living in light of eternity
Maybe it’s the book you rescued from a yard sale, or the one you left abandoned on a shelf for years because the cover was awful. Maybe it’s one that was mis-shelved at the library right between two of your favorites, and you found yourself looking at it on a whim. Maybe you happened to... Continue Reading →
’Tis the season! You can tell, because Black Friday has come and gone and now they’re advertising doorbuster sales for Christmas day. Black Friday was the wonderful invention of some civic-minded committee determined to help burnt-out Americans celebrate their glorious day off by giving thanks for alarm clocks and lines that stretch around the block. ... Continue Reading →
So Jesus had a knack for asking questions that threw people a little off-balance. Questions that provoke anger, exposing his enemies, questions that stick in a person's head and poke, like irritants introduced to an oyster. Eventually, over time, maybe that irritant will produce a pearl. As many smart people have observed, Jesus asked way... Continue Reading →
This week, Matt Lauer was the most recent cultural icon to tumble at the revelation that he had offensively coerced women into sexual situations against their will. Lauer, unlike some of the politicians, musicians, and comedians who’ve been accused of similar sins in recent days, was widely perceived as a good guy — upstanding, smart,... Continue Reading →
Maybe if you're a parent, you've heard the term bandied around -- "executive functioning." It's a set of skills that some of us, well, lack -- the ability to be efficient, be organized, Get It Together. It comes up in conversation along with words like underperforming, procrastination, and Attention Deficit Disorder. It's my nemesis. And... Continue Reading →
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 →
"As the early church boasted rightly, the message of Jesus is both simple enough for a child to paddle in and deep enough for an elephant to swim in." — Os Guinness, Fool’s Talk So I am a few months in to my DIY seminary project, and delighted to report that I have found several... Continue Reading →
Catherine's Letters 