Do you struggle to distinguish the voice of God from all the other “voices” in your head? Now — don’t hear what I’m not saying — I’m not accusing you of “hearing voices” or admitting the same of myself. But, you know what I mean… that constant internal nagging that I “shoulda, coulda, wish I woulda!” All the stuff we said (and spend the rest of the day wishing we wouldn’t have) the stuff we did (and hope no one ever reminds us of) or the stuff we failed to do (and fear that maybe God is quietly mad at us about it.) You know… that stuff!

I awoke this morning to the new month and to this thought — spring is coming! I love the return of blooming things and warmer winds. My winter-weary heart leaps for joy at the thought of baby animals and evening walks. I crave the loosening up of the world, battened down tightly against winter, now unfurling itself by degrees, checking tentatively to see if it’s safe to come out and play.

Every year in January, our church does a corporate fast. Everyone is asked to give up some things that please the flesh (think desserts, soda, television, etc.) choosing instead to turn in prayer for ourselves, our community, and our broken world.

In the mornings when my sweet hubby puts on his farm coat and heads toward the pasture, our cattle get excited — really excited.

I yearn to be truly seen. I long to be deeply known. It’s a hardwired desire in the human heart and I am definitely no exception. But…

The hungry chicken flies the coop the instant the canvas roof of her pen rolls back. She is eager for her feed and desperately wants to…

I know, I know. It’s a big question for one little blog post. And I obviously won’t cover it comprehensively. But there is one aspect of love that I have been thinking about quite a lot lately.

Why do I do that? Why did I say that? The conversation is going in an uncomfortable direction. So I try to jump in and turn this thing around…make it line up the way Sarah wants the story to go. We’re in a meeting, I have…