“Holy” rain brings change, and that is a good thing.
Rain fell today and I got soaked. And it was good! I had originally planned to mow grass today. But upon close inspection, patches of grass had barely grown from the previous week. And some of the blades had started to turn from a healthy green to a questionable brown. Rain was needed. And down, […]
Mowing Grass Informs Our Walk of Faith
I love mowing the lawn. Ever since I was a kid, if I had a chance to walk behind that push mower and go back and forth, I did. Now – true confessions – as a teenage country girl, summer time meant I usually wore a tank top or a bathing suit top while cutting […]
Fear can steal our faith or fuel our faith – it depends on how we see God in the land where we are placed.
During the past week, I spent vacation time in the Great Smokey Mountains near Gatlinburg, TN. Rafting down the river as it kept moving past the turns in its path and boulders in its way. Climbing up steep inclines to see mountain vistas that left me breathless. Walking along paths beneath a canopy of towering […]
Finding the blessing in the tractor “parades” of life
Heading down the highway, I had to smile when I saw a seasonal phenomenon that some drivers embrace and other drivers despise. The tractor “parade”. Now for those who do not live or travel through rural areas with an abundance of farm fields and motorized equipment – let me enlighten you. At times, a large […]
It’s not supposed to be like this – and yet, God isn’t done
Snow in April. Not unheard of in our area but unusual for so late in the month. I mean, next week, the month of May begins – you know, the emergence of May flowers. And yet, regardless of the date on our organized calendars, the snow flurries spotted yesterday and freezing temperatures last night seemingly […]
Seasons of “stench” are needed to stretch and grow our faith in transformative ways
Opening the door this morning I am convinced Spring has arrived. Not because of the arrival of Daylight Savings Time which once again compels me to wake up in pre-dawn hours. Not because the morning sparkle of frost has been replaced by pliable glistening of dew. Not even because of emerging green blades of daffodils […]
It’s not going to look like you think it will
The weather was supposed to be snow this morning, but all I see is rain. This past week, I learned of my next pastoral appointment, as of July 1, 2021 – and it was a surprise to me. As part of the itinerate system in the United Methodist Church, each pastor knows the feeing when […]
The in-between seasons provide us the greatest opportunity for growth.
Ecclesiastes 3 tells us “for everything there is a season…a time to plant and a time to harvest.” And this has been a season like none I have ever seen before. Not because of the Christmas preparations and end-of-year paperwork, but because I moved from one church appointment to another. Unusual circumstances in an unusual […]
Seeds of grace can grow between a rock and a hard place
Recently, I was in the parking lot at the grocery store and show what seemed out of place. A single stalk of corn was growing from the blacktop and asphalt landscape. While the parking lot was not immediately adjacent to the highway, I surmised that a single grain of corn must have jettisoned from a […]
Faith in the fog yield the clearer vision we need
Taking a morning walk today led me by a field of soybean plants that held a message for my spirit. See, I have been feeling burned out lately. And it is not just in my role as a pastor trying to lead in a time marked by a global pandemic, and national political posturing, and […]