Mother’s Day Thoughts As Mother’s Day approaches, I have been thinking about my mother and grandmothers. In practical ways they showed all of us children they were crazy about us. Recently, I taught my 5 and 7-year-old granddaughters to sew. They are so excited to learn. When I carry in a big bag of fabric scraps, which some would consider garbage, they start pulling out pieces of printed cotton or filmy tulle, oohing and squealing over them as if they... Read more
Beauty and Bad News As the autumn leaves drifted through the crisp, cool air, I drifted into absent-mindedness. Normally, the beauty of the season would have lifted my spirits, but I was struggling with bad news. Cancer had exploded our life again five years after the first diagnosis. The responsibilities of wife, full-time art teacher, mother, and grandmother overwhelmed me, and my husband’s illness crowded my thoughts. I only wanted him to be well. Nothing else mattered much in comparison.... Read more
“Because of the oppression of the weak and the groaning of the needy, I will now arise,” says the Lord. —Psalm 12:5 (NIV) The Y2K Scare In December of 1999, experts predicted that computer systems all over the world might crash on New Year’s Day 2000. We had moved to Mozambique, one of the poorest countries in the world, to do mission work. We didn’t know what would happen at the turn of the century, but it never hurts to... Read more
Too often Christians are pessimistic, fearful of the future and certain the end of the world is upon us, but as I read the scriptures, I see Jesus as an optimist offering hope for his followers. Yes, Jesus teaches that suffering and tribulation will come, but joy follows. Even when facing his own death, Jesus was focused on resurrection. Jesus’ Focus on New Life He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected... Read more
Jesus, always loving and full of joy, taught and shared his stories lavishly as he feasted with anyone who would welcome him. Extravagantly giving of himself and his time, he never hoarded possessions, stories, encouragement, or energy. Whatever You Do What if this radical, joyful giving is the attitude we need? Dance, bake, teach, design, serve, program, sing, paint, write— fling it all out upon the world, trusting God will provide as we use the gifts He has given. Sounds... Read more
Spending time in nature can be a path to loving people and loving God more. Nature as a Path to Loving God Richard Rohr’s meditation for April 19 explains how Bonaventure taught this principle: “Bonaventure taught that to work up to loving God, start with the easier lesson of loving the very humblest and simplest things, [such as a rock or a leaf, then a tree perhaps, then an animal, then humans] and then move up from there.” This struck... Read more
After a few weeks of settling into our new home on the island of Cyprus, we thought it was time to meet our neighbors. It happened to be the month of Ramadan. We resolved to knock on our downstairs neighbors’ door and invite them for a meal one night. Meeting the Neighbors Daughter and mother appeared at the door, smiling and welcoming us. The daughter was translating our English for the mother and the mother’s Turkish back to us. The daughter said she had been... Read more
Hemingway in a Muslim University I have a confession to make: I had never read Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea until I began teaching American Literature at a Muslim university on the island of Cyprus in 2009. As I taught the modern American authors, I realized biblical allusions so permeate Western Literature that it is impossible to understand such classics as The Old Man and the Sea without a knowledge of the Bible. It’s true that modern literature can... Read more
Emily Dickinson wrote, “Hope is the thing with feathers.” I love that poem. I picture hope as a tiny bird hiding, barely breathing for fear of predators, but hoping to mount up with wings and soar to safety one day—kind of like all of us during the pandemic. Lots of Hope These days, everyone is throwing around the term “hope,” myself included. I am always full of hope in the spring, and especially this year. I hope everyone will be... Read more
Sometimes I think creatives like me have a extra talent for worry. Our tendency to be sensitive and dramatic means we can imagine all sorts of scenarios in which the world comes to an end in the worst possible way. Or maybe that’s every one of us, especially now in 2021, in the middle of a pandemic. And it’s tornado season here in Kentucky, and—fill in the blank with your worry of the day. Yet Jesus said in Matt. 6:26-34,... Read more
Learning to Love God by Loving Others
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