Dear friends, The words in the headline above came out of my mouth at our home group last night. Everyone encouraged me to write about it so I am! We were reading the book of Acts chapter 28. It was so very evident that the religious people of the day were just not able to understand what Jesus was all about because they were so steeped in their traditions and the principles they lived by. Jesus is all about relationship not religion! What’s the difference you may say? Religion is about getting a set of rules and principles you live

Dear friends, I’ve been thinking a lot about wisdom lately. Knowledge has increased exponentially in our world and will continue to do so in the days ahead. Is all this knowledge really making us wiser? One day as I was doing some prayer journaling, this phrase came to me: “Knowledge expands, wisdom simplifies.” Think about the saying, “It all boils down to ____.” In my mind, knowledge doesn’t boil things down to the most essential truths. Wisdom does. Would you agree that there’s an overload of knowledge but a shortage of wisdom? Consider this verse of Scripture: “Wisdom is the

Dear friends, How can you look at a face like this and not feel a fountain of joy well up inside? This little guy is my grandson Truman, a photo taken a few years ago. He is such a joy! The fact that I have a relationship with him is a source of great joy. When I think about happiness, I think it relates to ‘what’s happening’. Joy on the other hand comes from relationship, with God and other people. Consider this verse: “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your

Dear friends, This spring I made a new friend named Judy Herman, she is a kindred spirit! We are both new authors and we connected through Morgan James Publishing. She is a therapist and I’m a coach. Both of us desire most to honor God with our lives. We soon discovered we had the same theme pumping in our hearts. It has to do with the DANCE of Relationships! My book is about the dance of relationship with Jesus that effects everything in your life. Her book is learning how to dance in the messy relationships with the people you

Dear friends, Where you stand today, would you say you are climbing a tall, tall mountain that seems like it’s just too tall to climb? Maybe you’re already on that mountain top and are feeling fantastic! Or perhaps you’re in a deep valley that seems so low you’ll never get out of it? Life has its’ share of heights and depths, highs and lows, ups and downs. What would you say makes it all worthwhile? And what makes it all bearable when it’s not easy? I think these words sum it up: sharing it all with FAMILY and FRIENDS! This

Dear friends – Today I’m thinking about the blessings of giving and receiving. In the verse above, from Acts 20:35, Jesus makes it clear that there’s a greater blessing for those who are givers. To me that means that I make giving my way of life. Is that what you think it means? On the other hand, there’s also a blessing in receiving, in allowing others to give you what they have to offer. Sometimes people have a harder time receiving when they have made giving their way of life. But I really think it’s important to be able to

I had a dream. A long long time ago, in 1990. I knew that one day I would write a book about it. Twenty-seven years later I began to write, after I knew I had lived the dream enough to have a story about every part of it. The book is called “The Divine Invitation: Entering the Dance of Becoming Fully Alive”. Written primarily for women, but also full of great stuff for men, this book is about having the kind of relationship with Jesus that results in the virtuous character of Christ being formed in you. It’s about connecting

For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, “In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and I trust shall one your strength…” Isaiah 30:15 ESV