Love Brightly

Syria, It's been months since we started praying for you, And at first it was just cries to the Lord, "Help!" We've seen the pictures, the videos, the death, and we are DEVASTATED for you! Yet we are far away--not just physically, but in our daily realities. What do I do?--Have a heart-anguishing moment and then scroll on to the next animal video? No. Not satisfactory. But I feel small and powerless to make any real difference, and my responsibilities are many, so for months I sat conflicted... Last year on a train in Europe, I met an American man named Kevin who had dropped everything, bought a one-way ticket, and came to help rescue refugees who were fleeing by boat. He couch surfed (or cot-surfed, or train surfed) as needed. He was a tall and sturdy man--he didn't fear the dangers, and he had no family or "successful" career that kept him from coming, so he came. I admired how he jumped to rescue others. It's easy to rationalize sitt...

I felt like we had been fast paced lately. How did we have so many assignments, to-do lists, and scheduled activities in homeschooling? I thought the benefit of homeschooling was to savor life and "echo in celebration" in love of learning? I knew I needed to cut some things, and I needed to replace them. If we didn't replace them with something purposeful, the space would get filled with idleness or more busyness. What we needed was intentional relaxation, wonder, enjoyment, and togetherness. So I built upon something we all had a mild interest in--the magnificent birds that are visiting our new yard. I gathered some books from our local library--one with great pictures and short descriptions of birds, and some with story lines so that the reading seemed leisurely rather than studious. The kids love the Smithsonian Backyard Series for this reason. After reading one, we usually make a craft of the animal--cotton balls, pipe cleaners, this type of thing. I adapted this ...

My family loves Star Wars movies, and I've liked them, although not with nearly as much fervor as anything starring Lauren Graham. I've seen some of the films more than once, but I can't tell you the trivia. Princess Leia, Chewy and the Ewoks were part of my childhood, so there's affection there, but in general, the genres of sci-fi or fantasy are not my preferences. I REALLY enjoyed The Force Awakens, but hubby had to remind me of its title-- "What was the Star Wars before this one? The one we saw last Christmas?" I realize that this probably causes disdain in avid Star Wars fans, however, I represent a large portion of ticket buyers, and while there is a sea of Star Wars commentaries written by the fervent and faithful, I decided to represent the casual Star Wars viewer by sharing what I liked about the film Rogue One. Basically, I'll be content with a Star Wars experience if it contains these 7 elements, and Rogue One delivers! 1. A Dynamic Droid ...

When we eat out at a restaurant once or twice, our bodies can cope. But when we do it multiple days in a row, we begin seeing reactions in many different realms of health. I don't like to be "that person"--the one who frets about what they eat, the one who abstains from the party food, but I also don't want to be feeling sluggish, battling headaches, or relying on OTC digestive aids. From everything I've studied, those symptons are like huge red flags--our bodies' ways of saying, "CHANGE SOMETHING!" When we returned to the USA after living in Europe, my 8 year old daughter had severe migraines several times a week. 8 year olds shouldn't get migraines. Either she had a serious neurological problem, or her body was desperately sending a message. We took note--every time she had a migraine, she had consumed a product with high fructose corn syrup.  She loves sweets and ate them whenever offered. She was eating a balanced diet daily, so I didn'...

Update:Thank you for reading and sharing this post! It is my most viewed ever. It has been shared by Bible Gateway and picked up by Cru and republished an abridged version . Here's the original: I've spent 15+ years in ministry, and I've noticed a problem: people who say they believe the Bible haven't actually read it, and people who don't believe the Bible don't want to read it. My response to both groups is this: YOU ARE MISSING OUT! Why? Because the Bible is the best proven source for life-changing joy and peace. And since it's misquoted and misrepresented all the time, you need to actually read it yourself in order to know if you do/don't agree with it or do/don't want to read it. When I mention this, it usually surfaces at least one of these 10 barriers that prevent folks from completing it. Do you relate to any of these? 10 Reasons Most People Don't Read the Bible, Refuted 1. I'm not religious. The Bible is the best-selli...

I’ve had many thoughts and responses to this election season, but here are the ones that have steadily remained from start to finish:         1.   Racism still exists and still inflicts new wounds daily. 2. I’m thankful for the progress of racial equality in America, I’m hopeful that it will continue, and I believe that our country is a place where this is possible.  3.  There are long-term effects of racism; it would serve us all better if we acknowledged this rather than dismiss it. 4. Not all republicans are racists and not all democrats are baby murderers. People need to stop reinforcing these ridiculously false narratives. 5. Just because something doesn’t affect you personally, doesn’t mean it isn’t real or true for someone else. 6.   Having empathy for someone else’s emotions—listening, validating, seeing it from their perspective—is an act of kindness and love. 7. Feelings are a real and good part of our humanity, but many times ...

I’m an advocate for using social media to mobilize the world. I encourage people to use their voices because they CAN make a positive difference!   But… like every progressive technology, there are losses that come with benefits. Instant information at our fingertips makes us become intolerant of things that take time. We now have a world who shares an article before reading it, who tweets a quote without investigating the context, who gathers information from memes, Wikipedia, and spliced YouTube videos, and who believes any version of history that supports their already framed opinions.  To make matters worse, we have a generation of church goers who say they represent the Bible while not having read it, and studies show that only 9% of those claiming to be Christians hold a viewpoint that is in line with what the Bible actually says. Put that together with instant public forums, and we get a cacophony of opinion-generated memes that exalt and entice pu...