Category: Faith
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You Ask Me What A Calling Feels Like
It’s irritating. A calling will sound like the beep-beep beep-beep you faintly hear in your sleep-drowsied dreams. At first you will be dimly aware of its alarming persistence, until slowly, slowly, maybe then with a start you’ll curse the break of day. That is to say, it’s unpleasant, a calling, like a fly, buzzing around…
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On Disassembling Jesus’ House
A Reflection on Mark 2:1-12 Jesus, you looked with compassion on the men who disassembled the roof of your home to bring their paralyzed friend before you. They tore through the structure that kept you protected from the rain, sheltered from the hot sun. The hole they made – big enough to fit a man…
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A Moment of Clarity in the Midst of Crisis
I woke this morning before dawn and went outside into the chilly almost-spring air. As I watched the sky fade from black to that early morning blue, stars twinkling out one by one, all at once I was struck by the unusual quiet of the moment. Birds were chirping, my wind chime was singing a…
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Before Peter Spoke, Women Preached
A Reflection on Luke 24 They said it was an “idle tale”. The women rushed into the house with wide eyes and fierce conviction, proclaiming that Jesus’ tomb was empty, that angels greeted them, that Jesus is risen. And the men brushed aside the women’s word like you’d brush away a delicate butterfly. An “idle…
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I Have Calmed and Quieted My Soul (Psalm 131)
Abba Father, like my girl quietly playing with her toys while I sit nearby book in my lap, and she looks up at me, eyes alight with wonder, crying, “Look, mama!” wanting me to see the spectacular discovery before her of how colors of clay blend in her kneading hands – and I smile and…
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Love Unbound: A Glimpse into Mary of Bethany
I don’t often share posts about my thoughts on Scripture, but Mary of Bethany has captured my imagination this week and I felt compelled to share her story. I am intrigued by the outrageous display of affection she lavished upon Jesus in John 12:1-8. This is an easy story to gloss over, to write-off as…
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The Fight For Fatherhood
Dear Readers, Today’s post comes from my husband, Kevin Johnson. Kevin is not just the love of my life, he’s also a wonderful father to our girls. One of the things I admire so much about his parenting is his intentionality. He seizes every moment available to teach, to love, to bond, to fight for…
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Those Little Feet (sacrifice & joy: the paradox of parenting)
She snagged my phone from the bedside table while I was getting ready for the day. When I finally discovered her schemes, she was standing in my room, head bowed over my phone, adjusting the filter on a foot-selfie she had just snapped. Y’all, she’s two. A few days later I went through my phone…
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What Does Love Look Like? (A Maundy Thursday Poem)
What does love look like? Like water spilling onto the floor as Jesus dipped his hands into the basin and wiped the dirt from his disciples’ calloused feet. Love is a messy business. I can see them – the twelve disciples, with their shifty eyes, sweating palms, nervous laughs – what in the world is…
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Fear Is Not My Friend
It feels like a shield of armor. Listen to me, and you’ll be safe. It feels like a strong bodyguard. I’m here to protect you. It feels like a trustworthy friend. Stick with me, and you’ll be fine. Let’s face it, Fear is appealing. Addictive, maybe. We don’t want to leave home without it. We…