Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life. Proverbs 4:23 Our culture teaches us to follow our heart. We see something we want, and rationalize and justify whatever it takes to claim it. We see that all the time in broken marriages, relationships, business practices, politics. We bend truth …
Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. Proverbs 3:5-6 These are familiar verses for many of us. I call them my “life verses” because they sum up the life I am …
I love the book of Proverbs, and read it twice over the course of each year in the One Year Bible. When our pastor, Jesse Bradley, made it a challenge to read one full chapter each day during the month of January, I jumped on board. Our congregation is still doing it, not always in …
An excerpt from Earth Psalms, available October 4: When I was a girl, my family traveled, camped, and explored God’s creation. I tried to do the same with my children. It’s in my DNA, so the idea of writing earth psalms as worship to the Lord sprang from my heart. Once I started, I couldn’t …
An excerpt from Earth Psalms, available October 4: When I was a girl, my family traveled, camped, and explored God’s creation. I tried to do the same with my children. It’s in my DNA, so the idea of writing earth psalms as worship to the Lord sprang from my heart. Once I started, I couldn’t …
I read a recent editorial that got me thinking about how many choices we make in our lives, and how Americans are have more opportunities to do so that most places in the world. We are fierce about holding onto our right to make choices. We chose to become a republic rather than be unrepresented …
Sometimes I spot ironies in the newspaper and wonder if the stories are put close by design or accident. Here’s an example: Abortion clinic will be first to open. A district court judge ruled it unnecessary for an Austin, Texas abortion clinic to meet hospital surgical standards. Right below this short NewsWatch story, in the …
A writer is supposed to write, right? Well, sometimes I have to shut off my computer and walk away. I’m not admitting defeat. I’m leaving the forest so I can see the individual trees. I’m coming up for air. I wish it were easy to write. I wish I could get the story fully out …
Every time Mother’s Day rolls around, I think of Mom. Not that I don’t think of my mother many times during the year. We had fun together. She and Dad were the ones who taught me to love nature. While Dad fished with my brother, Mom and I would wander the streams and find wildflowers, …
I recently took a class in “flash fiction” taught by Ben Wolf of Splickety Publishing Group. I’d never heard of flash fiction or micro and nano fiction. Flash fiction is 1000 words or less, micro less than 300, and nano less than 100. Each of these fiction forms presents a story with all the necessary …