Last weekend I had the privilege of being a workshop speaker for the Called Conference at my alma mater, Bethel University. My topic this year was a little bit risky, something I would never have thought to do without the Spirit’s leading. Here’s a sample… The Timely Gifts of Introversion: Bringing the Quiet Joy of Jesus’ Kingdom to a Noisy and Anxious World  I am what the experts call a “social introvert.” I identify with all the characteristics of introversion, and I also

Jimmy, Sidney & baby Tiago Alejandro ( kianagrantphotography.com ) Wow. Wow. Wow. That’s what I’ve been repeating these past three days. Just wow.  Wow, because I am shaking my head over the way God seems to do things like this. Long days of quietly waiting and then—WAM. All things happening all at once. And honestly, I wonder sometimes if God is grinning from above, saying… “This ought to give her a good story to write.”  No kidding.  Besides that, God clearly likes the numb

Forty days is a long time. A true test, if you know what I mean. Long enough to lose trust and choose an idol. Long enough to fear giants in a land of promise. And long enough, too, for the only faithful human to pass a test that would change the world.* This is why we do it. This season we call Lent. We mark off 40 days leading to the cross. 40 days reminding us that we are fractured and fragile and unfaithful people.  My husband gave up fretting for Lent. Specifically he ha