Category: Misc

  • Enduring Midlife Like a Champ

    One of the Tarr kids’ favorite pastimes is “hang riding” up the driveway. We have a long gravel driveway, and if it’s been a while since grading, crater-like divots develop, and it’s a real wild, bumpy ride. My kids call these divots speed bumps, and the faster I go over…

  • Do Not Be Conformed

      “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Romans 12:2 (ESV) Etched in my mind is RC Sproul’s voice saying, “Chili con carne,” quite…

  • The Beauty of a Meek Heart

    How many times in the last year and a half since this universal trial we’re all facing called COVID and global unrest has been upon us have you found yourself anxious, angry, scared, or fighting against it in your heart? Or, have you responded to it all with a tranquil heart—one…

  • Becoming Elisabeth Elliot: A Book Review

      I thought I knew Elisabeth Elliot well. I’ve read many of her books and have listened to her talks, enough to think I had a handle on her life experiences, her personality, her struggles, and even quirks. But I could not put down Ellen Vaughn’s biography, Becoming Elisabeth Elliot.   …

  • Be the Gray Hair (When Mentors Are Sparse)

      If you sat across from me right now, you’d probably smile and wonder why I, a woman who can count only one or two gray hairs on my head, feels the liberty to tell you to “be the gray hair” that you want. Admittedly, I lack gray hair (I…

  • Why I Don’t Believe Proverbs 22:6 is a Promise

    “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it” (Pr. 22:6). I don’t believe this verse is a promise. If I am faithful and do all the right things as a parent, my children may still reject the…

  • A Tribute to My Midwife: The Life and Legacy of Teresa Steen

    “A woman never stops needing mothering on the journey to becoming whole and holy. This gift of mothering is the sacred, and often hidden work, of earthly saints. My mother was among these saints, and perhaps the most loved. For she not only mothered, she held sacred space for the…

  • Practicing Confession

    I believe part of the answer is that we are often deceived into concealing our sin. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Fear, and ultimately pride, leads us to hang onto our self-perceived image. We want to be seen as having it all together, as respectable, dignified people. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ To confess that we…

  • When Change is Hard

      Going through change can be hard, but we must be careful not to skips step to make those changes. “to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds,…

  • For Your Heart, Right Now

    I’m making this issue of my newsletter public, as I pray it will serve any who read it. If you want to subscribe, scroll to the end of this article. You’ll receive a link and password to access back issues. What an interesting week it’s been. I woke up Saturday…