life. faithful.

 I was listening to Alistair Begg and he said that so often we say that we believe God is in control and will work everything out--but the problem is, we want and expect Him to work those things out the way we want, when we want. So often, we quote Romans 8:28 almost as some sort of incantation that will take any bad thing in our life and turn it into something good. But I would like to propose an uncomfortable idea--that might be a misreading. " And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose." (NKJV) What if the main focus of that verse isn't actually the "work together for good to those who love God", but instead is the "according to His purpose"? We talk about the sovereignty of God, but so many times I think we still try to put limits on what that means. When good things happen, we praise God and thank Him for His gifts. When we are faced with hard times, we pray and a...

Growing up, I took French all the way through school and on into college. In elementary school it was because it was available--the high school French teacher would visit the elementary classes once a week and do mini lessons, mostly greetings and counting. In high school and college, though, I continued taking French for one very specific reason: it was a language spoken across Africa in many different countries, and I thought one day I would find myself in that mission field, living in a village way off the map, teaching about Jesus. I loved missions. I drank up any story I could find about people who had spent time in missions. I loved when missionaries would visit our church. I loved hearing their stories about when they first realized God was calling them to the mission field, to a life following Him across the world. I just knew that one day I would stand before a church and share the story of how I was called and how I followed God on an amazing adventure to the middle of nowher...

Meet Clyde:   Clyde was born on our farm and has only left once--for a trip to the vet. He looks like a Border Collie, but he's actually a livestock guardian mix. His mom is mostly Anatolian Shepherd with a little bit of Great Pyrenees thrown in, and his dad is a Great Pyrenees and Old English Sheepdog mix. Clyde is bigger than either of his parents, weighing in somewhere close to 120 pounds. His shoulder comes up almost to my hip. He's a massive dog. His bark is loud and deep, his growl rumbles everything around him, and when he snarls and shows his teeth there's no doubt his warning is serious. If he wanted to do something, there's really nothing someone could do to stop him. He could tear me to pieces if he wanted to. I have no doubts that our home is safe when he's around-especially when we're not, because then he's on watch. Thankfully, though, he decided a long time ago that I belong to him. He comes running to meet me every time I come home, his tail ...

 They wanted a Messiah. They wanted him to come as a mighty conqueror, one who would drive everyone else out of Israel. They wanted a warrior to come in and wipe out the enemy, the mighty "Lion of Judah" who would have the whole world trembling at his roar. They wanted someone to step in and stake his claim as King over the whole world, someone who would intimidate most and defeat anyone who dared stand against Israel. They wanted the one who would usher in the end of the world as we know it, the one who would raise Israel up above all other nations. They wanted a Messiah who would come in as a strong political and military leader, someone who would subdue the entire earth under his heel. They wanted a Messiah they could rule alongside of, someone who would make them powerful by association. We want a very different Messiah today. We want him to come in as someone who is all warm and fuzzy, someone who just loves us no matter what and doesn't demand any changes. We want h...

 Dear God, We're told in Romans, " We are weak and do not know how to pray, so the Spirit steps in and articulates prayers for us with groaning too profound for words." (8:26) Right now, that's where I am. I think it's where so many of us here in the United States are, because right now our country is anything but "United." The division and hatred is wounding so many hearts and causing so many rifts. The most horrific part of it all, though, is not the fact that our country is divided--that's something that has been coming for a long time. The worst part is how those of us who call ourselves Your children are divided. God, You are holy and just and perfect in Your love. You know we are weak--after all, You created the dust from which You created us. You know our lives here are nothing more than a breath, and You know how much we mess up. Despite it all, You love us. Somehow, for some awesome reason I can't wrap my mind around, You love us. You...

"If...then" statements are important in computer languages, both in programming and in queries. When you see a conditional statement like this, you know that the second half of the statement will only happen if the first half does. There's no way around it--that's part of the beauty in math and logic for me. If you know the input and the function, you know the output. I guess that's why I'm oddly comforted by the fact that so many "if...then" statements are in the Scriptures. There are a lot of things I don't understand, so I like it when something is straight forward. Here's the strange contradiction, though--I can be comforted by the presence of these statements and still be brokenhearted over what some of them mean for us. Right now at church, we're working our way through Jeremiah. A few years back, we started making our way through the Bible chronologically. What was supposed to be a 1-year journey was stretched out the first ti...

Throwing pottery is something I thought I wanted to try once. Once is the key word there--Raiden got a kid's pottery wheel, and I tried to use it. I can't even begin to tell you the mess I made. Wet clay spinning around in a circle seems to have a mind of its own. I tried to make a simple pot; nothing fancy, just something small that actually looked like a bowl or something recognizable. What I ended up with was nothing more than a mess, and I'm pretty sure I had more clay on myself than actually stayed on the wheel. Left to me, the clay was less useful than it would have been if I had left if as a lump. At least then it could have been a paperweight or something. In the hands of a Master Potter, though, clay can become some pretty magnificent things. "The Lord gave another message to Jeremiah.   He said, 'Go down to the potter’s shop, and I will speak to you there.'   So I did as he told me and found the potter working at his wheel.   But th...

Dear God, I hear You--really, I do. I'm sorry that I haven't been listening, but thank You for repeating Yourself over and over (and over...) so that it finally got through my thick skull. Remember, I tend to be a " lesson from a 2x4 " girl. The subtle stuff tends to get lost on me, even though it would be a lot easier if I could just learn to hear You when You whisper. You keep telling me to let go, and I don't know why I find that so incredibly hard to do. Everything and everyone around me lately is reminding me that I need to stop worrying and start trusting. I know You're greater than anything I can imagine. I know that Your promises are true. I know all the right words and all the Sunday School answers... ...but I've realized that I must not truly know You, because I haven't been truly trusting You. If I knew You, I would know that my fears are pointless and unfounded. I would know that You have me --You've written me on the palms...

Dogs are pretty incredible. It doesn't take much to make them happy--the smallest pat on the head, and they're good. Our two follow us everywhere, even when it is 95 degrees and sunny and they would be much more comfortable hanging out in the shade with the goats. They go blackberry picking with me, even though they don't eat blackberries. Stella is on my heels first thing in the morning when I go up to milk, and she follows me back to the barn every evening. Knute thinks the best place in the world is beside me. I don't have to convince them to follow. I don't have to tell them where I'm going or what my plan is. If I get on to them, they know they've done something wrong and want nothing more than to please me again. "Good dog" makes their day. They greet me with tails wagging every time I come home, no matter how much (or how little) time has passed. They would follow me into danger if I told them to, even though they wouldn't understan...

It's easy to look around at this world and see the chaos. News reports are full of earthquakes, fires, shootings, wars...if there's anything bad you can think of, you're probably being bombarded with it every time you look at a screen. It's easy to get focused on all of that and get discouraged. I have to be honest--I get into that mindset quite a bit myself. "Instead, pray."   Philippians 4:6b Instead of focusing on the chaos of the creation, turn your attention to the Creator. "God is our shelter and our strength.      When troubles seem near, God is nearer, and He’s ready to help. So why run and hide? No fear, no pacing, no biting fingernails.      When the earth spins out of control, we are sure and fearless.      When mountains crumble and the waters run wild, we are sure and fearless. Even in heavy winds and huge waves,      or as mountains shake, ...

That question is in my head on a daily basis, roaring out over all the noise and chaos that fills my mind. It colors everything I think about--every decision I make. For years now, I've been desperately seeking God's will for my life. I've begged and cried and prayed for some answer, for just a hint of what it is that God wants me to do for Him. I've made decisions based on what I thought would work best for serving Him...and then felt broken when those decisions led to plans that fell through. I've wondered just what it is that I'll do for God since I was old enough to ask that question. I want to know His plans for my life, because I know and fully believe that God sees what is in my future and is there to guide my steps. I have this tendency, though (well, bad habit if I'm being honest) to rely on my own thoughts and opinions and ideas instead of letting go and listening to God. Don't get me wrong--I know that His plans are better than mine and t...