[Continued from Musings on Jonah, Part One: Is it right for you to be angry?] Two things I love most from this passage: God is always teaching us and God is always providing for us. He is teaching Jonah here. He used the example of the plant that made Jonah so happy when it kept […]
Category: Healing
Musings on Jonah, Part One: Is it right for you to be angry?
A few years back, I was embroiled in a vicious cycle of anger and hurt over the way my daughter had been treated. And a very dear friend said to me, “Courtnie, you and I are both angry about this. The difference is that you are ashamed of your anger, while I am proud of […]
A new song
It’s the most wonderful time of the year! The music blared from the store’s speakers, determined to get us shoppers in the Christmas spirit. Kids whined and wailed from the prisons of their parents’ carts, determined to get the toys they wanted. My cart itself was determined to veer left, no matter how hard I […]
What spending my Kohl’s cash taught me about holding on to hope
It was supposed to be a simple errand. I had Kohl’s cash to spend, and I knew exactly what I wanted. By checking online, I also knew that the store closest to my house didn’t have the shirt I wanted in my size, but the Kohl’s in the other direction had one. So I made […]
On beach bodies and worship
You may have seen the meme floating around social media about having a beach body. How to get a beach body: 1) Have a body. 2) Go to the beach. This year, I followed that advice. I took the body I have to the beach. While there, I took a picture of the beach, framed […]
Wanting the miracle, missing the more
I grew up in the country. We watched the sun set while playing a family game of softball in the front yard as Mom cooked dinner. We spent most of our time roaming around our family’s land in our bare feet. The bottoms of our feet were so calloused during the summer that we could […]
How to be both genuine and joyful
I grew up singing songs about rejoicing in the Lord always (and again I say, “rejoice!” – often in rounds) and the joy of the Lord being my strength (He fills my soul with laughter – ha, ha, ha . . . ha, ha). As children of the Lord, we were admonished to have the […]
Releasing the temporary
I still remember the excitement I felt when I saw the newborn baby doll advertised in the paper. It was so beautiful, and I knew I just had to have one of my very own. So I did odd jobs around the house, saved up my pennies; and before long, I was filling out the […]
The little quads that could: a lesson in compassion
The story has been told many times in many ways by many great storytellers, and we all know it well. A little railroad engine meant for pulling cars on and off the switches agrees to take on a monumental task, one far too great for its capabilities. But this little engine is determined to complete […]
You don’t have to want to
It’s the constant refrain of young children (and also not-so-young adults more than we care to admit): “But I don’t WANT to!” I don’t want to go in to work today. I don’t want to deal with this difficult person or situation yet again. You mean my family expects dinner again? Didn’t I just finish […]
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