On Friday, before speaking at a MOPS group about slowing down in our fast-paced world, I stopped to snap a couple of photos. Days of rain had given us nothing but gloomy gray skies, but that morning I awoke to the sun's yellow bloom against sea-blue sky.I gazed, amazed, at a backdrop of red and yellow leaves, as if awakening in Technicolor Oz after several tiring, … [Read more...]
Learning to Pray Like a Child
As steam wafted from the bowl of macaroni and cheese, our son would pray.Quite young at the time, maybe four or five, he always requested to pray at mealtime.These prayers lasted a while. Rather than cut him short, I learned to bring lids to the table, cover the food, bow my head, and give him all the time he needed, because who wants to stop an outpouring of … [Read more...]
Mega Memory Month: Christ in You
For Mega Memory Month January 2010, I'll be working on Colossians 1.The thought is (I admit this may be a bit idealistic—even unrealistic—nevertheless...) that I might add on to this chapter over time; that is, for future Mega Memory Months I could continue with Colossians 2, 3 and 4.For now, I'm going to focus on Colossians 1 without fretting about the rest. Colossians 1 … [Read more...]
From the Rush to a Hush
Shhhh...People are quieting down all over the place.They're discovering how to be still ... or, at least, they're trying to.They're stopping. Pausing. Praying.People are enjoying silence.Ann Voskamp at Holy Experience is taking us by the hand this week and leading us to quiet places with her primer on slowing down and how to seek. She invites others to post on intentional … [Read more...]
Walking in the Truth
In our Sunday morning class at church, we're studying the little books of the New Testament. Last week was Philemon; this week, Third John, which contains the following verse:I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth (v. 4). Ah, yes. This is my hope, my prayer, my joy—that my children are walking in the truth.And I myself want to walk in … [Read more...]
A Watch That Beeps
My sister-in-law Marj was instrumental in connecting me with a retreat-planning committee that organized a "Day of Reflection." I was one of the breakout session speakers, presenting The Contemplative Mom: Restoring Rich Relationship with God in the Midst of Motherhood.She attended my session and described it from her perspective in a post entitled "Ann, God, and a watch … [Read more...]
Do It Again!
As I mentioned in a recent post, I only read a few early chapters in Acedia & me, by Kathleen Norris, before I had to return it to the library. However, I found myself pondering some of her words. For example, she wrote, "The difficult thing about days is that they must be repeated" (p. 12*). Acedia, it seems, struggles with the sameness and … [Read more...]
Remember to Walk Slowly
My sister-in-law sent some song lyrics to me in an e-mail. She said she heard it performed by a choir several years ago and has kept the lyrics to ponder each year. The first words are, "Lord, before this fleeting season is upon us..." Obviously, this fleeting season is already upon us. Already fleeting. Nevertheless, the message is good, even now, even in the … [Read more...]
The Mother Letter Project
By now you've surely heard of The Mother Letter Project?In case you haven't, here's the skinny:Inspired by the Advent Conspiracy, husband and wife agree to create presents for each other instead of buying gifts, and donate the difference to help others. The husband, God bless his creative, thoughtful soul, decides to collect a series of “open letters” from mothers, to … [Read more...]
The Search for Solitude
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?(Psalm 42:2)This morning I spoke at a MOPS group about the search for solitude.It's extremely challenging for moms of young children to find any time alone. In a household with small kids, it's hard to take a shower or use the bathroom without an interruption! So the thought of regular … [Read more...]
Top 2 MMM Memorization Tips
Those MMM participants who are working on something like "Jabberwocky" or the Preamble to the Constitution are committed to valuable memory work at an intellectual level. I applaud and encourage your every effort.However, my Top 2 MMM Memorization Tips apply primarily to those who have selected a Bible passage (though I suppose creeds, prayers, and hymns could apply, as … [Read more...]
Thankful Thursday
Prairie Prologue reminded me that it's Thankful Thursday. She linked to the carnival hub at Sting My Heart.So I pause, in my thinking and learning and reading and writing and cleaning and planning, to give thanks: Laughter from upstairs. Two children putting dresses on stuffed animals. Neighborhood swimming pool. Having one's own pool sounds like a lot of fun, but sharing … [Read more...]
The Ten Boom Museum – Betsie and Corrie ten Boom
Scroll down about halfway, if you'd prefer to eschew the long, somewhat tedious, personal introduction. [Updated: Visit the ten boom Museum website for a fantastic 360-degree, narrated tour—you'll feel like you are right there (be sure to enter the hiding place itself, in Corrie's bedroom)] The trip that we just took to Europe was all about family. As you know, the … [Read more...]
Let the Little Children Sit by the Water's Edge and Come to Him
Last Saturday, as we anticipated our last day all together in Holland—and given our little family's impending departure, our extended family's last day all together for a very long time—we considered where we might gather the next morning for family devotions. We could have simply cleaned up from breakfast and gathered around the table in one of the rented cottages. Then … [Read more...]
Is Google Making Us Stoopid?
The cover article for the current issue of Atlantic magazine (July/August) is entitled “Is Google Making Us Stoopid?” Hm. Is it?Author Nicholas Carr writes:“As the media theorist Marshall McLuhan pointed out in the 1960s, media are not just passive channels of information. They supply the stuff of thought, but they also shape the process of thought. And what the Net seems … [Read more...]
