On Thursday, I went for a run with my friend Marcy on the Clovis Trail in my neighborhood. I have been spending lots of hours in front of the computer trying to finish writing my new Bible study on Ruth. The manuscript is due to my publisher at the end of this month. (I welcome all your prayers for getting to the finish line!) Getting outside [...] Keep Reading
courage
We Can Bear Witness to the Glory of God in Each Other
Each year at the start of the Advent season, I find myself thinking about Mary, the mother of Jesus. This teenage girl was to be a womb for God, the mother of His one and only son. That day when the angel Gabriel came to her, I imagine light refracting in all directions in her humble home in Nazareth. I have three daughters hovering in the [...] Keep Reading
When You Don’t Think You Can Keep Going, Take the Next Step
I laced up my trail shoes and took a deep breath. The delicious aroma of the forest filled me. My eyes lifted, tracing the trunks of pine trees pointing toward heaven. Butterflies danced in my stomach as I anticipated running in a trail race again. In 2020 and early 2021, most trail and road races were canceled. Because of the global pandemic [...] Keep Reading
Lessons from running: Stringing days together
The following is a guest post by my friend Gloryanna Boge. She's a writer-runner-mama who I met through the Hopewriters writing group online. She and I share similar hearts and lots of Voxer messages across the miles. By Gloryanna Boge I’ve really missed coaching high school Cross Country these last couple of years. I coached for [...] Keep Reading
The dance of grief and glory through the holidays
I still remember our first Thanksgiving after my husband Ericlee died. My family tried to hold it together. We tried to stay the course with certain traditions, but it was clear everything was off-kilter. He wasn’t there to run the Turkey Trot. He wasn’t wearing his silly apron in the kitchen, helping me chop the butternut squash for the soup. [...] Keep Reading
6 Ways to Find God’s Peace in Difficult Circumstances
Ever since I was a little girl, I have loved the hymn “It Is Well.” There was something about those lyrics that brought a sense of peace whenever I sang them: “When peace like a river, attendeth my way… It is well, it is well, with my soul.” Horatio G. Spafford, the man who penned that hymn, experienced profound tragedy with the death of his son [...] Keep Reading