) Sunny mornings awaken my energies. They renew my spirit. Easter morning in my mind’s eye is the sunniest of […]
Faith Through Illness
So Jesus answered and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ it will be done. And whatever things […]
Where Was God?
From noon on, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. And about three o’clock Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Matthew 27: 45-46 “Where was God?” Sometimes it’s easy to see God. In our children, learning and […]