Hi Friends, One morning last week, I woke unusually early. It was still dark outside. I laced up my running shoes and stepped out the door to walk the block. Our neighborhood is one big rectangle, with a steep hill on one side. It takes effort to climb, but at the top you’re rewarded with a wide-open view of the horizon. That morning, I caught the sunrise one lap at a time. Each time I crested the hill, the sky had shifted. Orange, pink, purple, and blue stretched out in new patterns with every loop. It was breathtaking—like watching a miracle unfold. And when the miracle was at its fullest — when the sun finally broke free and lit up the sky? I stopped at the mailbox and grabbed the mail. If that’s not a picture of the Christian life, I don’t know what is. There’s so much about God that fills us with awe. The beauty of His nature. His miracle work of changing us to be like Christ. And we do stand in awe. Sometimes we stop everything as we catch a glimpse and take it in. But we don’t spend our lives at the top of the hill. The light of Christ fills our eyes, and we set about the ordinary, beautiful business of being human. Running errands. Driving kids to practice. Pulling leftovers from the freezer. Checking on a sick friend. Picking up flowers to drop at their doorstep. The miracle work of God fills our lives, and we hum about in our backyard gardens. It’s not irreverence. Quite the opposite: it’s a kind of celebration. Evidence that His goodness is not fleeting, not unusual or atypical. We take the light He sheds abroad in our hearts, and we live by it. Really live by it. In all our ordinary moments. What a gift. — Anna |
I am a singer, songwriter, wife, mother, Jesus follower. I send out a 2-minute read every Tuesday about Jesus and life in God.
Hi Friends, We don’t often like to be “all in” for something. In fact, we are often cautioned against it. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Hedge your bets. Have a plan B. Except, when it comes to life in God, the only way forward is to give… everything. There’s no pseudo-form of Christianity where we write in our clauses and exemptions. No partial committing. No standing at the shore and dipping in our toes. It’s a head-first dive into the ocean of God. An all-in taking up of our cross....
Hi Friends, One thing I’ve loved in sending these weekly devotional emails is the way we get real with one another. I’ve felt so honored by the way you have let me in on your struggles and your redemption moments. Something we’ve talked about over the years is anxiety. Let’s go there again today: No matter who you are or how strong you feel, there are seasons in life where the strain of anxiety can feel like too much to bear. The sleepless nights with a heightened heart-rate that no deep...
Hi Friends, I went on a tour of a church building this weekend. It was the 100 year anniversary of the building, and the congregation was celebrating by hosting an “Architectural Tour”. The guide was the architect who headed up the building’s restoration. We Evangelicals don’t typically put a lot of thought into our church spaces. Efficiency is the name of the game. A great coffee bar is often of greater importance than the beams in the ceiling (and when I’m late to church with my bunch of...