God, how do I find your will for my life? How come I still listen to the wrong voice and make stupid mistakes? We live in a world with many voices seeking our attention. With all the breaking news, tweets, blogs, podcasts, and compelling advice from Alexa, Siri, Google, and others; we can find it difficult to know which voices to trust. Sometimes we crowdsource guidance in our lives, thinking the majority will provide the best source of truth. Other

Fatherhood Fatherhood.  Fathers have changed over the generations. With each new generation fathers have learned to be more present and more confident to display emotions unlike our fathers and grandfathers. My father never told me or his grandkids that he loved us. We knew he did by his actions.  My father-in-law on the other hand, told my son into his twenties, every day that he loved him and kissed him goodnight before bedtime.  This is the father and grandfather

I am giving you a new commandment:  Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” (John 13:34) This past week I have received calls from many friends and family who are part of this community who are going through some exceedingly challenging times. I have some good friends who just found out they are going to be battling cancer. I

Go, Team! (A True Story) In the days that high school homecoming floats depended on chicken wire, paper napkins and crepe paper, and a dad’s garage to stage construction – I was on the float committee for my class. I got pulled into the project by a classmate who convinced me it would be fun, and by the prospect of seeing more of my friends and less of my books. I even got clearance from my mother to drive

This year started with a first for me.  I had my first surgery ever. For years I nursed along a fully arthritic knee and on January 11 I had a total knee replacement.  I had prayed for a long time I would know when the time was right and that God would give me total peace. I was pleased the morning of the surgery that I didn’t run the other way.  I was packed and ready to go.  Paul

There but for the grace of God go I. We’ve heard this saying countless times. What is God’s grace? In a theological context, according to dictionary.com, it’s the freely given, unmerited favor and love of God.  I recently took time to reflect on how There but for the grace of God go I can be said in a spirit of love and gratitude. For example, when I know of someone going through a physical struggle, and I think that I

Motherhood Motherhood.  Youth and beauty fade, friendships may fall by the wayside, but a mother’s love is unconditional and outlives them all. Motherhood is a choice one makes to put someone else’s happiness and well-being ahead of your own. It is the purest, most rewarding kind of love that exists.  Motherhood is a gift from God whether you are a birth mother or a mother figure. There was a time many years ago that I thought I would not

“Humility is not thinking less of yourself. It’s thinking of yourself less.” ― C. S. Lewis When I was a young adult, I began the journey of trying to understand humility. As my heart longed to know Jesus, the Holy Spirit guided me to the practice of prayer. What would lead me to seek the virtue of humility? The other virtues, compassion, kindness, gentleness and patience all seemed natural, but humility intrigued me. Humility is a special virtue that

Old Age Isn’t for Sissies My mother had a magnet on her refrigerator that somebody had given her when she turned 60. It was a little rocking chair with the words printed on it, “Old age isn’t for sissies.” She kept it on the front of the refrigerator door to hold her groceries list, and the various receipts and reminders that punctuated her life in Indiana. I hated the magnet because I thought it implied that my mother was

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; and in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your path straight. -Proverbs 3:5-6 This is one of my favorite bible verses. Doesn’t it just roll off the tongue speaking comfort and confidence into His plan for us?  I went to a conference a few months ago and my favorite speaker, Megan Marshman, broke this verse down and it brought me

The Shoes The shoes were cheap and worn.  They were light beige and scuffed, strappy and open, with very tall heels.  They were the kind of shoes that a woman would wear to make her legs look extra-long and noticeable.  The kind of shoes that a woman would wear to attract attention, usually men, often for money.  But there was no woman. Only the shoes, left lying there, discarded in a heap, in a corner behind an ice machine,

An Easter Reflection We all know that there are major milestones in our lives. Those events are so profound that they help us identify who we are and how we arrived at the place we are right now. These milestones include being born, our first words, learning to walk, the first day of school, our first friend, first kiss and falling in love, just to name a few. As a parent of two who are about to graduate from

Holy Week is the most sacred week of the year for us as Christians.  It is the time when we remember the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus.  Through the celebration of Palm Sunday, Good Friday, and Easter we are invited to enter into the life of Christ on a deeper level.  We are called to die with him, so we can rise with him to new life. Over the years I have had many people ask where the traditions

For Those That Have Eyes To See… I have prayed often over the years to know God’s Presence in my life. After studying the Bible for many years, even in different languages, I know that knowledge about God is important and necessary, but knowledge alone about someone is not the same as the experience of their presence. Relationship is about lived experience of the other in our life. This seems obvious but often it is so allusive. When we have

The Gospel reading from John 2:13-22 is about Jesus clearing the Temple of all the clutter of business-as-usual filling up the sacred space that should be kept free from the marketplace.  Jesus is zealous.  He turns over the whole sacrificial pretense of placating God’s wrath and making His House fit our lifestyle with the marketplace of low expectations. Jesus is still zealous for you and me.  Through His suffering death and resurrection His love is poured out to us so

When ‘Snarky’ Becomes Bullying Many of us had childhoods guided by the wisdom of Thumper, who famously said, “If you can’t say something nice, don‘t say nothing at all.” (Bambi, 1942, Walt Disney Productions) However, when youthful behaviors needed modifying, others of us had Proverbs 15:4 quoted to us, probably by mothers tired of kids quarreling with each other: “The soothing tongue is a tree of life, but a perverse tongue crushes the spirit.” (I will admit that in

The Greatest Commandment Mark 12:30, says “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.”   Last week I had an epiphany regarding this greatest commandment. I was participating in my weekly bible study and in a video, we were watching, the speaker talked about loving the Lord with all your mind. I have spent more time thinking about loving the Lord with my heart

Driving in the Fog I suspect if I had been walking through it, I would have found it rather beautiful.  Perhaps if I had stopped and stood quite still out in the midst of it, I could have seen its veiled shapes and outlines, watched it move about, heard its secrets, smelled the scent of things hidden in its pockets.  I might even have seen others seeking their way as well.  But I was driving a car, and it

The Miracle of... As I reflect over my long life, I feel especially blessed to have witnessed at least two miracles… the miracle of life and the miracle of death! At age 16, I got a job at our small rural hospital as a nurse’s aide with on-the-job training.  They taught me how to take care of an infant after birth; however, I had not yet seen a baby be born.  Finally, a birth was happening on my shift. 

It never ceases to amaze me how different we are as human beings. My first realization came when I was grieving the loss of my first husband.  Other widows would approach me and share how they got through it, mostly.  Then there were humorous statements like, “Your husband can’t die, you love him too much”.  Isn’t that a wonderful illusion to think that love can keep your loved one alive?  And then there was a lady in my exercise

I always wanted God to show Himself in a blaze of glory, yet as I grow older God is in the little things or moments.  My last reflection contained observations made while on a remote outing.  All the smaller rocks were rounded off and one would think “Why bother with little rocks”?  Yet how did they get here?  Well, down the hill from my vantage point is a large dry river bed.  Or is it?  It is probably a result

When I last wrote a reflection to share in October, I felt there was more to share so here I go again. We are talking about praying through music and songs. We are talking connecting with God—--Father, Son and Holy Spirit. In case you haven’t read my other reflection, I find that I am most connected to God when I spend time in prayer through praise and worship time daily. This morning I woke up and my spirit was singing

Cassie and Kidder The first time I saw Cassie, she was standing on the median with a small "donations needed" sign right before I turned onto the freeway. She was petite, fragile, and too bent over for someone her age. Her glasses were broken. That was two years ago. Her bright smile and twinkling eyes caught my attention. To give or not to give money to the homeless on the street can be a conundrum for some. Will the

The Gift of Family Since Thanksgiving, I have had many conversations about what people were going to buy their loved ones for Christmas and how they were going to celebrate. I love and struggle having those conversations with people. I love them because it is an opportunity to connect with people and to hear what is on their minds and in their hearts, but I struggle with them too, because I am in a season of life where I

You Can’t Cook from the Other Room My friend Annie in the Bronx uses an expression that translates roughly from Yiddish as, “You can’t cook from the other room.” She offers these words to me when I make an offhand comment about something that I wish could be different, or that I would like to do but haven’t gotten around to doing yet. If I venture into “coulda-woulda-shoulda” territory, she responds with the words, “Jody, you can’t cook from