Now it’s time to look at why paying attention to the genre you are reading is helpful. Genre is another way of saying the category or classification, characterized by the same form, style, or subject matter. Genre is one of the first things I make sure to pay attention to because it can shape your…
Alright friends, now we get down to the technical stuff. The nitty gritty. So what is the Inductive Bible Study method? If you already know, fabulous! If you don’t, no worries. Most people I talk to, even those who grew up in the church, have never heard of it. Inductive Bible Study is a strategy…
I wrote my first rough draft to this series 4 years ago. Four! I was perhaps newly pregnant with our youngest child. But in my typical perfectionist fashion, I tucked it away and sat on it. Newly inspired, I polished it and planned to release it last Spring. Then COVID hit and all of our…
I find there are days when it feels like the world is going to hell in a handbasket. Global pandemic, riots, political polarization, human trafficking, radical groups destroying our sense of security, people out of work and businesses forced to close their doors, friends struggling with anxiety and depression, kids in the community losing their…
I wrote this well before I knew what all would enfold today. The message hasn’t changed. But friends, I think we all desperately need to hear it again. While some have been more guilty than others, I have seen it on both ends of the spectrum. We have to let go of the hate. Don’t…
Last week I shared my feelings with you. Not my sugar-coated, this has all been so fun feelings. But my sincere acknowledgement that some days have been hard. Some days have gone well, and sweet family memories were made. But other days everyone’s emotions have run high, and things have been….interesting…to say the least. Now…
I already failed. A week in and I already failed. I said my biggest challenge would be not letting my kids drive me crazy and I’ve already been defeated. There may have been a few tears shed, and not just by the little people. Being stuck at home with 3 tyrants for days on end…
My how the events of the past few days have changed things. A week ago, my kids caught a stomach bug from school and I jokingly remarked at least it wasn't Coronavirus. Now saying such a thing would sound highly inappropriate. We're doing okay in our household. We have food. We have toilet paper. We are…
Sometimes life hits so fast and so hard. And just as I’m launching a 5 part series on trust, one of the greatest object lessons regarding trust smacks me square in the nose. It left me wordless. Fingers paralyzed to type anything of sense. Some days it was enough to breath in and out and…
Growing up, our church had the tradition of reading The Tale of Three Trees every Christmas. If you haven’t read it, you should. I was always drawn to the 3rd tree. In the story, the 1st and 2nd trees had more material ambitions. The first tree wanted to hold beautiful treasure; the second wanted to…
