Tag: grace

  • Living Each New Day

    Living Each New Day

    Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. Isaiah 43:18-19 (NIV) The older I get the less interested I am in New Year’s resolutions.…

  • Sharing Matters: A Reflection on Gifts and Grace

    Sharing Matters: A Reflection on Gifts and Grace

    Just before the recent holidays, one of our secretaries brought in a bagged Christmas gift and placed it on my desk. “Maybe your wife will enjoy this,” she offered. I smiled and thanked her, promptly looking in the bag once she stepped out. It was indeed a girl gift: fuzzy socks, scented hand lotion, and…

  • God’s Love: A Comfort in Our Struggles

    God’s Love: A Comfort in Our Struggles

    A small Bluetooth speaker sits on the back of the paper shredder in my school’s main office. One of our secretaries enjoys streaming country and western music through it, while she works nearby. The other day, when I came to destroy some confidential documents, it struck me how shredding paper to the tune of a…

  • Finding Strength in the Joy of the Lord

    Finding Strength in the Joy of the Lord

    I’d left the ministry and moved three states away, with a marriage unraveling.  It was my second job in four months. Being the consummate over-explainer, I shared my troubles with my new boss. When I showed up for work the next morning, I was no longer on the schedule. It was like someone pressed the…

  • The Power of Love

    The Power of Love

    The sobbing student had to be carried into my office, refusing to come in under their own power. This is a sure sign of a serious problem for a principal. Normally, there are two types of criers: sad or mad. And this one seemed furious. The five-year-old stood across from my desk with clenched fists.…

  • Relationships: A Survivalist’s Guide

    Relationships: A Survivalist’s Guide

    I once heard a cautionary tale about a Christian missionary who sailed the ocean alone to reach the heathen. He ended up stranded (still alone) on a small island in the middle of the Pacific. A few years later, a passing fishing boat saw the smoke from his campfire and rescued him. His liberators were…