On this first day of September, I say we celebrate enduring this past month. I don't know about you, but in all her humidity and heat and storms, August has mirrored (and likely expounded) the heat index on my insides. “Feels like 105,” August said as my six-year-old played her first soccer game. Oh September, [...]
A fresh thought for the morning: Cultivate inner beauty, the gentle, gracious kind that God delights in. The holy women of old were beautiful before God that way, and were good, loyal wives to their husbands. Sarah, for instance, taking care of Abraham, would address him as “my dear husband.” You’ll be true daughters [...]
I keep coming back to these thoughts on HOW TO LIVE WITH THE UNKNOWNS, on how to hold questions in one hand and wisdom in the other. Turns out, both are promised to us. So there must be a way to live with the tension and mystery of the kingdom. I would LOVE to hear [...]
I can't think of a purer Daddy-daughter moment: the unfettered joy of her wrinkled nose and full mouth, and the deep satisfaction of his father's heart that's even bigger than that cookie. My husband often reminds me of the heart of Father God toward me and each one of His children. I had a moment yesterday [...]
The Quakers say it this way, when a member of the community comes to an impasse. When way closes, way will open. Such beauty and mystery in six small words. They resonate in my soul as truth, although I can't quite explain them. Sometimes the melody is sweet and hopeful; other times frustrating, clanging. How might one [...]
As I prepare to speak this Sunday, my nerves are running high. Again. Searching for reassurance and peace, I remember how God granted these elusive fruits three years ago, the first time I stood in front of the congregation for thirty soul-exposing minutes. This morning I am finding new peace as I remember what God did. [...]
What's that? Someone willing to help me do the laundry? Tell me more.
Consider David: for 25 years he held on to the hope that God would establish his kingship. Many of those years were spent running for his life - even to the point of living in a cave. So what did David do to survive, even thrive, in such dark times? How did he hold on? If you've ever felt like a cave-dweller, this is for you.
Welcome to my new little space in the media world! I'd be honored for you to chew on my words every now and then. I'm longing for more, like we all are, and I have a good idea where to look. The title Beauty Runs Deep: let me explain...
"I have underestimated the gravity of this transition for you," my husband said a few weeks ago. I've seen it coming for years; anticipated all the children in school and dreamed of what relief the space would bring me and what new work I could put my hands to. I knew it would be huge, yet even [...]
Rachel Norris 