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This one's for you, Mama. For you when weariness wakes up with you - when sleep is fleeting, eyes are heavy, no coffee strong enough. For you when tantrums rage and you cry hidden tears of frustration and exhaustion. For you when you read the news headlines and look at your precious ones and fear lurks at the edges. For you when children stretch tall and hormones rage and doors slam and every emotion possible somehow shares the same ten minutes. For you when no one can find their shoes. Matthew 19:13-15  Then people brought little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked them.   Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” When He had placed His hands on them, He went on from there. Familiar verses... but linger a moment with me, Mama. Some days our work feels small, unimportant, unworthy of notice. That's how the dis...

I mentioned before  that I started "quickly" reading through Matthew in September. Yep, still in Matthew. Still marvelling at Jesus. At His Kingship. At His kingdom. His kingdom is so opposite of our natural inclinations. You want to save your life? You'll lose it. Lose your life for My sake - and you'll find it. You want to be great? Humble yourself; come like a child. The more we deny and empty ourselves of self, the more we experience the reality of His kingdom, His Kingship, in our lives. So today as I begin my morning - looking out at the frosty grass touched by the Creator's ice-tipped paintbrush, at birds fluttering here and there, each one seen and known by its Maker - I ponder. What if today I became less? What if this day, and everyday, this was my prayer: More of You Less of me In all I do All I see I sink low To lift You high Because You live Today I die. Be great in my life today, Lord. Be lifted higher. I'm at your feet, Kin...

Reading news headlines brings back memories. Thoughts of water park trips, the feeling of dropping at dizzying speeds through twists and turns of slides with names like The Toilet Bowl . The thrill, the moments of breathless panic, the utter exhaustion. It makes me want to hold my breath - this downward, ever faster, desperate pull of our world. Huddle the kids close. Strap lifejackets on tight. I don't want them caught in the undertow and pulled to the deep. As culture degrades, politics divide, social media dishes depravity and broken identity, how do we help them find their footing? How do we prepare them to stay afloat in the deep, not try to isolate them on the shore? Today we finished the last page in Long Story Short . As we have journeyed through the lives of Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah - men growing up and living for God through exile in pagan Babylon - the truths they held close, truths that inspired faithful lives in an unfaithful land, ring out loud and clear. Bet...