I am re-reading some of my favorite C.S. Lewis books and thoroughly enjoying peeking into very-young-Tara-ness because of my (near constant) underlining and notes in the margins. My old paperback books may be falling apart, but that doesn’t mean I’m not immediately transported back to First United Presbyterian Church (Moline, Illinois) and Augustana College and Dr. Paul Jensen’s Sunday School classes and philosophy classes. What a grace that God brought me there way back in 1988. My topic du jour? I am continuing on the theme of friendship. The Four Loves is a must read, of course, and that transported me immediately to Dr. Jensen’s message at our wedding in…

I love this classic article by David Powlison, not just for its application to marriage, but for its wisdom re: all relationships: Renewing Intimacy: Closing the Gap between You and Your Spouse This is my favorite paragraph:   “In the Old Testament two Hebrew words are often used to describe God: chesed and emet. Chesed is translated in the Old Testament as ‘lovingkindness,’ or ‘steadfast love.’ It means committed kindness, a chosen generosity, a resolution to do good to another person no matter what. Emet is translated as ‘faithfulness’ or ‘truth.’ When we say of someone, ‘She was a true friend,’ we’re using the word ‘true’ in the sense that…

@ScottyWardSmith is one of my favorite Twitter feeds. One of his quotes today is a sweet encouragement re: why sales of my first book (Peacemaking Women) always go up around the holidays and why  free downloads of my “Woman of Peace Amidst Holiday Strife” file increase too: “There will be enough of God’s grace for every family gathering you attend this holiday season. That’s hope, not hype.” Amen!  

I’m having a strange December. The majority of my life is actually really great. I feel centered in Christ, happy, loving, even down-right Merry. I’m laughing a lot and relaxing with friends and family (and Golden Retrievers). I’m also aware of what a grace this is—so many of my friends are going through frustrations and suffering and just not feeling “in the mood” to celebrate Advent and the Incarnation with their standard Christmas traditions. I’ve sure been there! But not this year. No, I’m actually feeling pretty good. I’m even about to install a giant blow-up PENGUIN onto our yard (avec “Happy Birthday” balloon) to prepare for the great MISSION…

Right now heading over to Amazon to buy the referenced book (A Train in Winter: An Extraordinary Story of Women, Friendship, and Resistance in Occupied France). All thanks to Margaret Manning and RZIM’s daily e-devotional (which I love!): Resistance PS  I’m going to wrap it and put it under the tree. Given the state of my brain/memory these days, ten to one, I’ll forget about it and be pleasantly surprised when I open it.  

I just finished a remarkable book. I wish I could link to pre-orders on Amazon for you (I would be pre-ordering one myself!), but I guess they don’t have it there yet. This is a great book. This might be the best contemporary book on relationships I have ever read. (My long-time blog readers will know that’s really saying something because they’ve listened to me gush repeatedly over books like How People Change and The Peacemaking Pastor—which has to be the worst titled book ever. It it SO incredibly wonderful! And should be titled something like, “Authentic Gospel Relationships in the Body of Christ” with the subtitle, “Every Christian Needs…

If I could stand the sound of my own voice, I’d listen to this every single year. But instead, I just read notes for it. 🙂 A Woman of Peace Amidst Holiday Strife (Oh, Lord God, please remind us that Jesus already IS our Prince of Peace! And please help us to live accordingly …)    

Gearing up for next week and beyond??? Here’s some wisdom for all of us from Russell Moore: Family Tension and the Holidays    

Hey! Great timing! And great CCEF counsel (yet again!). This was one of the questions asked to me repeatedly at a recent event: How can we lovingly help a friend to face his sins?    

Wise words for all of us, but especially for  church leaders: Run to the Tension