From the first moment of Creation it was clear that God made Adam and Eve for eternity. He fashioned them after his own immortal image, created a completely perfect home for them, and provided the Tree of Life to nourish the seed of eternity he planted in them. Then sin changed things…

Why are we so bothered by the word elect, when we spend so much of our actual lives waiting to be elected? We wait to be picked for a team in grade school. We wait for an invitation to the prom. We sit through interview after interview before we get a job and feel incomplete…

In the past five years, attending funerals has occupied more of our calendar space than attending weddings, a new chapter in our journey. My wonderings,my curiosity, my trust about heaven stirred, a good thing…

Niche - A comfortable place, or status, or position appropriate for a person. From google and the Merriam-Webster dictionary. Why was a niche so important to me? What did the niche provide for me?

My husband sometimes watches college wrestling on TV. He enjoys it. He understands it. He wrestled in high school and college. I rarely watch with him. I don’t understand it and I don’t enjoy it. That’s sometimes how I feel about life. It’s like a wrestling match or a fight. There are so many “hards” swirling around me. I don’t enjoy it…

I am so thankful for Romans 8:1 There is therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. You know, there are some stories that sometimes are just so embarrassing you don't even want to share them. If you do, you learn you not only minister…

Rachel celebrated her 30th milestone last July. She connected with several of us (older, ah-hem) friends asking for a gift - our gift of words written on a card and delivered by snail mail. How old-fashioned. I loved it…

On this ordinary Tuesday, as I glanced through Facebook, this phrase stopped me, saturated with the sacred. My thoughts went back to last September as my sisters and I gathered around Mom's bed. Her eyes were closed, her breathing shallow, our hands holding hers. We prayed, we sang, we told stories…

Sue Tell continues to share from her blog, Echoes of Grace, and takes on some of my favorite scriptures and topics. Often as I read, I think she is living a life similar to mine. I like her thoughts on scheduling white space in our calendars to give us wiggle room, recognizing the sacred in ordinary places…

Yes, the social media campaign ignited the Me Too message. No, I was never sexually abused. Yes, I'm raising my hands, me too, but with a different message. I have experienced the ministry of vulnerability. As Brene Brown says, "vulnerability is at the core of meaningful human experiences"…

The theme of shame begins in the story of creation. Genesis 2:25 translated in the New Living Translation (NLT), "Now the man and his wife were both naked, but they felt no shame." Adam and Eve, totally exposed and naked, felt no shame. Before the fall, they were completely at peace with who God created them to be…

I wanted to hurl hurts right back! The title of the book, Hurt People, Hurt People by Dr. Sandra Wilson, defined me that afternoon. My hurt morphed to madness. I grabbed the leash of our golden retriever, Lexie…

My key word in 2017 was rest. As December was winding down, I began to pray, asking God what He would select for my 2018 word. The answer came before I said “Amen”. After pondering for a few weeks, “did I hear correctly?”…

Bill, one of the Navigator Vice Presidents, attended a meeting of the National Leadership Team in January, his first day to return to work. That evening he and I went out to dinner with one of the senior consultants and counselors for The Navigators who…

My marriage verse was about to take on a new meaning. We were both blind-sided…or perhaps it is more accurate to say we were so caught up in the next thing, the thing we should do, that we were unaware of our reality.

Sue Tell says that: Like you, I wear many hats. This scripture (Today’s Treasure) is my all the time, always in season hat – I am a child of God, the truth from which the rest of my life flows. One of the favorite parts of my day is the stillness of mornings.

Over the past week Christina Fox encouraged and challenged us to see and embrace the beauty of the gift of community. Today’s Treasure is one of my favorite passages because God makes a covenant with Abraham…

Have you ever been in a church where there was conflict of some kind? Perhaps a few people disagreed with something a church leader said. They shared their thoughts with others and before long, more people sided with them. Eventually, there were people on both sides of the issue, arguing and pointing fingers…

Last year, I found my kids these fun Star Wars Valentines. They had cute sayings like, "Join the heart side" and "You're my only hope." It's interesting how a concept…

When my husband and I married, things changed for us. We were no longer two separate individuals but one couple. With that union, came membership into an extended family. My name changed. I learned the rhythms and ways of the Fox family…

Whenever our family talks about taking a trip to Disney World, my husband reminds us, “A trip to Disney isn’t complete until everyone is in tears—even the grown-ups.” We laugh because it’s true. A place that’s supposed to be the happiest place on earth ends up bringing us all to tears…

Whenever I share a photo of my kids on social media, inevitably, someone will comment about one of my sons, “He’s a mini you!” They might point out how we both have deep dark eyes, or similar facial features, or the same hair color. That’s because, as my son, he images me in some way…

Do you feel alone, lonely, forgotten, outside of the main stream of relationships? Social media seems designed to stir up all of those feelings as friends post pictures of their perfect families, exciting parties, amazing vacations and beautiful friendships…

It is hard to trust the Lord in the midst of suffering. When trials come in our lives we’re often inclined to figure them out on our own; or run to the phone and tell a dear friend; or seek to understand why it’s happened; or sleep the suffering away; or turn toward something that will…

Have you ever come through a difficulty and thought, “Phew! I barely made it.” When chronic pain seems overwhelming and you make it through an intensely painful week. When money is extremely tight and you manage to pay that month’s bills…

Surely you know what it feels like to be downward-pressed. News of an incurable cancer. Infertility. A tragedy in your family. Financial ruin. Chronic pain. The battle against the same old sin. The mundane seemingly closing in around you. The hard work of marriage and parenting…

Weariness can suck the life out of us like nothing else. In the midst of long seasons of suffering, or battling particular sins, weariness often sets in and threatens our joy, peace, patience, and faithfulness. We wonder whether it will ever end. We try to just endure. We accept another day of pain or failure…

I remember the fear I felt as the force of the wave overwhelmed me and I went under the salty water of the Pacific Ocean. I couldn’t get my bearings or my footing, but suddenly a strong arm pulled me back into light and fresh air….

In many ways I felt like I was in a ditch with my car broken down and nobody around to help. I was facing different kinds of suffering as well as my own sin and others’ sin. But when I came to these Songs of Ascents (Ps. 120-134)…

Have you ever listened to speaker, read a blog post, article or book and resonated so much with the truth communicated that you knew you couldn’t say it better and you wanted to exclaim, “What she said!”…