{Laugh} Do we laugh enough? We laugh to avoid embarrassment. We sometimes laugh to ease the tension. Do we laugh from a place of joy? A place of happiness? I find my laughter comes easiest when I am living a certain type of way. Calm. Rested. Peaceful. Simple. When my life is categorized by these things, laughter slips into the air more often. I’ve noticed my children laugh more than I do. Their lives are driven by passion and desire,…

{Fly} I long to fly. Fly and be strong. Courageous. Brave. Free. Instead, I feel stuck. If the Christian life is like a race, I’m definitely the turtle. Slowly, inching my way to the finish line. Knee-deep in darkness and mud. Glimpses of light show me I’m still on the path, but oh to FLY. To be the bird, and rise above all of the hurt. The guilt. The sin of this life. I long to fly. Instead, I’m limping…

{Patience} Let’s not pray for patience. For we know our God will give us people for which to be patient. Let’s not ask for patience, for these people will come into our lives who will demand we be patience with them. We want the virture, but not the work. There is no virtue without the work. And yes, patience is a virtue. Not a high and lofty virtue never to be gained. We are called to bear the fruit of…

{Storm} As the sky grows dark, the rain drops begin to drop. One at a time. Only a few. Then a few more. More and more until a downpour. The thunder roars in the distance. Lightening lights up the sky. Storms in life sometimes come upon us by surprise. We are having fun playing and laughing in the sunshine, then suddenly we find the sun is gone and we are alone with the wind and the rain. We run inside…