• Thanking God for Closed Doors

    When my older brother’s children would stay at my parent’s home, my mom and dad would often close some doors so that my nieces and nephews wouldn’t get into things they shouldn’t. Naturally, their little hands would reach for those doorknobs. There’s something about closed doors that we inherently dislike. The mystery of what’s on the other side tempts us to pry open doors we have no business entering. As a writer, I know my professional life will have its share of rejection letters, but recently, I’ve received nothing but them. Thank you, but our publishing house is changing directions. Thank you, but we’re no longer representing fiction. Thank you,…

  • The Grass is Greener Where You Water It

    Springtime in Florida means greenery is in full bloom everywhere except my front yard. My poor yard. I’ve never had a green thumb, and when I bought my home, the previous owner clearly hadn’t possessed one either. But I do water. Or God does. But I suppose that to have green grass, one should have something other than weeds in the first place. I digress. This post isn’t about my lost-cause lawn. It’s actually about relationships and commitments in general-and sticking with them. What are you watering? I heard a pastor use this phrase when giving a talk on marriage. He said that there are three phases to marriage: 1)…