The Most Important

Relationships are the most important thing in our lives.   We are relational beings.   Since the first human walked the earth, it’s been clear that relationships are necessary for happiness.  God himself declared in the second chapter of the Bible, “Then the Lord God said, ‘It is not good for the man to be…

Spur Each Other On

Years ago we were sitting on our front porch taking a break in the tropical heat chatting with the father of our teenage daughter’s best friend.  He was reminiscing about his family’s long years in this primitive third-world country where we now served alongside him.  The stories began to flow and I’ve never been the…

Privilege

  They were a despised minority in a third-world country.  The father of three died very young, leaving his wife with tiny twin girls and a pre-schooler.  The struggling young wife became overwhelmed and lost her sanity.  The pre-schooler was taken in by an aunt who cared nothing for her and treated her like a…

Negative Nelly

“I never got Rice Krispies,” whined Negative Nelly.  I was shocked that these snarky words jumped out of my mouth during an innocuous family conversation about cold cereal.   Indeed, negative words tumble of my mouth with little provocation.   Husband had said that as a child, he was allowed to eat Rice Krispies sometimes because…

Dream Killer

I gathered up my courage and braved rush hour traffic in the city to attend a workshop a few days ago.  Holding up her smartphone, my instructor said bluntly, “This is a Dream Killer.”  She had been exhorting us to work hard and be disciplined in our pursuit of excellence.  Reminding us that we have…

Is God Happy with Me?

What does God think of me?  Recently I had the privilege of getting some personalized soul care.  The wise woman who had been mentoring me over the past 5 months had suggested that another woman join us for a time of guided prayer as we wrapped up our study together.  During this time, I was…