"The gospel redeems and enchants every aspect of our lives—from the spectacular to the quotidian. We have a Savior who was a carpenter, a King who spent his days with fishermen. And he taught us that work isn’t ultimately about us, or about how it makes us feel—it’s about 'loving and serving our neighbor.'" --Gracy Olmstead for TGC
Ecclesiastes and Pretzels
Grisham, Hemingway, Melville, U2, The Byrds, Dave Matthews, and debatably, Pink Floyd. What do they all have in common? They’ve all borrowed (stolen?) from Ecclesiastes. Who can blame them? What is not to love? This is the book for our times: from drinking to free love to despondent fatalism, it’s like the lyric sheet of our... Continue Reading →
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Adventures of Some Crazy People
I suppose it probably surprised some people when we loaded up our entire family and brought them along for Michael's D-Min cohort that first time. Shoot, it surprised me. I mean, really? Bring three elementary school kids to Georgia for 10 days for a grad school intensive? Who does that? I suppose it surprised still... Continue Reading →
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Sola Gratia
It is a beautiful phrase, rolls over the tongue like a dessert at Macaroni Grill: sola gratia. By grace alone we are saved, undeserving sinners though we are. By the kindness of God, by the compassion of Jesus. Grace is our highest doctrine, our most precious inheritance. For 500 years we have repeated, sola gratia. ... Continue Reading →
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Checking One Off the Colorado Bucket List
Last weekend we decided to drive east instead of west. About two and a half hours' drive are the Pawnee Buttes, rising up out of the flat plains like giant, misplaced sand castles. To get there, you have to hold your nose through dairy towns and take care to stop at one last outpost of... Continue Reading →
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64 Questions for Making Disciples
Our church has been focusing on the importance of building joyful, passionate disciples of Jesus. The ladies were challenged at the If:Gathering to step up our discipleship relationships. The whole congregation has walked through a “core commitments” sermon series focusing on… yep, discipleship. And at our recent kick-off with the Calvary Family of Churches, we... Continue Reading →
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What if a book…
What if a book had the power to change the temperature of your life, stir warmth into a cold heart, light a fire in a stale room? What if a book had the power to speak so directly to your soul that it seemed the author had been peering into your windows day after day? ... Continue Reading →
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Ms. Anne Lamott on Books
"For some of us, books are as important as almost anything else on earth. What a miracle it is that out of these small, flat, rigid squares of paper unfolds world after world after world, worlds that sing to you, comfort and quiet or excite you. Books help us understand who we are and how... Continue Reading →
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Startled
Sometimes Facebook juxtaposes just the right pair of posts, just the right images to startle me awake, to catch a new glimpse of truth. Today I saw a such a pair. Post #1, a video: colorblind people see color for the first time with innovative new glasses. Now, I’m going to let you roll that... Continue Reading →
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Mamas and Boys
Four mamas, nine boys between us. The oldest is fifteen, the smallest fiercely five, and we’ve been through it. From infertility to a whole lot of surprising fertility, from spectrums and conditions to hand-wringing and tears. We’ve seen the inside of a lot of hospitals and churches and counselors’ offices and McDonalds, laughed and snorted... Continue Reading →
Catherine's Letters 