Blog

  • Devotional of the week: Psalm 18:30–31

    Rock of ages As for God, his way is perfect: The Lord’s word is flawless; he shields all who take refuge in him. For who is God besides the Lord? And who is the Rock except our God? (Psalm 18:30–31, NIV)   Today David again calls God the rock who provides him refuge. It may…

  • Review of a fab novel about spiritual formation

    Sensible Shoes: A Story about the Spiritual Journey by Sharon Garlough Brown (IVP, 978-0830843053) Some books come with a buzz. I don’t mean that reading them will cause an altered reality, but that people become so gripped and changed by these books that they want to share them with others – resulting in a buzz.…

  • Dual citizenship

    When I first moved to the UK, I felt so self-consciously American. Hyper aware of my accent, which immediately labeled me as foreign. Fifteen years later, I usually forget my “other” status, but sometimes – often when I’m out of London – someone will look at me with curiosity and ask me where I’m from.…

  • Devotional of the week: Psalm 18:28–29

    God, our source You, Lord, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light. With your help I can advance against a troop; with my God I can scale a wall. (Psalm 18:28–29, NIV) As David recounts the works of God, he acknowledges that everything comes from the Lord – oil for his…

  • Sleeping with the vicar

    Today my husband has been ordained a minister in the Church of England for 15 years. I remember the occasion so clearly as I sat in the cavernous Guildford Cathedral with his family and witnessed him making his promises to love, hono(u)r, and serve God and God’s people. As we drove back to Cambridge, I…

  • What I’d tell my 20-year-old self

    “There’s a new company that’s selling books on the Internet. It’s one to watch,” said the man who would become the Motley Fool. The year was 1993, and I was sitting in his living room, having enjoyed a bountiful feast made by his wife, with whom I was working on a project on the Classics.…

  • A devotional for the week: Psalm 18:22–27

    Righteousness and faithfulness   “All his laws are before me; I have not turned away from his decrees. I have been blameless before him and have kept myself from sin. The Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight. To the faithful you show yourself…

  • A tribute to marriage

    Today my parents celebrate their fiftieth wedding anniversary – five decades of loving each other and modeling that love to us in their quiet and understated way. I am so grateful for their commitment to each other and to us through the good and challenging times. My mom and dad both grew up on farms…

  • The identity of a writer

    In my university years, I was friends with a man who was intellectually gifted. I enjoyed our times together, but deep down, I never really felt myself with him; I somehow felt I was lacking. Not that I would have ever even named this vague feeling of dis-ease, but I can see it looking back…

  • Devotional of the week: Psalm 18:19–21

    A spacious place   He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me. The Lord has dealt with me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands he has rewarded me. For I have kept the ways of the Lord; I am not guilty of…