This sample devotion is from my new series, Wisdom for Writers: Devotions from the Book of James. Key Scripture: “James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion:Greetings.”James 1:1 How would you start a letter to someone you barely knew? What’s the first thing you’d say about … Continue reading How To Start a Letter
"The earliest autumn coloring along the country roads... except here and there a fiery maple bough. The cornflower is in bloom, the goldenrod is passing, the asters are at the height of their glory. In our garden the chrysanthemums are just coming out." - David Grayson, "September" in The Countryman's Year Good gifts in September: … Continue reading Acorns, Honey, & Chrysanthemums
I used to go to church with a lady who got teary-eyed on September 11th, remembering how her husband could have easily flown as a pilot for United that day in 2001. As the Lord would have it, her husband wasn't working that morning, but Flight 93 that crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania was a plane … Continue reading Where Were You?
"O dear friend, when thy grief presses thee to the very dust, worship there!" ~ Charles Spurgeon The story of August: Fans running throughout the house and strawberry lemonade on days of 100 degrees Summer marigolds in the garden On a day of hospital visits---Christians who stand firm in the surgery waiting room, quoting James, … Continue reading Sorrow, Psalm 139, & the Good Shepherd
This tribute was written for my grandma Naomi's memorial service. She entered Christ's presence Sunday morning, August 17th. My grandma Naomi was a lover of the little things. Looking out her and Papa’s sunroom windows this time of year---when the cicadas are full in the trees, the fish flipping down in the pond, and August … Continue reading With These She Was Content
One day a few years ago, I stood on the porch of a lady who'd just had surgery. I had both arms wrapped under a brown Aldi bag with jars of soup and a loaf of bread inside, and I was feeling rather small. As the lady's son took the paper bag and I warned … Continue reading Store Bought Hospitality
"On warm evenings, we would sit out on the front porch from supper until bedtime. There was no TV then, of course, and on weeknights little traffic on the road. It would be so quiet that you could hear other people talking on their front porches or a bunch of children off playing somewhere. ...Sometimes … Continue reading Summer Canning & Slow Afternoons
Books are a love language, and one of the ways Jared demonstrated his love for me early on was by lending me his pastoral library. I love books, Jared loves books (he has more than I do), and he’s always been generous with them. I’d come home from my visits to Arkansas with commentaries and … Continue reading Two Little Tributes
We saved pickling for the hottest afternoons in July, letting the big round thermometer beneath Papa Jay’s sunroom swing well over 90, the humidity souping up like the moss on his pond. It was a big job, with loads of cucumbers to harvest between our garden and Papa’s. Over a few weeks, Mom would save … Continue reading Pickling Day
“My heart exults in the Lord;my horn is exalted in the Lord.My mouth derides my enemies,because I rejoice in your salvation.There is none holy like the Lord:for there is none besides you;there is no rock like our God." ~ 1 Samuel 2:1-2 Good things in June: Sunday rain and coming home to a Crockpot of soup How Don wears a cover over his cowboy hat when it rains Discovering the weekly grocery ad Eden Annalise, a new niece who is beautiful and calm -- a perfect third child Finding out we are … Continue reading Fresh Basil, June Babies, & Other Growing Things
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