January 19 If you don’t think the world is magical or that God doesn’t spin whimsy things, try buttoning your coat and traipsing out into heel-deep snow when somewhere behind stacks of clouds the sun is almost gone. Make sure the sky is spilling flakes. Forget gloves, forget a cap. If you stomp around … Continue reading How to be Awed by a Magical World
January 12 Christopher Ash is a wise man and his commentary on Psalm 119 is opening my eyes to behold wondrous things out of God’s law. He writes: “We need to come to scripture on our knees, praying, ‘Lord, teach me, teach me, teach me.’”[i] Ash has introduced me to a weak yet Word-hungry psalmist: … Continue reading “Teach Me, Teach Me, Teach Me”
January 5 I’m going to be honest. New Year’s resolutions are often a way I scramble for control— over my health, my schedule, my dreams, my relationships, my life. At the root can be a self-consumed motive to be better, do better, look better. God is unmasking that sin inside me and piloting me on … Continue reading The “Why” Behind Our Resolutions
Something stopped me from full-throttle resolution-writing this week. I realized the last 365 days have been some of the most pivotal in my life. I don’t want to leap into a new year—much less the next ten—without stopping, looking over my shoulder, and saying, “God, you’ve done lovely, mighty things.” Before we speed into January … Continue reading Look Back Before You Look Ahead: 6 Lessons from 2019
Happy Christmas, my friends! It’s been a beautiful month of lights and music and books and worship. Here’s my list of favorites: The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien I know I’ve listed this book twice now on my Smiles list. But I finished it this week and the greatness can’t go unannounced. Here’s an especially … Continue reading December Smiles
December 15 I love looking back at the end of a year to all the books I drank up, and 2019 boasted some exceptional ones. Here’s a list—from 10 to 1—of my favorite books from this past year: 10. Wordsmithy by Douglas Wilson 9. Images and Idols by Thomas J. Terry and J. Ryan Lister … Continue reading My 10 Favorite Books from 2019
December 8 I’m a no-Christmas-music-before-Thanksgiving stickler. But this year, I broke my own rule in October because Andrew Peterson released his first recorded album of Behold the Lamb of God. Behold the Lamb is a collaborative Christmas production that’s been in the works for twenty years. Every December, Christian artists join at the Ryman Auditorium … Continue reading Behold the Lamb of God
Christmas is closing in and I’ve been thinking about Jesus’s grandfathers: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah, David. These were men with staffs in their hands and wool in their beards. Centuries before sheep and herdsmen welcomed Jesus into the world, shepherding personified Israel. Then came the age of kings and “shepherd” took on a new, royal … Continue reading The Shepherd of all Shepherds
Here’s what made me smile and give thanks this month: Fernando Ortega If you missed it last Sunday, my email and blog post were all about Fernando Ortega after seeing him live in concert. I shared this essay on how his music shaped and warmed childhood (and now my teen years). I’m also enjoying a … Continue reading November Smiles
They say the songs of your childhood never really let you go— that music has a seizing, shaping power. It must be true because my Southern Baptist pastor dad still thumps the steering wheel to Journey and James Taylor. Now I’m crossing that threshold between childhood and life beyond. I’m eighteen and watching just how … Continue reading In the Morning, When I Rise
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