Learning
Growth
Unity
Skiing Alone
The significant November snows opened Mt. Bachelor for the ski season earlier than I was prepared for. We went from a warm, breezy fall to mid-winter in a weekend. So, the other Monday I wandered up to the mountain to make a a dozen laps on my own before getting on with my day.
Sometimes I Want What Mary Had
In my early widow days, a friend’s husband was settling into Alzheimer’s. Once a week, I took him for a country drive or a walk along the river, which allowed my friend time to run errands and keep appointments.
Nadia's Prayer
The other day, after a morning at the mountain trying navigate skiing with old equipment (me), I returned to eat, shower then sit down to spend some time reading on the Substack site before dropping off into a nap. Since joining Substack mid-summer, the breadth of my blog reading has significantly expanded. Much of it barely holds my attention, but occasionally a post comes along that is as cool as the backside of a pillow.
While You’re Waiting
While riding the Portland Metro one day, Sarah Thebarge met Hadhi, a Somali refugee who was struggling to rear five young daughters after her husband walked out. Sarah had left her Ivy League education and successful career in New England to start over in Oregon.
Embodying Obedience
In my morning time with God the other day, the devotional I read retold the story from the older testament of Boaz and Ruth, a Moabite woman and not a Jew.
This is a story of a family with their fair share of drama.
Born to Endure
On November 23, the best runners in the country vied for the NCAA cross-country championship in Terre Haute, Indiana. Foundry Church’s very own Hannah Tranby competed with her George Fox University teammates, helping her fellow Bruins secure a 21st place finish out of the top 32 Division III schools in the nation.
Drop Your Rock
Reading through the stories of the life of Jesus as John remembered them, I paused long enough to ponder a well-known episode.
Jesus has come up to Jerusalem from Galilee in the north country for the Jewish festival of Booths.
An Unexpected Day of Feasting
“You mean we drove all the way down here for nothing?” the couple asked. I was in the volunteer check-in line for the annual Thanksgiving dinner hosted by the Salvation Army in Tucson. The man and woman in front of me were clearly annoyed.
God and Giant Problems
I'm an engineer, which explains why I'm not quite normal. Engineers ask strange questions and want to know why things work, or don't work. Here's a free tip: if you are a young lady and are interested in a guy who aspires to be an engineer, RUN! Run the other way. It can't possibly work out.
Like a Dog at the Window
I’d like to think I’m like this dog at the window, patiently watching and waiting. But our days have trained me a toward profound impatience like no other time. Unlike this picture, I’m more likely to pace, fret, wonder and worry, and question if what I so deeply desire will ever come into view. Who am I trying to kid, dogs know better how to wait and trust than me.
When You Tell Your Story
My friend Susan carries a pain no mother should ever have to bear—the devastation of watching her son, Matthew, hand-cuffed and led from the courtroom to be incarcerated.
Never, Not Ever
If I craft a picture of Jesus in my mind, I see him brushing sawdust from his clothes and hanging with working people, playing games with groups of kids, waving to outsiders of all stripes to come close, powerfully challenging religious norms and those who push them, teaching huge truths wrapped in plain brown wrappers.
Seventy-One Questions
Once upon a time, I served on staff at a Christian boarding high school that was home to teenagers from across the country and around the globe. I loved these young people, and I loved the part-time work—activities director, cheerleading coach, overseer of community service.
True Greatness
What does it mean to be great?
In August of this year, advocate for the disabled and follower of Jesus Christ, Joni Eareckson Tada, addressed the Global Leadership Summit and answered that question.
Try Acting Like a Baby
These days offer plenty of reasons to be fearful, angry and just generally unsettled. Today being election day, so much of what we look to for stability shakes under the stresses of life, writ large, punctuated by a hurricane or two, and wars across the globe. In days like these, it’s good for Jesus-followers to remember, prune back, and press forward.
How to Furnish Hope
Megan Martin and her son showed up at our place back when Dan and I were first married. We had sorted through our duplicate household items, and Megan was there to pick up the excess home furnishings.
What Happens After?
So, the other day while driving to do errands, I had the radio tuned to a news station that was, so typically, talking about the election now only days away. The host and commentator analyzed the latest polling numbers, ground games, hidden voters, potential surprises that might still come and came to the amazing conclusion that the presidency is either candidate’s to win…I know, stunning.
Feast Days
I recently learned that I missed the Feast Day for George Muller back in September. He is celebrated by many as a champion of the poor through intercession and action. And I’ll bet plenty of believers don’t know him at all, but will be encouraged by his life and work.
The Secret to the Dodgers’ Success
I have a deep love for our national pastime. Baseball has been instrumental in shaping me, and it continues to impact me today. I joke often about how God is a baseball fan. He created the heavens and the earth in the “big inning”, and in Ecclesiastes 12:6, we are told to remember God before the pitcher is shattered in spring training (loosely translated).
Bolted into the Rock
When Claudia finished her sewing challenge for school girls in Zambia, I told her we needed to get out of Dodge for a bit. So, after teaching class Sunday at church, we skipped the service, bolted for the car and pointed it south, feeling like kids on the first day of summer vacation.