simply me and jeans

“About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out with a loud voice, ‘Elí, Elí, lemá sabachtháni ?’ that is, ‘My God, my God, why have you abandoned me ?’” Matthew 27:46 I’ve been rereading the gospel accounts of Holy Week and keep coming back to these words. For most of my life I’ve heard pastors and theologians argue the idea of whether […]

I am dust.  Conceived, formed and animated by the love of Yahweh for his glory and joy.  Yet, I am dust. Dust with agency. I have the choice of whether to walk in the dust-like things of this earth or to rise above to the ethereal and eternal things of my Father.  I often choose […]

My niece recently sent me a photo of my Daddy and I from Thanksgiving 2011. My heart had a quick, and bittersweet response. I smiled at how happy we both look and at the pride of being his daughter, but tears welled up in my eyes over how much I miss him.   I’ve been thinking about […]

Today someone asked me to say a few words about the importance of silence in the life of a believer. Funny thing – my brain went silent.  All I could think to say was that it’s hard for me AND I desperately need it. If I’m honest, I don’t have any wise words or intellectual […]

People often ask if I got what I was looking for out of my trip to Scotland but I’m not sure how to answer that question. I was never sure what I was looking for.  I struggled with whether to go in the first place and almost backed out a few times because, let’s be honest, […]

Father, forgive my hesitant heart. Although I speak of your faithfulness and remember your love, I still falter when casting my net into the water.   Forgive this doubt that lives in the shadows of my disappointments and sorrows.  It doesn’t overtly speak but stirs up “rational” analysis and mitigation in the face of your call. Forward […]

I remember the day I stopped misspelling “desert” and “dessert.” It was 2nd grade and my teacher said, “You don’t want more time in the desert, but you always want more dessert. Right? So, dessert has more S’s just like you would want more dessert.” It’s 50 years later and I haven’t forgotten that lesson. […]

One of the mysteries of my life is my brain. Why I crave a chocolate croissant and tea on hard days is beyond me but, I can’t argue with the comfort it brings my heart. I had it from a Parisian cafe almost everyday while Steve was in ICU. I hardly ate anything else during […]

My Daddy taught me to love gardening and I think of him every year around Valentine’s Day.  Why? A couple of reasons. One is that he always brought me the first Narcissus bloom around this time each year. As we reminisced about that, I told mom that I was sorry he didn’t bring them to […]

Someone asked me a question today. Where is Jesus when you pray? Is he next to me?  Across the room looking and listening? Nowhere to be found? On a throne next to his Father? Hanging on a cross? Within my heart? Do I even believe he really exists and hears? I realized that He’s usually […]