Faith

Psalm 23 is one of the most familiar passages in Scripture, often recited at funerals or in times of trouble, grief, or uncertainty. Its words are familiar, comforting, and deeply personal. But, for me, there’s a particular line that jumps off the page: “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.”…

Last week we kicked off our series called Portrait of a Dinner Guest with a brief, perhaps seldom considered biographical sketch of Jesus as the guest. We learned that Jesus was invited to dinner many times during His earthly ministry. Sometimes others invited Him, sometimes He invited Himself, and a few times He even prepared the…

Have you ever experienced a dinner that was life-changing? Have you said yes to a simple dinner invitation, only to receive something far greater and long-lasting than the meal? We certainly have! For the next several weeks on this blog, we will be sharing our personal stories as dinner guests, and we will be painting…

The exclamation echoed loudly in my head as I awakened that morning. “You’re a fraud!” The indictment was coming from an adversary – the adversary  – but I had to agree with him. I not only felt like a fraud, but I also had behaved like one. I had sinned against God. The night before,…

Last month, we were looking at the first letter of our acronym, BLOOM, and learning ways to Be Mindful of our Hearts. On May 6th, we learned how not to quit when the harvest seems underwhelming, and also how to be patient in the wait. Today, we are finishing our series on “Be Mindful of…

Yesterday I spent the afternoon in my front yard, planting a new garden of native Ohio perennials. My hope was to not only add beauty to our neighborhood, but also to bring life to our neighbors, mainly the flying type. My sister-in-law has been educating me on the ways that Ohio birds, butterflies, and pollinators…

Imagine with me for a moment a beautiful garden. A few weeks ago, a friend and I had the opportunity to go to Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens in Columbus, Ohio. We could see blooms and glimpses of spring everywhere. It was breathtaking.  My heart was overwhelmed with the beauty as we walked around…

Lessons of spiritual flourishing come at work and play, in parenting, grandparenting, and friendship—really anywhere.  Jesus guides and infuses all of life—there is no separation between spiritual life and the rest of life. Therefore, when Sue and Linda asked me to join The Sublime Soiree as a guest blogger this month on the theme of…

Yesterday, we introduced ways to flourish through the first letter in our acronym, BLOOM: In her book, Scouting the Divine, Margaret Feinberg uncovered some great Biblical truths through her own Scripture study and through interviews with some farmers. Today, as we consider the soil of our own hearts, let’s think about a couple more lessons…