Hello, friends— As we move deeper into Advent, life in my world has been characteristically full. My oldest son is home from college, yesterday was his 19th birthday, Christmas preparations are underway—and I’m still navigating a long, exhausting water crisis in my home. Plus. And yet… the words keep coming. Faster than I can write them. My iPhone notes are loaded. If I could disappear into a quiet, media-free cabin or remote island for a month or six to simply pray and liste

During my morning quiet time, I was briefly interrupted by the distant bellow and clack of the train in town. Returning to silent contemplation, I was reminded that every key place I’ve lived as an adult has featured both trains and water. It’s beautiful where God can lead us if we just sit with Him a spell in (interrupted) silence. My first home was in historic Ellicott City—a hundred-year-old row house halfway up the hill to Oella, just yards from the Patapsco River and the

Pray with me today for those who are struggling —and for tender, generous hearts that reflect Christ’s compassion.🙏🏽💖 “If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person?” 1 John 3:17 (NLT) “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’” Matthew 25:40 (NLT) Know that even secular economists like Jere

“You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” — John 8:32 (NLT) There’s a variant in recovery circles covered in the book, “the truth will set you free, but first it will $:@$* you off.” Honest awareness is hard… but it’s the first step to freedom. It gives us room to choose. We want to be open to God‘s leading here, which may look different than we expect (see my recent post on Jesus’ Relational Realities from Matthew 10.) We may need to set better boundaries,

I love this Christmas prophecy in Isaiah, predicting Jesus’s arrival and job description. His first assignment? Carrying government on his shoulders. Some days I’m tempted to ask, “Are You on the job now, Jesus? Things are looking pretty sketchy all over.” The beauty of God‘s Word is that it is dynamic, ageless, unfolding, eternal, and true. Free-willing, we forfeited paradise way back when, though Christ is on His throne, waiting for us to align, and Our Father to say, “Go!”

I often share about my son Isaac, who is a precious object lesson about so many spiritual truths. He teaches me a lot. Isaac has Down Syndrome, and he has given me countless insights, particularly about love. I can only describe the quality of his love as Divine, and I believe that people with unique abilities are indeed closer to heaven than the rest of us Now 15, Isaac still greets me with a wistfl or joyful “Mama”, as though I’d been away for a long time. His voice is full

And here’s my very favorite Neapolitan nativity in all its glory:

During the holiday season, many people wrestle with complicated feelings about relationships—absent, distant, antagonistic, or otherwise. Often, expectations (which we know can be a problem) simply don’t match reality. As always, Jesus helps. Sometimes His help comes in unexpected ways. Matthew 10 may not be very Christmassy, but it contains some of Jesus' clearest words on relationships I’ve returned to and shared again and again. Challenging our understanding of Christian l

✨I nearly forgot that I am one of the contributors to this popular Guideposts Christmas treasure, including five advent devotions by yours truly. It’s not too late to got it overnight from Amazon here: https://a.co/d/5QUXYhs

Dig Deeper: “For everything that is hidden will eventually be brought into the open, and every secret will be brought to light.” — Mark 4:22 (NLT) Jesus never exposes anything to shame us. He brings things into the light so He can heal them.

(+How to escape the game for good.) I’m no chess master, but I know the basics. Most people don’t realize that pawns aren’t just tiny pieces on a board. They’re: • the most abundant • the least valued • the first to take the hits • the most easily sacrificed • and the ones used to protect the power behind them They’re the frontline for a reason. Pawns absorb damage so the “king” or “queen” never risks himself and can advance. In most games, a pawn is sacrificed long before an

It’s pretty hard to be thankful for all circumstances. Should we be thankful for a broken marriage, a broken leg, a broken heart? Paul isn’t asking that of us. He’s inviting us to be thankful in all circumstances—not for them. For many years, I exchanged a daily gratitude list with a few women. We were writing to God and to ourselves more than to each other, but sharing our lists kept us connected. In the beginning, I had to work to come up with even a few things. Later, I of

Something has been shifting, and I want to speak plainly about it. Some of you may have noticed that I haven’t shared Sage Sayings content in a while. It’s not because I’ve been quiet—if anything, God has had me writing more than ever. When He puts something on my heart, it pours out. There’s never a strategy behind it. It’s always Spirit-led obedience. When I first published Sage Sayings & Slogans in the spring, I created a separate page out of sensitivity to the principle o

(Teresa’s phrase for the courage to keep praying when prayer feels impossible) I’ve shared what felt like a prolonged dry spell—yet the Lord has recently shown me it was simply a different season of prayer. A forgotten, ancient road walked by countless believers before us. If your well feels dry, I hope what I’ve learned brings comfort and clarity. It helps so much to know we aren’t alone in these seasons. Many of the most devoted saints wrote openly about prayerlessness and

Dear friends, I’m so grateful to share something with you that has been stirring in me for a very long time. I'm thrilled introduce Waterworks , my newest book. Though one of these stories was published in a juried literary anthology twenty years ago, I’ve quietly carried most of this manuscript through many seasons—adding, refining, waiting. I was simply not released to publish it until now. God’s timing is always perfect, even when His formation takes decades. Twenty-five y

Bearing the Burden of Seeing Discernment is one of the most beautiful—and one of the most brutal—gifts God gives. It is a gift you want, because it brings clarity, protection, wisdom, truth, and spiritual sight. And it is the gift you don’t want, because once you see something, you cannot unsee it. Heavy. Discernment is both a light and a sword. A comfort and a burden. A gift and a responsibility. And if you’ve walked with this gift—especially since childhood—you already kno

“We can be proud of our clear conscience. We have always lived honestly and sincerely, especially when we were with you. And we were guided by God’s gift of undeserved grace instead of by the wisdom of this world.” —2 Corinthians 1:12 (ESV / CEB) Wow! What a verse. The apostle Paul is writing to the wild and wacky Corinthians who had gone off the deep end with all kinds of compromise, conflict, and chaos. This paragraph is like a mini manual for human relationships. Paul make

“And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them.” Romans 8:28 (NLT) There are times when it feels like the wheels have come off the bus and we’re careening down the highway with a load of screaming metaphorical children—and no brakes. Sometimes it’s global chaos—a perfect storm of crises that seem unmanageable. Other times, it’s our own little universe collapsing due to something we d

Years ago, I had a long-term freelance engagement with a biotech company. My job was to translate complex, highly scientific clinical trials into short, readable news items for their global employees. I’d read dense reports, interview PhD scientists and MDs, and then write a few hundred words summarizing the findings. Somehow, I could take this technical information and make it understandable to anyone—effortlessly. As a decidedly non-scientific person, I have no idea how I p

Lessons from 2 Timothy 3:1–5 on discernment, detachment, and spiritual sobriety. This whole passage in Paul’s letter to Timothy feels uncannily timely. Read it as a checklist and you’ll see how high modern society scores on Paul’s troubling diagnostic list. And let’s be honest—these folks sure do sound like textbook narcissists! Boastful, proud, unloving, manipulative, obsessed with appearance, allergic to correction… it’s all there. Paul described the same spirit psychology