simply me and jeans

“Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?”  Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’  This is the first and greatest commandment.  A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based […]

I’ve heard more talk this year than ever before about our “One Thing”. That one word or concept that seems to resonate in our minds and hearts as the thing God wants to do, reveal or develop in us over the next 12 months. Last year, I felt a clear leading that “restoration and reconciliation” […]

My daughter, Madison (Mattie), has a cat named Matty.  Believe it or not, he was named when she adopted him from the animal shelter. At least their names were spelled differently. Matty is old and feeble. He’s had a stroke, sheds excessively, walks crooked, misses the litter box, can’t see well and has a hard […]

Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching.  But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my […]

It’s Christmas afternoon and I’m sitting on my bed wishing that my knee would allow me to go for a run. I’ve never been a fast runner, but that didn’t matter.  I ran alone. I processed. I thought. And, sometimes, I cried. Ever since I ran my first mile with daddy at the age of 6 it’s […]

As I was praying this morning I couldn’t help but think about this past year and wonder about what this next year held.  It’s hard to describe the feelings I have about this past year but the first sentence of “A Tale of Two Cities” seems to describe it well. “It was the best of times, […]

“Try to lighten someone’s load or make them smile. You never know what their day has been like and what pain they’re carrying.” If I had to list the top 10 lessons that I’ve learned from my parents and hope to emulate , this would be one of them. We’ve all had days that knock […]

“The gatekeeper opens the gate for him (the shepherd), and the sheep recognize his voice and come to him. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.”  John 10:3 “Karen” So clearly in my mind that I open my eyes and wait to see if it comes again. Nothing. That one word […]

I was at Starbucks for 2 hours today trying to make progress on this book we’re writing. That didn’t happen. Instead, I spent an hour talking to a young man about college, how tired he was, trying to encourage him and another hour trying to get my computer to work. Because I’d lost all focus, […]

There are seasons in our lives that God uses to change us and teach us things we may not otherwise have seen.  We don’t usually plan for those seasons and they’re seldom enjoyable, but they’re gifts of grace none the less. A few people have asked me how I’m doing after the events of the […]