Simple Love
Read: Hebrews 13:1-7 Let mutual love continue. (v. 1 NRSV) When I had two children in elementary school, I was constantly signing student homework planners to keep track of what was happening in class and receiving quarterly reports of all of the assignments my kids had or hadn’t turned in. Report cards came home regularly to […]
Peace Be with You
Read: Hebrews 12:14-15 Strive for peace with everyone. (v. 14) Each year we plant a small garden in our back yard. The kids can pick cherry tomatoes for snacks and I have fresh herbs for my cooking. Tending a garden, though, requires some vigilance. If we don’t give the garden some attention regularly, it will soon […]
Training Regimen
Read: Hebrews 12:3-13 Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees. (v. 12) I’m wonderful at making plans to get in shape. Following through on them? Not so much. But I’ve found that the few healthy habits that have stuck have something in common—they fit into my life and become a part of my […]
Cheering Squad
Read: Hebrews 12:1-2 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses . . . let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. (v. 1) A few years ago I trained all summer for a triathlon. I worked hard and committed a fair amount of time to my preparations. […]
God’s Motley Crew
Read: Hebrews 11:23-31 By faith the people crossed the Red Sea as on dry land. (v. 29) Sometimes I look around at the people in the church and think, what a strange group of people we are! First, I realize that with some people I have almost nothing in common except that we worship in the […]
A Promised Home
Read: Hebrews 11:8-22 But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. (v. 16) In our family, we have two philosophies of campfire tending. I tend to be a “let it be” tender; if the fire’s burning, leave it alone until it’s not. It’s good, why mess with it? My husband, […]
Seeing the Invisible
Read: Hebrews 11:1-3 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. (v. 1) Planting a garden is an act of hope. When I plant a seed in my garden, I don’t know if we’ll get heavy rain and the seed will be flooded away, or if we’ll have too […]
Remember Where You’ve Been
Read: Hebrews 10:26-39 But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings. (v. 32) One of my favorite things about parenting is curling up with my children to read. When my son was five, he would painstakingly work his way through his favorite books, sounding out each word. […]
Positive Peer Pressure
Read: Hebrews 10:19-25 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works. (v. 24) I like to make my own salad dressings. I can add whatever flavors I choose—fresh herbs from the garden, a squeeze of lemon juice for a little sour bite. But dressing made at home tends to […]