Something More

The Bag of Blessings

"...because God’s bag of blessings is more bottomless than Tim Allen’s in The Santa Clause or Mary Poppins’ carpet bag, he had room for so many lovely friends...I don’t have any biological sisters, but I have a generous helping of sisters in Christ who I am blessed enough to call my friends. Can I help it if I’m driven to skip on my way?"

The I AM Way

"I was edified recently by my pastor saying that part of God being I AM is that all that he is, he is all at once. We, humanly, are not good at being just and merciful at once. We struggle even with hating sin while loving sinners. We are unable to hold love and wrath side-by-side without either one giving way. But God doesn’t have these struggles. He perfectly exhibits all aspects of his character consistently throughout eternity."

Armor of God

"This armor is effective. It is a gift from God. It fits each of us perfectly when we invite our maker to clothe us with it. I think the armor of God is exciting and encouraging. It’s edifying. It’s practical. Don’t go out without it."

The Sand Fence

"Whether...putting up sand fences or rooting our faith, our best work will be done before the consequences of neglect become evident...The fences can be checked and maintained, the posts reset, the loose lines tightened. And we can shore up our faith studying God’s word, seeking him in prayer, and allowing other believers to bear our burdens with us in prayer and truth and love."

Colors Bursting

"Thank you, Father, for a sky that makes me lose myself. Thank you for grass that is too green for me to stop wondering at it. Thank you for flowers that are delicate in scent and appearance, the ones that shout out for attention and the ones that subtly remind me of the beauty in little things. Thank you for sunshine which warms me. You are so glorious, and I see it and hear it all throughout this lovely world you have made."

You Renew

"I begin with recognition of the world declaring who God is. This is not relational; it is simply fact. I end with my own recognition of the delight of relationship with my maker. Where I started by hearing his praise, I end by participating in it. And I recognize that he took the doubt and grief I brought and renewed me with faith and joy. Though the days of hardship have been long and still continue, I end with the expression of trust that faith and joy will be mine in Christ forever."

The Garden of the Soul

"This is gardening at its finest – placing a seed in the ground that can be as tiny as a carrot seed and watching it sprout out of the ground and grow greenly upward toward the light...And in time, those tiny seeds become flourishing plants which produce fruit to scatter more seeds. / Isn’t this what heaven is about too?"

Peace

"At the eyewall, we know. We know that the storm will destroy us, and we don’t want to be destroyed. But our vision is too obscured to even know if there is a way of escape. And then, there is the eye. There is God. There is peace. When we come to the end of ourselves, we have reached the eyewall. We know there is no answer in ourselves, and we know that we want the answer. And even if a part within us it tempted to go back, we no longer can. But oh, the joy of this truth: the eye has found us!"

Munificinth

"Being mice, the natural timidity of the Sleeks and the Softs for quite a few generations prevented them from interacting with one another at all. Their paths would cross from time to time, but they would scurry off in opposite directions without speaking, or the one would covertly watch the other from the seclusion of the nearest plant. / However, one day that all changed when Roger, a Sleek, spoke to Freddy, a Soft."

My Vindication

"This is specifically what I want my vindication to look like. Ten, twenty, thirty, forty years from now, I want the person I have become and the life that I live to show clearly that listening to God’s voice is truly best, that the riches of his glory far exceed the riches that have a dollar sign attached to them."