Mornings with Jesus

DO WORRIES EVER get the best of you? I would like to say that never happens to me, but inevitably anxiety crowds in. I close my eyes to pray in the morning, hoping for some blissful release, and the worries make their chattering racket heard. Like th

THREE YEARS AGO, MY HUSBAND, David, and I erected a backyard arbor, planting an heirloom climbing rose on either side—one deep red, the other golden yellow. We hoped they’d look stunning as they met and mingled atop the antiqued metal framework. We w

MY HUSBAND AND I GREW up watching Star Wars. And so when Star Wars: The Force Awakens came out a few years ago, we were excited to share the experience with our children. On the first day it was released, we found ourselves at an early-morning screen

I TRAVELED FOR MUCH OF June. Efficient for travel connections, but hard on my “there’s no place like home” heart. I missed strawberry season and making homemade freezer jam. When I arrived home, several small bouquets of lily of the valley and other

Abundantly free! Ephesians 1:7 (MSG) I FELT LIKE A SALMON swimming upstream as I pushed my cart through the aisles of Walmart. My plans to dash in and out to pick up a one-hour photo, a prescription, and a few groceries faded. I had forgotten about

WHEN A BEDBUG INFESTATION CAUSED us to relocate our long-awaited family reunion to a rustic retreat center, I assumed we would cancel. Most of Dad’s twenty-plus cousins would have to sleep in bunk bed dorms and run-down cabins. I assumed they wouldn’

LIVING IN FLORIDA, WE HAVE many major theme parks nearby. My ten-year-old son is a big fan of big roller coasters. The steeper the drop, the faster the ride, the tighter the curves, the loopier the loops, the more unpredictable the path, the better.

THANKS TO MY DIGITAL SOFTWARE, I have many different Bible translations at my disposal. Sometimes I gain new insight into a Scripture by reading it in different versions. But not always. Last week, I researched an Old Testament verse and grew more co

I LIVE IN CALIFORNIA, AND every decade or so we experience drought. The rain stops. The hills turn brown. Summer brush fires break out. And cities clamp down on water usage. Everyone is asked to let their front lawns suffer to save water. Instead of

TAP WATER IS UNFIT FOR consumption in many countries. When I travel overseas, I either run tap water through a portable filter I pack or buy bottled water. We can run into serious problems when clean drinking water isn’t readily available. I experien

ONE OF MY FAVORITE TV shows is The Honeymooners. The iconic lead character, Ralph Kramden, would say, “I’ve got a big mouth!” whenever he talked too much and got into trouble. It was a hilarious form of self-correcting on the show. But I can relate i

OUR HISTORIC PORTRAIT AS A nation is blotted with faces of hate. Each time it’s revealed, I feel overwhelmed with sadness as well as somewhat paralyzed regarding what I can do to help. When I think about the men who marched with Nazi and KKK parapher

OUR SON, DAUGHTER-IN-LAW, TWO GRANDCHILDREN, and their dog all moved in with us this week. We’re thrilled to have this “close-up” time with them for a year while our son finishes his studies at a local seminary. In our daily interactions, I’ve notice

MY HUSBAND, DAVID, AND I love picnicking. Yesterday, we piled our basket and cooler into the car and headed for a beautiful spot we’d discovered, about an hour’s drive from home. When we arrived there, everything seemed perfect. Almost everything. We

I’M ALWAYS LOOKING FOR HEAVEN—IN people, places, and things. We live on Florida’s Suncoast, a tropical paradise. We used to live in the postcard-pretty mountain town of Berkeley Springs, West Virginia—a state John Denver dubbed “almost heaven.” Yet n

I’VE EXPERIENCED SOME HEART-STIRRING MOMENTS through the years while on vacation. Many times, I didn’t want to leave. To me those getaway spots represented Jesus’s peaceful presence in amazing ways. Couldn’t we stay a little longer? But whether it wa

I LIVE ON THE FORTY-FIFTH parallel, which means my town is located halfway between the equator and the North Pole. Because of this, summer days last longer than if we were farther south. During the hottest months, dawn occurs between 4:30 and 5:00 a.

A WIDOW FROM VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, attended a women’s conference where I spoke. After the last session, she came to me and said, “My house has a large daylight basement with a room for people in career ministry. The beach is fifteen minutes aw

MY HUSBAND AND I WERE hiking on a beautiful summer day after a heavy rainfall. On our way down the mountain, I mused aloud that I would need a walking stick to navigate through the thick mud, and I wandered off the trail to find one. A few moments la

ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL sights in Yellowstone is the Grand Prismatic Spring. It’s the largest hot spring in the United States and the third largest in the world. Ferdinand Hayden, who led the first official expedition to the spring, said of it, “No

JAMAICA IS MY FAVORITE CARIBBEAN country. The pristine beaches, crystal blue water, scrumptious food, and friendly people draw me back time and time again. On my first trip, I was like a wide-eyed kid, marveling at the waterfalls and lush vegetation

THE OTHER DAY I TEXTED a friend who was not feeling well. Using Jehovah Rapha (Healer), one of the names for Jesus/God, I told her I would pray that He would make her well. Unfortunately I typed the name wrong. Usually my iPhone’s automatic spell-che

WE STAYED AT AN AMAZING rental house over the summer with my family. The house was on top of a hill overlooking a deep blue reservoir surrounded by windswept, brush-covered mountains. Over the hills, out to the west, was the vast Pacific Ocean. And t

NEEDY. I HATED THAT WORD. I used it in a self-deprecating “sorry to be a needy friend” type of way all the time. It resurrected memories of being labeled emotionally immature. I cried with someone who initially responded with, “Call if you need to ta

I WOKE UP IN THE middle of the night. My arm was under my pillow, and the weight of my head had squashed it and turned my arm into a numb lump. I touched it with my other fingers and even used my other hand to move it around. The arm felt nothing. On

LAST NIGHT, I DREAMED ABOUT a close friend I knew as a teenager, someone I haven’t seen for decades. For many years, we lost touch with each other, but both of us kept searching. At last, we made contact through social media. I had my dear companion

AS A FRIEND AND I spoke on the phone, she poured out the impossibilities of a family relationship crisis that seemed unending. They would make significant progress, then retreat into old habits, old bitterness, old regrets that fueled old arguments.

OLD FAITHFUL, THE FIRST GEYSER to get a name in Yellowstone National Park, is called a “highly predictable geothermal feature” in that “since 2000 it has erupted every forty-four to one hundred and twenty-five minutes.” As scientists have gotten smar

EARLIER THIS YEAR, OUR PASTOR made a statement that nagged at my mind: “The greatest need we have as a church is to see our need.” I couldn’t help wondering how that applied to me as an individual. How well do I see and understand my own needs? If yo

MY DOCTOR ORDERED AN ULTRASOUND for me at a clinic thirty miles away. I arrived at the facility with a half hour to spare. I’ll grab a cup of coffee, I thought upon seeing a teeny café in the building’s foyer. The woman behind the counter greeted me

MY MARRIAGE HAD BEEN ON life support for several years before I decided to pull the plug. The early years were good—lots of hope and dreams. The latter years were not—full of treachery and heartbreak. And although I had a relationship with Jesus, I h

THE RULES FOR THE DOLPHIN pool were clear: Let them come to you; only touch them if they swim alongside the edge in a way that allows you to stroke their side or back. I prayed that one would swim close enough for me to touch it, even if my fingertip

THIS SUMMER, WHILE MY HUSBAND and I were enjoying a short getaway together, we met a mature couple we liked immediately. They had just climbed to the top of a Vermont mountain. There was something about the woman that impressed me and made me want to

TEMPERATURES CONTINUED TO RISE AS I raced to complete a series of errands. I sighed, stepping into the car. Two more stops and I could head home. As I turned the key in the ignition, a light shone on the dashboard, accompanied by incessant ringing. T

MY EIGHT-YEAR-OLD GRANDSON, LUKE, WATCHED several older cousins ride the giant swing at a Christian campsite. “That looks like fun,” he said. “I want a turn.” He stepped onto the platform and asked the swing operator to buckle him into the harness. A

AS I READ THE FIRST chapter of John today, I was challenged by Jesus’s words to the disciples who approached Him. I spend a lot of time asking Jesus to come into my life, my day, my activities. I tell Him about my goals and ask Him to bless them. In

IN FEWER THAN FOUR WEEKS, I will officially be a middle school teacher. I accepted a position as a lit and writing teacher at my boys’ school. This makes me laugh that high, hysterical hyena laughter of nervousness. I haven’t faced a life change this

ONE DAY WHEN I HAD an appointment in New York City, I decided to walk to the commuter train from the suburb I live in. I typically drive, but it was a balmy summer day and I needed the exercise. As I hurried through the large parking lot, I passed do

WHEN MY HUSBAND, RICHARD, AND I visited our daughter’s family last summer, seven-year-old Roman wanted to take up fishing. The week included three trips to the sporting goods store, stops for bait and licenses, and jaunts to local lakes. All of which

AN UNUSUAL AUGUST RAINSTORM HAD pushed through our area, causing power outages overnight. The next morning calm returned, along with cooler temperatures. I moved to the back patio, coffee and Bible in hand, to enjoy the change of weather. I relished

THE BIBLE IS FULL OF prominent old folks God recruited for vital kingdom missions. Abraham and Noah, Elizabeth, mother of John, and assorted mature apostles. God is definitely not ageist. One of the things I most enjoy about living in the Sunshine St

MY DAD’S FAMILY BUILT A vacation cabin in the Sierras when I was in kindergarten. It’s full of memories of snow trips, hot days at the lake, and playing house under an old oak tree with my sisters and cousins using a nearby stump as our kitchen. Some

I WOKE FROM A DREAM with a heavy heart. I’d been dreaming about a young woman dear to me and my family. In the dream, she was bombarded by lies and untruths. They pelted her like hail. I wanted to place myself between her and the hailstorm but couldn

WHEN THE CHILDREN WERE YOUNG, exhaustion sometimes pushed me past the point of reason. “I worked hard for hours to make this nice dinner. Now sit here and enjoy it!” or “We saved all year for this outing, so we aren’t leaving until you stop whining a

WE TOOK OUR KIDS ON an epic adventure this summer, from Arkansas to the West Coast, exploring as much of the country as we could before heading on up to the giant coastal redwoods of California. Every little town up there has its own “drive-through t

YESTERDAY, WE WERE AT THE beach near San Diego. The sky was clear, the sand was hot, and the waves were big. My sister, Erica, sister-in-law, Traci, and niece, Aly, were with me, staked out on a blanket. A myriad of teenage cousins were going boogie

AS MY FAMILY AND I were driving along the interstate, I glanced down just as two dashboard lights came on. My stomach tightened, sinking like a stone. I pulled off the freeway to park under a shade tree. With no buildings in sight, we’d broken down i

DAREDEVIL NIK WALLENDA HAS ALWAYS fascinated me with his death-defying feats. He’s a high-wire artist and holds nine Guinness World Records. A few years ago, I watched a televised event of Wallenda completing one of his greatest accomplishments: cros

MY FRIEND ELICIA HAS A favorite Hebrew song, and it was sung at her son’s bar mitzvah. The lyrics are “The whole world is a very narrow bridge, and the most important thing is not to be afraid.” The Hebrew word for narrow, tzar, is also the word for

WHAT DOES IT REALLY MEAN to pray without ceasing? Does it mean we chant at the wailing wall in Jerusalem? Or is it more like the meditative murmurs of a cloistered nun? I used to think that was the picture of devoted prayer. Today, it looks like cons

ONE OF MY SUMMER HIGHLIGHTS was attending a weeklong Bible camp in Washington State with my two daughters and their husbands. Each morning, there was a program that included a chapel service that began with a half hour of singing. One morning, we san

IT’S SAD HOW EASILY A simple question on social media can ignite a firestorm of argument. Most everyone seems ready to present their opinions as the only plausible one, regardless of whether they have the correct facts or any experience with the issu

MY STACK OF MAIL INCLUDED a bill, a letter informing me that I qualified for a car loan (I don’t even have a driver’s license), a piece of junk mail addressed to my ex-husband, and a fat envelope with my name written in bubble letters. As soon as I s

MY HUSBAND, MY FRIEND JOYCE, and I recently attended a special exhibit at our local museum. As we entered the first room and started looking at the relics and art, we heard a man speaking with authority from the side of the room. We made our way clos

OUR DOG, FLASH, IS A cross between a Jack Russell terrier and a Chihuahua. He is cute and fast and loves to play. He loves it when you throw him the ball. He just has one problem. Once he brings the ball back to you, he won’t let it go. You can tell

IT’S BEEN SAID THAT UNFORGIVENESS is like taking poison and waiting for the other person to die. So, basically, not forgiving someone hurts us more than it hurts the other person. Forgiveness is vital to our growth in Christ, and the Lord commands we

THERE ARE TIMES WHEN I think I have Jesus somewhat figured out. I sing about Him at church, tell stories about His miracles to my five-year-old, and write devotions that make people feel good. I understand His mercy. His kindness and compassion are t

A FRIEND AND I WERE talking through our ongoing struggle with balancing family life, personal ambition, calling, and the need to help provide for our families’ needs and a few wants. I have worked from home for more than a decade since my first son w

WHAT’S WRONG WITH ME? WHY can’t I get it right with her? No matter how I framed comments, I managed to offend my friend repeatedly. I was frustrated and wondered who would listen, pray for me, offer wise counsel, and help me figure out what was going

AS A LIFELONG PEOPLE PLEASER, I really don’t like it when people don’t like me. I avoid conflict and confrontation. And while I’m not one to flaunt my faith or factions on Facebook, I know my faith is evident. Apart from the obvious, like writing for

IN THE SUMMER AND FALL, my favorite place to collect my thoughts—but more important, to listen to Jesus’s whispers—is on my screened-in front porch. White wicker chairs that’ll have to be replaced someday soon. Flowers in window boxes that match the

MY ELDEST DAUGHTER LIVES IN eastern Washington State, and we make the five-hour drive to visit her a couple of times each year. The scenery changes dramatically when we cross the mountains east of Seattle. Forest greenery and lakes behind us, we ente