Once upon a time, when all was perfect and right and beautiful in the world, God planted a garden. "And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed." (Genesis 2:8) In God's perfect creation, in His idyllic world, was there something that [...]
Even ruins are beautiful. We visit them with excitement, we care for them with respect. Entire trips are organized around the idea of visiting specific moments in history reflected by the building or mosaic or wall that remains. The crumbling walls and weathered foundations give evidence of life, of innovation, of purpose, and of vision [...]
One Monday morning in February, we woke up to a winter wonderland. A cold snap caught the South in its clutches and we all hunkered down. For six days, San Antonio shivered through rolling blackouts, complete electricity outages, and no water. Before the cold weather arrived, we spent the weekend insulating pipes, wrapping faucets, and [...]
There’s a dance that goes on in our neighborhood every weekend… One person stops at the corner, planting a sign promoting their open house. Another person can be seen taping up an offer for a website or yard work or a garage sale. Minutes or hours or days later, the neighborhood representative comes through with [...]
You would have recognized the signs, too. He avoided eye contact, guiltily looking away when I tried to engage with him. He slunk to his room rather than staying with me. His hand went to his pocket, caressing something secret and forbidden. He was definitely avoiding me. I asked him, "Dear, is there something you [...]
After the shepherds went back to their flocks, after the last reverberations of the song of the angels faded away, after Mary and Joseph removed their precious cargo from the manger and found the next place that they would call home, after Anna began to tell all who would listen that their redemption was near: [...]
What if, when making choices for how you would celebrate the Christmas season of 2019, you knew that in four short months the world would literally go into quarantine? What if last year, you had known what 2020 would hold? Would you have gone to that party? Would you have made those cookies? Would you [...]
Let's take a few moments and ponder all the myriad things that had to be prepared before a presumably exhausted Mary and harried Joseph stepped into the little town of Bethlehem on the very first Christmas. Roman edicts went out. Families filled available inns. Shepherds spent their lives with the daily ritual of keeping watch [...]
If you were to list some attributes of Jesus, your list might look a bit like mine: Holy. Righteous. Merciful. Compassionate. Omnipotent. Powerful. Creator. Faithful. Good. In a recent study of Matthew, though, I saw an attribute of Jesus that I had never contemplated before: Thankful. Thankful for God's Gracious Will After a time [...]
Uncharacteristic silence wafted from the car seat directly behind me as we drove. Constant words from my happy chatterbox slowed. Then she told me a story. Weeks before, she had been playing in the back yard with a little friend. Excitement led to boredom, then teasing. Where before they had been running around and between [...]
