life. faithful.

It's easy for me to control my actions. I'm not one who's prone to get into fist fights or to get into trouble for acting out impulses. I may have to clench my fists from time to time, but my temper doesn't flare that way. I don't throw things or punch things--although every once in a while the tendency to slam a door carries over from my teenage days. But what I do have a problem with is controlling my tongue. It's not "bad words," per se. I've never been one to have that habit and I could probably count on one hand the number of times I've said a cuss word in my life. But too often, my words cut people down. And not just any people--the most important people, my family-people. We are told in James that the tongue is like the rudder of a ship or the bit in a horse's mouth. It's this tiny little thing, but it's capable of steering everything else. It's also said to be the most difficult thing to control (to which I can

As God's people, we are called to reach out--we are commanded to go and tell others: "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go " (Matthew 28:18b-19a) We all talk about spreading God's Word. After all, we want others to come to know Christ and to experience the grace we have been given. But what are we doing to make that happen? That's not to say that each person is called to take off to a distant land, to give up everything else and become a missionary. While it is an honorable calling, it isn't everyone's calling. What it does mean, though, is that you are called to take your spot. In 1 Corinthians 12, we are given a picture of the Church being a body. A body is a strange thing--really, take a good look at it. Any one part on its own is rather awkward, don't you think? What would it be like if a body was made up of lots of copies of the same part? I don't know about you, but I don't think I would wa

2014 is here--and it has been for a couple of weeks now. Did you notice? As I did in 2012 and 2013 , I planned on taking part in the blogging world's replacement of new year's resolutions with "One Word." I even had a post all written out, ready to go for the Faith Barista's link-up on January 9th. It was a good word, too--one I picked out somewhere around Christmas after I heard a song that really stuck with me. I was excited, mostly because for the first time I had a word in advance. I hadn't put it off until the last minute (or even a little later!). I was ready . And then January 9th rolled around, and I couldn't post it. My word, chosen in advance, just didn't seem like the right choice. I struggled with that for a few days, to be honest. I really wanted "One Word" and I really wanted to post what I'd written. After all, that was the whole point in writing it. No matter how I tried to convince myself, though, I just could

Look at us--we thought we knew what we were doing, that we knew what love was. I know nobody could've told me then, but a 19 year old really doesn't know anything!  ...not that I know anything now, mind you. But then, maybe that's the difference between then and now. Now, 10 years in, I realize how little I really know. So instead of a post on how much I've learned in 10 years of marriage, how about something different? I present: What I don't know I don't know how... ...one person can so quickly learn to push your every button--and sometimes delight in doing so. ...you can know so much about one person and yet at times feel like you know nothing. ...you can feel like another person is part of you--inside your head and under your skin and in your blood. ....something as abstract as love can be strong and concrete enough to stand against anything. ...one person believing in you can make you try to accomplish what would otherwise seem impossible