Throwing a terra cotta lump in the center of his wheel, the potter gently but firmly pressed his hands into the spinning clay. As his nails and wrists caked with the mud and moisture, he patiently conformed the block into a pliable piece. Continually wetting his hand to keep the lump moist, he worked until it gradually yielded, softening …
How to Know Joy
“Over and over again I sail towards joy, which is never in the room with me, but always near me, across the way, like those rooms full of gayety one sees from the street, or the gayety in the street one sees from a window. Will I ever reach joy? It hides behind the turning merry-go-round of the traveling …
Discouraged and Dispirited
Dear Mentor, I am so discouraged. I have very little motivation in my life and feel that I am taken for granted. My daily tasks are menial and unappreciated, not at all the life I signed up for. Why has God left me in this barren place? …
Righteous? Indignation
An eerie quiet settled over the accident scene. From my driver’s seat, I could smell the toxicity of burnt rubber mixed with leaking engine fluid. Adjusting my rear-view mirror, I was relieved to see that the blood I was tasting was only from the impact of biting my own lip. As I mentally pried my hands off the steering wheel, the sound of …
Sprouting
See those red pod things sprouting off the tree bark? Know what that is? It’s the seeds of the cacao tree. Or in layman’s terms: the beginnings of chocolate. Honestly, it’s very odd looking. Like no tree I had ever seen before. All around the bark of this fairly large tree, there are outgrowths of blooms which, …
Just How Abidish Do You Feel?
“Abide in Me, and I in you” (John 15:4). As Christians, we spend an inordinate amount of time worrying about whether or not we are “abiding.” Well, I have some good news for you: You are. Just look at the Greek verb for our English word “abide”. For one thing, it’s in the imperative mood, …