Photini, The Samaritan Woman

Let’s explore how besmirching the character of the Samaritan woman obscures a grander conversion story that places Jesus and his mission to seek and save a lost humanity at the center.

Emotions in the Dock

Let’s explore the place of emotions, in ancient Hebrew, in God’s interaction with humanity as seen in scripture, and through insights from my own study and experience. 

The Amazing Truth About Our Deceitful Hearts

“My heart wasn’t in it.”  I listened to my coaching client Mark discuss vocational options for his next season, an active retirement. With each possibility he explored, this phrase would punctuate his reflections. I could feel his sadness and frustration.  So I asked,...

The Wondrous Gift: A Story of Healing and Hope

(This is a true story of my lived experience. Some names and details have been changed to protect the individual’s privacy.) I found the vintage nativity set wrapped in newspaper, packed in just one cardboard box among many at a garage sale in a McMansion community...

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Living Selah In Your Inbox

Take time to rest and reflect. Pause and praise. Delivered to your inbox when I post or on the weekend.

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When I forget, God Remembers

When I forget, God Remembers

Forgetting, deleting, redoing, undoing. I wrote this post two nights ago, while I was meditating on all I think about, and the thoughts I don't write down, and that get lost in the mist of my conscious mind. Not wanting to forget my meditations on that subject, I...

When Your Heart Is Shattered, God Is Right There

When Your Heart Is Shattered, God Is Right There

Things can get easily shattered in the dark. Precious things, like our hearts. We grope and wonder what is out there, and if it could possibly be good. When we reach out and touch something that's familiar, it comforts us with just the knowing that we've found a...

When Our Hearts Condemn Us, He Is There

When Our Hearts Condemn Us, He Is There

Our teaching pastor, Zach Van Dyke, was teaching on Romans 7 this week. He defines covetousness concisely and simply: Coveting is setting your heart on what you want more than the God who wants you. We each have a hole -- an infinite spaciousness in our...

Finding Peace In The Serenity Prayer

Finding Peace In The Serenity Prayer

What a gift this prayer is to the people of God, as a reminder that His grace fills the space between where we are and where we long to be. Although we often recite the prayer for things that fall into our lives from outside, it's also a...

How To Release The Mask Of Perfection

How To Release The Mask Of Perfection

And yes, you want truth in the most hidden places; you teach me wisdom in the most secret space. Psalm 51:6 CEB "Good Morning, Donna!" Every day that cheery-smiling phrase greeted me, effervescing from my roommate at the Bible college I attended in my mid 20s. If I...

That We All May Be One

That We All May Be One

I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one--as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. John 17:21 NLT The pain of tension, feeling unmeshed, at odds, and unwell. A lack of shalom - of peace, of all being well. It's the...

God Is Sovereign In The Chaos

God Is Sovereign In The Chaos

We talk about the "calm before the storm" in our lives, and I've felt that -- have you? During the storm you yearn to be feeling the dry breeze and sun, when you have time to think about it. Often you don't. The storm is calling the shots,...

Our Sin Is Ever Before Us And So Is Our Savior

Our Sin Is Ever Before Us And So Is Our Savior

I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. Paul's epistle to the Romans, Chapter 7 Verse 21 Paul doesn't say that he's getting better and better every day in every way. What he does talk about is the...

What Are You Afraid Of?

What Are You Afraid Of?

I sat sobbing in my upstairs apartment, feeling ripped apart and alone. My faith, which hours before seemed so solid and stalwart, was tipped on its side, fractured and futile. It was the day I first learned the phrases "higher criticism"...

Let The Lion Loose

Let The Lion Loose

A great many learned men are defending the gospel; no doubt it is a very proper and right thing to do, yet I always notice that, when there are most books of that kind, it is because the gospel itself is not being preached. Suppose a number...

Love, Mercy, and Grace

Love, Mercy, and Grace

'Twas Love that gave at greatest cost A Life, that mine should not be lost The Love that died in deep despair My debt fully satisfied there It was love that took my place On the cross of Calvary It was grace, redeeming grace That paid my...

Forsaking The Comfy Chair For The Zip Line

Forsaking The Comfy Chair For The Zip Line

I love a good comfy chair, my favorite being a channel back I bought years ago in a second hand store. Settling into it as the afternoon sun warms across me, I read a favorite book while tasting the flowery spice of a good cup of Earl...

How to Survive the Mean Seasons

How to Survive the Mean Seasons

Some days in the late Spring, from April to May, I hate living in Florida. It's not that the weather is bad, if anything, these are some of the most pleasant days of the year. The longer days are warm, but with a touch of coolness in the...

We Have An Anchor

We Have An Anchor

This past year of grief God has seen me at my best and my worst, and He had to have been hurt by my tumblings of anguish, my slashes of anger, and my scrapings of despair. It amazes me that He has not wavered one bit in His perfect love for...

About Living Selah

I love a mystery. Selah is a word of mystery. Its meaning puzzles bible scholars, although it shows up in the book of Psalms 71 times and Habakuk 3 times. Some scholars view it as a direction to musicians to pause or take a breath. Some think it may be related to the Hebrew word “calah” which means “to weigh in the balance.” Still others think it’s a combination of two words that mean “to praise” and “to lift up.” My soul responds to all these meanings. I get so busy in the days, weeks, months, and years, and as I gain years, the swiftness of time astonishes me. Do you feel this too? Too often the present rushes at us, running rough shod with all its urgencies. We need to, even in the midst of what we might call “holy” or “spiritual”, take time to rest – take a breath – weigh the present and enter its spaciousness. And praise. This is what I’d like you to find in this journal of mine. Places where you can take a breath, weigh a thought, and ring praise back to our eternal God. I write about places and times where God’s promises have rung true for me. I share about scriptures that shimmered from the page and urged me to look deeper. I hope what I share will open a space for you to encounter a peace that is not of this world, and a grace that is the most powerful force in the universe. All freely given by a good and loving God. His gifts to us in this often insane and messy world.

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