living in light of eternity
for the small things: light on water, shaded forest, laughter ringing clear my mind to see your beauty make me thankful, Lord for the moments gone forever, conversations, love so fleeting, give me power to remember, make me thankful, Lord all the gifts declare your kindness, joyful Father, loving Friend, make me long for you,... Continue Reading →
My husband can do a mean Billy Graham impersonation. His voice drops an octave, his eyes start to twinkle, and in his best Southern accent, he implores, "Come on down, just come as you are. Come on down." Billy, as you've probably heard, hit 99 today -- 99 years on planet Earth. The man was... Continue Reading →
From Thirty Thousand Days! "We are very, very small. Consider for a moment that there are over 100 billion stars in the Milky Way alone, and that the Milky Way is only one of billions of galaxies. Try to fathom for a moment the unfathomable distance between each of these perpetually exploding balls of gas... Continue Reading →
When I was pregnant with our first kiddo, Michael and I were invited to a missions conference at my home church in NC. In the kickoff event, we missionaries were invited up on stage under the glare of a dozen bright spotlights and introduced. I remember standing there a little dazzled, feeling the hot lights... Continue Reading →
It's Labor Day. Break out the cooler, splash some mud, kick back. Summer slid by in a sticky blur -- are you ready for fall? Today we celebrate the end of vacation, gear up for another year of vocation. We are back to work -- ordinary, beautiful, work. Today we play, tomorrow we ply our... Continue Reading →
We wrapped it up last night, our study of Ecclesiastes. The Preacher has taken us one by one down a maze of dead-end roads, pushing us past our pat answers. As Derek Kidner says, "The searching questions he has asked are those that life itself puts to us, if we will only listen. He can... Continue Reading →
"Most of the things we need to be most fully alive never come in busyness. They grow in rest." — Mark Buchanan "Sabbath observance invites us to stop. It invites us to rest. It asks us to notice that while we rest, the world continues without our help. It invites us to delight in the... Continue Reading →
What can we do when we're lost in the dark? How can we confront the absurdities of life on a fallen planet? What does it mean to choose light? Last night we talked about this idea of choosing light, setting our hearts on things above, consciously turning away from darkness that could swallow us whole.... Continue Reading →
So enjoyed our conversation about spiritual battle Sunday night! It went right along with this gem from Charles Spurgeon's Morning and Evening... Stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord. (Exodus 14:13) "These words contain God's command to the believer when he is reduced to great straits and brought into extraordinary difficulties. He cannot... Continue Reading →
Chapter 7 of Ecclesiastes--another fascinating bit of ancient wisdom! While it did contain a sprinkling of sound relationship advice (especially what to avoid), it wasn't a perfect match for our chapter of Thirty Thousand Days, "Love Deeply." The closest fit for that idea would have come from Ecclesiastes chapter 9, where the Preacher exuberantly says,... Continue Reading →
Catherine's Letters 