May
13
“Firsts” have a way of embedding themselves into your memory. First impressions, first experiences, first meetings. And the more startling the “first” is, the more effectively it wedges itself into your mind. I was nine years old when I saw my first potbellied pig. It was at a petting zoo in Pennsylvania where our family …
Permanent link to this article: http://steppinginthelight.com/2012/05/13/what-i-learned-about-my-mom-from-a-potbellied-pig/
May
07
Seven years ago, I stood under a star-studded sky in central Texas and made a decision. With a tinge of dramatic anticipation, I looked to Heaven and prayed my own paraphrase of Jeremiah 26:14: “Lord, do with me as seems good in Your sight.” And then I offered a particularly painful area to Him. But …
Permanent link to this article: http://steppinginthelight.com/2012/05/07/when-decisions-wont-bend-the-trail/
Apr
23
Trust my grandma to come up with a clever spin on a common phrase. (She is the same grandma who has invented words like encosegrator, grusel, and snitherwoo, and she has developed complete definitions to their various forms of speech.) Anyway, one of my grandma’s family-famous lines is, “Where there’s a will, there’s a won’t.” She uses …
Permanent link to this article: http://steppinginthelight.com/2012/04/23/where-theres-a-will-theres-a-wont/
Apr
10
You’ve heard the quote: “God is more concerned with our character than our comfort.” It’s a true statement, but it’s not the whole story. God’s concern with our comfort depends on what kind of comfort we are talking about. Do we mean that it is His job description to provide us with a comfortable, trouble-free …
Permanent link to this article: http://steppinginthelight.com/2012/04/10/does-god-care-about-your-comfort/
Mar
28
Several years before I was born, an eighteen-year-old girl was visited in the hospital by an old friend from high school friend named Dody. In the time that had passed since they had seen each other, Dody had changed, and Joanne couldn’t help but notice. “Dody, your face looks so…so pretty.” “That’s because Jesus has …
Permanent link to this article: http://steppinginthelight.com/2012/03/28/a-good-day-for-me/
Mar
13
Carol Tudor was my Sunday school teacher when I was in second grade. She was a fun, energetic teacher when I was seven, and through the next several years, she continued to be an encouraging person in my life. Last week, I had the joy of getting to see and reconnect with her for the …
Permanent link to this article: http://steppinginthelight.com/2012/03/13/what-%e2%80%9cuse-me%e2%80%9d-really-means/
Feb
29
I grew up in the Midwest, where February is a drab, tiresome month between winter and spring. There’s usually dirty snow sitting in patches of mud. And the skies are often hazy grey. When my oldest sister, Nichole, was four years old, my dad noticed her listlessness and discouragement during the overcast days near the …
Permanent link to this article: http://steppinginthelight.com/2012/02/29/a-bonus-bonus/
Feb
14
“Happy Valentine’s Day, Arlene!” “Hiiiiii, Miss Déirdre!” “I made you some cookies and just want you to know that I love you.” “Awww, thank you.” [big hug] I got to hear this delightful conversation repeated several times this evening while making Sunday school visits with my friend, Déirdre. But one conversation ended more memorably.
Permanent link to this article: http://steppinginthelight.com/2012/02/14/%e2%80%98cuz-you-came/
Jan
13
I’m reopening a blog post draft that I began almost six months ago, which wouldn’t be so bad if the first post hadn’t been about transmission trouble. I’m no mechanic, but I know more about a failing transmission now than before I began this post—either time. And I know that the loss of a transmission …
Permanent link to this article: http://steppinginthelight.com/2012/01/13/adventures-i-wanted-to-avoid/
Dec
31
I’m not eavesdropping, but I can’t help overhearing snippets of the conversations walking past me. I’m on a layover and am sitting in a row of chairs along a long hallway between terminals in the airport. There’s a steady stream of people walking by, but they mostly come just a few at a time, so …
Permanent link to this article: http://steppinginthelight.com/2011/12/31/conversation-snippets/
