Appalachian Disciple

The Journal Project

  • Buzz Lightyear, Michael W. Smith and Me

  • Making Bread

    I was sitting on an outdoor bench of the Illinois Institute of Technology campus, in downtown Chicago.  My husband was directing a brand new summer project, reaching out to the many Chicago universities.  I was there for six weeks with our 7, 5 and 1 year-olds in tow.  But I…

  • It’s Okay to Cry

    Twice in Revelation it says that God will “wipe away every tear from our eyes.”  I’ve always thought of that metaphorically; all the accumulated reasons I’ve had to cry — wiped away, gone!  And that sentiment is true.  But lately I’ve been thinking about how you buckle down through a…

  • Never Gonna Let Me Down

    Today in church we sang two different songs with the sentiment that Jesus is “never going to let us down.” Every time we sing a song with that phrase, I remember singing it in a service 10+ years ago, when my 3 year-old son tugged at my sleeve during the…

  • Angry at God

    My son is angry with me.  After a long crusade on his behalf to convince me that I should let him play a particular video game, his father and I finally gave him a hard “no.” Last night, he cried for hours in great, gulping sobs until he exhausted himself…

  • Here’s to the Praying Grandmas!

    I had a grandmother and great-aunts who prayed for me.  I know because I never saw my Great Aunt Bootsie but that she told me so, and Great Aunt Janie the same.  I took this totally for granted.  Shaking hands or giving hugs after church, hearing, “I’m praying for you!”…

  • Are We Not All Lot?

    This past year as my Bible study group worked in Genesis, I found myself unsettled by our discussions about Lot.  Nobody liked Lot.  He was Lot the selfish, choosing the well-watered Jordan Valley.  He was Lot the foolish, settling near the wicked city of Sodom.  He was Lot the impotent,…

  • Good Works

    Part One              So, I’m homeschooling my fourth child, and by now I’m a little thin on crafts.  I don’t want to dismiss them entirely, but over time I’ve decided that less is more (or to be more specific:  less crafts = more sanity.)  Nevertheless, in an effort to give…

  • On the Mountain of the Lord

    I just heard a sermon on Genesis 22 — Abraham’s offering of Isaac.  More specifically, it was about Jehovah Jireh, “the LORD will provide,” the name of God revealed during that event. Today, though, I was struck by the second half of v. 14, which I’d not much noticed before:…

  • To Be in the Family

    “But now thus says the LORD, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: ‘Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.’” Isaiah 43:1 Last summer* God gave me an object lesson through Nyliah, a nice, little girl down the…