It was not until God led me into 12-Step recovery that I ever heard what honesty sounds like. There, for the first time in my entire life, I met people who were “airing their dirty laundry.” In my family of origin, that was verboten! Ditto for the families of my friends and neighbors. Therefore, it Read More …
Time and Tarnish?
I am grateful to have bumped into an author writing about the very things that most interest me (death, for instance); who is lampooning the lengths to which people will whistle past The Impending Loom. His main character ruminates in ways like this: “As for the wider question of age, and mortality: no, he didn’t Read More …
Sorting?
Every week, I post a quote or excerpt that has struck me in my reading, and I collect them in a Goodreads group called “Snippets That Inspire.” Today’s comes from The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls: Mom didn’t like cooking much — “Why spend the afternoon making a meal that will be gone in an hour,” Read More …
Dis-Ease?
To me, these words suggest that all the awareness and all the scary statistics will never defeat addiction. Addiction is dis-ease. Apparently, there are those who can’t stand being in their own skin (which happened recently to me when Shingles pain became excruciating and would not stop). From that experience, plus years of loving active Read More …
Less or More?
In recent weeks, the Lord has encouraged me that repentance is not something I need to do by myself. He is there to help me face and name my baggage (as you can see in this picture, I have a lot). This image shows me that His goal is not just to reveal. More than Read More …
Cracked Open?
I can tell you that functional alcoholism is an insidious thing to live with, and I can also attest that it tried to convince me it was no problem at all. For years. Until it was, and then it WAS. And it was so much smarter than I: it was sneering, cunning, baffling. It was Read More …
Who Is Whom and What Is What?
Eyeopeners today! Suddenly it seems so clear: the issue is not whether God loves me (or you or any of us); its whether or not I love God. How can I tell one from the other and which one I am? The answer is coming to me in the form of two questions: (1) Am Read More …
Bookended by Bartimeus?
Four months ago, I heard a sermon on “the blind Bartimeus” and scribbled a note to the friend sitting next to me that said, “I love Bartimeus!” Now I REALLY love Bartimeus, whose story led me further down the road. That blind beggar was (and is) me: one who needs to cry out to Jesus, Read More …
Nothing But Manna?
My old college chum and singing partner just posted this picture on Facebook, and it seems a perfect capture of what I got from reading Numbers 11 this morning: the story that shows God’s people craving more than His provision. Apparently, it’s our nature to complain (there’s even a name for it: “the murmuring tradition”). Read More …
A Loss For Words?
Thank you, Charlene Payne, for posting this meme recently. It’s perfect today, as words seem to be stuck in my throat this morning. I guess it’s one of those times when there simply are no words.