I joined a gym last week. As I perused the group fitness schedule, I noticed a class called Intense Fit. My body said NO WAY but my brain pointed out that the handout specifically said the class was for “all levels” so it couldn’t be that bad. My body is still ticked that my brain won… [ read more ]

Last week, we asked a tough question …Does God care when we suffer? Because He knows everything that is and was and will be, maybe He is able to view our suffering with a dispassionate air. Maybe not. Let’s dig a little deeper… In John 9, we read the story of the man born blind. A man, Jesus tells us, who had… [ read more ]

When you grow up in church, it’s so easy for the stories of Jesus to become—well—boring. After so much repetition, we lose our sense of wonder. The miraculous becomes mundane. When the wedding runs out of wine, we aren’t concerned. We know Jesus makes great wine. When the crowds are hungry, we aren’t worried about… [ read more ]

It happened again last week. I entered the Cone of Shame. If you have kids, you’ve been there. It started out innocently enough. Everyone was smiling as I announced that we (that would be me and my three littles) were going to the store and then we were going to get French fries!(They were. I… [ read more ]

Every now and then, I have a great idea for a blog post, but the words won’t flow. So I change gears. Write something else. And wait. I have waited months. This time, I only had to wait a week for God to finish my thoughts and leave me, again, in wonder at His love… [ read more ]

Please indulge me this Monday morning as we take a trip to the archives. My family is recovering from a 10 day battle with a nasty stomach virus. And I am recovering from some of the harshest criticism my writing has ever received. This post seemed appropriate. Grace and peace to all of you! Originally… [ read more ]

I hope for so many things. I hope the weather will be perfect for my child’s birthday party. I hope NCIS will never go off the air. I hope the cheesecake I had for dessert will go to fuel my brain instead of finding its way to my hips. I have no reason to believe any… [ read more ]

As I’ve been hanging out in the gospels for the past few months in an effort to soak up what Jesus said and did, I couldn’t help but notice something. I’m big on being out of the boat , but being in the boat isn’t as easy as it’s cracked up to be. Do you remember the story? In… [ read more ]

On a cool, clear night several months ago, I sat on the back steps with our three-year-old son. As we stared at the sky, we talked about how big the moon was and how bright the stars were. Well, I talked. He jabbered in that special just-turned-three language that is part English – part who knows what. After… [ read more ]

I’m a Clemson Tiger. My blood runneth Orange. And when it comes to my team, I’m all in . . . all the time. But sweet mercy. For those of you who don’t follow college athletics, Wednesday night the Clemson Tigers faced the West Virginia Mountaineers in the Orange Bowl. Clemson was favored to win.… [ read more ]