I spent half a day today cleaning out spaces I’ve let get away from me. Nothing dramatic, just those countertops and closets that quietly gather clutter over time. Instead of doing a few minutes each day to keep it in check, I let things pile up until it became a half-day project of sorting, tossing, and wondering why I ever kept some of this stuff in the first place. Do you think the same is true for our inner selves? I think it might be. I wonder how often we mean to tend to the small...
14 days ago • 1 min read
I am a nut for baseball, particularly the Chicago Cubs. Guess what? They are in the playoffs! I couldn’t be more excited or ridiculous about it. But here’s the twist: I’m not praying for them to win. Shocking, right? I need you to know I’d absolutely wear stinky, lucky socks for days if I thought it would help them win. But my prayers aren’t about runs or standings. When I pray about baseball, my prayers sound different. I pray that every team and every player will be the best version of...
21 days ago • 2 min read
This week, some voices predicted the rapture. As with every generation before us, the day came and went. For millennia, Christians have been looking to the horizon, watching for Christ’s return. That hope is part of our faith story, and someday this world as we know it will end for us. But if we’re honest, the harder moments are not the cosmic ones, they are the personal ones. We all know what it feels like to cry out for God to help us and end up with a, “But Jesus didn’t come” feeling...
28 days ago • 2 min read
There’s a lot of violence swirling around us right now. Layered onto that, political rhetoric has become brutal, mass shootings continue, and so many voices, from media to social feeds, distort, gaslight, or manipulate until it’s hard to tell what’s real. Add to that the growing concerns about health insurance affordability in 2026, food prices, the world our children and grandchildren will have to navigate, plus all the personal stuff we're dragging around... It’s all very heavy, and it will...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
A neurobiologist came across my social media feed. He makes short videos of himself doing simple movements that help our brains + bodies recover what we had in childhood. Some of the movements are simple, others a little more complex, all are helpful for decreasing pain and increasing abilities in our bodies. Ok, cool. I've tried some. Doing so got me thinking about other things that are lost to my childhood: curiosity, awe, play, reading in the back window of the car on trips, and probably a...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
I stood up earlier and had the best stretch. I could feel my body loosening all the way to my toes. It felt soooo good. I’ve been trying to get more flexible lately. I've never been very bendy to start with, and I don't know that I will ever become super flexible, but I can feel a difference. My body keeps reminding me that if I don’t stretch and move, stiffness sets in. Loosening those tight muscles feels amazing, and it also helps protect me from injuries, giving me the freedom to move...
about 2 months ago • 2 min read
I have always loved the stories in the Bible. As I gather resources to plan my sermon calendar for 2026, I find myself drawn to the characters who don’t get marquee billing. They slip into the story almost unnoticed, sometimes not even named, but what they do changes everything. Consider Shiphrah and Puah, the Hebrew midwives in Exodus. They defied Pharaoh’s orders to kill all newborn males, and saved the lives of countless children. Their quiet courage carried the covenant forward and made...
about 2 months ago • 2 min read
This week I’ve been changing up my mornings. I’ve stopped reaching for my phone as soon as I wake up. Instead, I give myself at least an hour. In that time, I do a little morning yoga, shower, sip coffee, and spend some time in prayer and meditation. I’ve learned that mornings are my most productive time, and if I start by scrolling, I sabotage the very space I need most. My doctor once told me that if I wanted to change my health or the quality of my life, I would have to change something I...
2 months ago • 2 min read
Uh-oh. Why is she upset? I thought. Thinking back to our last conversation, I identified what must be the problem. I turned it over and over in my mind. Actually, I had the entire conversation again in my head, and then proceeded to have the next conversation I felt was necessary. Before I knew it, I had reacted to a text without any consideration of anything beyond the words on my phone and worked myself into an anxious mess. I stopped, took a breath, and called her instead. I relayed the...
2 months ago • 2 min read