I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. Psalm 139:14 It was 1983. I was 21 years old. I had just quit my laborer’s job after a semester of unbridled addiction. I had plunged into a major depression and I spent the entire summer […]
Hope
Small Joys
My spouse and our daughter and pup and I are in the woods at a family cabin for the weekend. This, our little building in the woods with no electricity or plumbing, this is my favorite place in the world. We decided to spend our daughter’s second birthday here. We’re eating lots of watermelon and […]
Hope in Winter
Here in Minneapolis there’s still a lot of snow on the ground, though the snowbanks have diminished during some recent unseasonably warm days. (For us in Minnesota “unseasonably warm” in early March means highs in the upper 30’s, maybe even low 40’s.) Also, the days are getting noticeably longer, and Lent has begun, both signs […]
Hope in the New Year
The first Advent candle is the candle of hope. The stories of Mary and Elizabeth are about waiting and hoping in God’s promises. These are followed by stories about the hope of the magi who traveled a long journey and the shepherds who left their flocks to come to Bethlehem and see what God had […]
Good News for
Reluctant Hearts
written by Rachael Keefe – reposted from her blog, Write Out of Left Field I gave up trying to be happy and joyful just because it’s the holiday season a long time ago. Growing up, I thought I was the only one who didn’t have the perfect Norman Rockwell (or, these days, Hallmark) family. Nearly […]