Is My Name In There?
I invited six-year-old Maria to assist me with a Sunday school lesson. As she came to the front of the room, she pointed to my Bible and asked, “Is my name in there?” Feeling the Holy Spirit’s prompting, I replaced the activity with a much-needed moment of affirmation for all those Maria’s out there. OK,…
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The Timothy Example
Raising a child with a missional outlook can be a difficult task – a task that takes effort. When looking for “how-tos,” let’s not forget to look at the Bible itself. There we find the account of Timothy, a child who grew up with a definitive focus on missions. Timothy grew up in the town…
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Rediscovering God’s Story Afresh
Plumbers crack is a real thing. I know, because it was my view for the day as work crews of all varieties came in and out of my home assessing the damage caused by a broken water heater that had flooded the living room. As I scurried around furniture trying to keep out of the…
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Allowing God to Redraw Our Circles
Our perspective acts just like a camera lens. When you take pictures with the manual focus setting, you have to twist the lens to bring your subject into the clearest focus possible. As you make adjustments, some objects will clarify as others blur and become undefined. If you focus your lens on a single blade…
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Moments
I lay there under a giant oak tree, whose branches stretched out like a canopy above us. The sound of rustling leaves and the warmth of the sun soothed my soul. Closing my eyes, I let the last hour of my life replay in my mind. Sitting on the wooden porch, blowing bubbles, rocking in…
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The Sweetest Sound
This past weekend, I was working on our backyard fence when I heard the unmistakable sound of an ice cream truck coming down the street. When I was a child, I lived in Kansas City on a dead-end street. Once school was out, the neighborhood children gathered in the streets to play kickball. During the…
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Discover More by Saying No
“Yes!” It is a good word. It is a positive word. It is a word people like to hear. But parents can get into a lot of trouble if they use it too much. Would you like to sign up for soccer? Yes! Piano lessons? Yes! Youth group retreat? Yes! Extra study group? Yes! Travel…
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Help for the Hurting
Our desire is to teach kids to have a serving heart both here at home and towards those living in faraway places. And although we can’t always reach out to those across the ocean, we can reach out to those down the street. And what a great place to start! A friend was telling me…
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Pushing Through Fear Towards Purpose
There it is again. A deep, unsettled feeling creeps into my soul, wrapping its tentacles around my heart. The truth is, stepping into God’s purposes scares me. The vision is so grand that is seems vastly out of reach. It’s global, foreign and unknown. The unknown has never seemed like a wanted companion, especially when…
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Positioned to Be the Light
I love candles. I learned to love candles on long, dark winter nights in Norway. Lighting a candle on the dinner table or some tea lights on the coffee table made the room a little warmer, a little cozier, the darkness less oppressive. Growing up on the Canadian prairies where the winters were harsh and…