“May I offer you a little fatherly advice?” I asked. “You need spend Mother’s Day with your family.”
Connections 07.30.2023: Jacob and Laban
July 23, 2023 by
As we modern readers study Genesis 29, we might be struck by the way Laban uses his daughters, Leah and Rachel, to bait and trap Jacob.
Connections 07.23.2023: Jacob and the Lord
July 16, 2023 by
Esau was angry enough to kill Jacob, and when their mother Rebekah heard about that, she told her beloved son to leave home.
Connections 07.16.2023: Changing the Things We Can
July 9, 2023 by
The Bible is full of stories of people who grapple with this reality, whether they know it or not. They learn to trust God in times when a situation “is what it is.”
Formations 07.17.2022: Sibling Rivalry
July 10, 2022 by
Cards on the table: I’m an only child. I don’t think I’m spoiled, but if you met me, you might come to a different conclusion. I hope you wouldn’t, but you can’t help but see me differently than I see me.
Formations 07.03.2022: Remembering Reuben
June 26, 2022 by
Most of us hope to leave a legacy of goodness—love, kindness, generosity, service, strength, devotion. We certainly make mistakes as we live our daily lives, but our goal is to recognize our failures and make amends.
Formations 08.29.2021: A Life of Blessing
August 22, 2021 by
I’m thinking about my dad this week…because of something he did for my daughter. My daughter needed her own car so she could drive to observe a teacher in the classroom for her education courses.
Formations 08.02.2020: Wrestling with God
July 26, 2020 by
Have you ever wrestled with God? I know I have. Lately, the struggle goes something like this: God, please help. I’m overwhelmed. My loved one is hurting, and I don’t know what to do.
Jacob and Esau: Grudges and Humility
June 10, 2020 by
Like many women in the Bible, my mother waited a long time for my twin and I to be born: ten years. It is only natural that when you wait that long, or even when you don’t, you want your daughters to be best friends.
Connections 07.30.2017: God Permits
July 23, 2017 by
The almost-comical family dysfunction continues in the story of Jacob’s dealings with his uncle Laban. As a woman in the twenty-first century, I sometimes try to add layers of modern interpretations to Bible stories. Let’s face it, if the incident in our text happened today, it would go differently.
Connections 07.23.2017: This Place
July 16, 2017 by
I saw the sign in a restaurant in a small Kentucky town: “There’s no place near this place like this place, so this must be the place.” If you wanted a decent meal in that area, it was indeed the place. Most of the time when I was in that town (and in that restaurant), I really didn’t want to be there.
Connections 07.16.2017: God Answers
July 9, 2017 by
The dysfunction in some biblical families can be comical. It’s almost like the characters are actually caricatures, drawn larger than life to evoke humor and even a little ridicule. But while these caricatures can make us laugh, more often than not they also make us uncomfortable.
Connections 01.03.2016: The Story of Love
December 27, 2015 by
I grew up on Disney princess movies, many of which had this plot: A girl lives with her father (or horrific stepmother) because her mother suffered some fatal accident or succumbed to sickness.
Crossroads: When You Fight With Your Siblings – Jacob and Esau
July 21, 2014 by
My sister was born when I was 7. I’m pretty sure her first phrase was directed at me and was “you’re not my momma.” We have had a love/hate relationship ever since, as most siblings do.