The Problem with “White Lies”
White lies are lies that are harmless and trivial. At least, that’s what the dictionary says. But I disagree with the dictionary, if that’s allowed. I tell white lies often. So often in fact that I don’t always realize I’m doing it. I (white) lie when it’s convenient, comforting, and easier than being honest. I…
Read MoreDeciphering God’s Will (+ a Book Giveaway)
THE WINNERS ARE: Mikki Jacobs Pedre Decupe Alayne Kim k Congratulations! You will each receive one copy of The Grand Paradox. Please send me your mailing address using the contact page. In my former life as a book publicist, I got to know a man named Ken Wytsma. Ken is an author, a pastor, a…
Read MoreThe Journey Was His Idea
We all know the story about Jesus calming the wind and the waves, right? (Mark 4:35-41) Jesus was on a boat with his disciples and then a storm came. The disciples freaked out because they were afraid the boat would capsize, and they would drown. They woke up Jesus because, yes, he had been sleeping, and…
Read MoreWhat Creatives Can Learn from Harper Lee
You’ve probably seen the news about the upcoming release of the sequel to To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Lee’s much anticipated follow-up, Go Set a Watchman, will come out this July, 55 years after the release of To Kill a Mockingbird. I’ve read a lot about the excitement over the discovery of the…
Read MoreDo You Want to Know God, Or His Game?
{This is a big question that requires much more than a blog post. Here today, I will simply examine one molecule on one piece of ice that sits at the tip top of the iceberg. A question like this deserves a book, of which I’m sure there are many.} I’ve caught myself asking “Why?” a…
Read MoreMy Big Plan To Reduce Stress in 2015
I’ve been a little stressed lately. I know because my body tells me: -I have a consistent and annoying pulse in my right eye. -According to my dentist, I tense my jaw at night and need to purchase a mouth guard asap (sexy). – During a massage–the second massage I’ve ever had in my life—the…
Read MoreAre You Overthinking It? The Dangers of Introspection
I’ve written about this tendency of mine before—to daydream, to overthink, to create scenarios in my head and then have a difficult time returning to reality. I’m one of those people who’s been journaling since age eight and will disappear from time to time to sit on a beach, climb a tree or ride a…
Read MoreWhy We Create Out of Brokenness
I’m in a women’s class at my church on Thursday mornings. We’re studying the book Waking Up Grey, which is all about waking up your creativity. As I sat in class last week, I looked around and noticed several women crying. They were just sitting there, letting tears run down hardly wiping them away. They looked…
Read More2015: No More Clean Slates
The phrase “a clean slate” is kicked around a lot this time of year. People are encouraging others and themselves to forget the heartache or mistakes or tragedies of last year and begin anew. A clean slate. It sounds so crisp. So freeing. So beautiful. So…clean. But I’m beginning to wonder, is a clean slate…
Read MoreA Christmas Reminder for Perfectionists
This weekend I attended The Gift of Christmas–a night of spoken-word poetry and music with Ann Voskamp, Amena Brown and Ellie Holcomb. I expected the Christmas songs and the candles and for the word “advent” to be thrown around a few times, but I didn’t expect to be so moved by it all. I like…
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