When you’re back at square one through no fault of your own, God still knows what He’s doing — With Christmas behind us, most of us will be focusing on the New Year. As part of that process, you’ll probably consider how you can start over in different ways. Maybe that means a new job, organizing your house, or not drinking anymore. Those are all good things. But what…

You and God are a team, so don’t just sit around and do nothing. — Have you ever gone through a rough time and had someone tell you that you ought to pray that God would rescue you? That He would remove the difficulty from your life and lead you beside still waters? It sounds innocent enough. And over the past few weeks, I’ve been…

More than one person can convey a lesson, and that’s a good thing — Last night, I had parent-teacher conferences at my son’s school. Since my son is in 8th grade already, it’s one of the last conferences we’ll have. We did the usual grade check, and then the teacher gave my son a kind-but-firm talking-to about not handing in assignments. My husband and…

Tradition reflects on the past, but it also influences our present and future — A few days ago, I realized that it was high time for me to get my Halloween decorations out of storage. I don’t do a ton in this arena — some artificial fall vines and flowers, some pumpkin chair covers, etc. Yet, when I looked at everything on my agenda…

They’re common, but also disrespectful and a source of potential hardship — Freelancing is on the rise, not just because people are trying to make financial ends meet, but because they’re on the hunt for greater personal autonomy and fulfillment. And business leaders also now assert that the rise of the gig economy is having a positive influence on the social status…

If the formal leaders can’t meet needs, other members of Christ’s body often can A few weeks ago, I had a meeting with a guy from within the Christian podcast industry. The intent was just to get to know each other a little. But as happens in meetings, talk of…

Without compassionate accountability, there cannot be growth — In the professional world, partnerships keep the Wheel of Results turning. Those partnerships can come in different flavors, such as customer-provider, investor-entrepreneur, or founder-founder, but they all depend on mutual participation. If one of the partners doesn’t pull their weight, frustration bubbles up and goals become out of reach. …

It’s not the viability of the dreams that matter. It’s how they create a signature of who you are. — This week, in a total rush, I realized just how quickly the summer is wrapping up. The school emails are coming. My husband and I are watching the weather cool and noticing that fewer and fewer people are coming to the pool. In times of transition like this, I almost…

We don’t always know when conflict will be resolved, but God does — This week, I got an unexpected email (a CC, no less) from a family member. By the time I was done reading, my heart had sunk. My reaction wasn’t because there was any particularly bad news in the message. It was because the message itself resurrected old family drama that…