“Hope” is the thing with feathers -That perches in the soul – And sings the tune without the words – And never stops – at all”

—Emily Dickinson

@ourtinycottage

Latest Posts

  • Some songs to God are full of complaints, pleas, and desperate cries resolving themselves in faith. The temptation is not to sing them because they are not holy enough, not pious enough, rough, raw, guttural, and bleeding from the soul.… Continue reading

  • The Prophetic Danger Zone

    There is a stinging indictment here that I, and thousands of preachers can do well to heed today. Jeremiah conveys a sobering issue. Prophets who declare their own dreams and interpretations infallible and speak words of false assurance that do… Continue reading

  • Crossing the Road

          Why would Jesus cross any road with anyone? I was part of a panel that asked this question four years ago. My reflection over time is – for a meeting — with me — with anyone who… Continue reading

  • Encouraging Words for Tough Times

      .Beloved, you do not ultimately answer to me for who you are. I am not your judge and if I try to be, I stand the chance of being wrong. I cannot even judge my judges. I cannot know… Continue reading

  • Into the Depths of Mystery

    Prayer is a deep spiritual mystery. Mutual communication with God is going on far beneath the surface of our lives. Not only do we often not know what to pray, we often know not what we are praying. This is… Continue reading

  • The Way That Is Blameless

    I could, can, and do echo this prayer of commitment today: 1. Regulate my thoughts. Rejecting that which is unworthy, focusing on the real longing of my heart for God to show up in my life in a fresh way.… Continue reading

  • On Time

    I set urgent goals, make urgent plans, play urgent roles,Pray urgent prayers, seek urgent interventions for my urgent cares.God quietly, silently, patiently hears my cries, my fears, my sobbing tears.God speaks and cage-rattles as silently and patiently to my rage-… Continue reading

  • A Prayerful Response to Betrayal

    "…but I give myself to prayer." Whatever the mess, the tension, the stress, and the opposition, we had better be on that page. There are challenges we cannot face alone. There are perplexities we cannot unravel. There are doubts we… Continue reading

  • Royal “Screw-Ups” Accepted in the Beloved

    I wonder if anyone would actually join a church called, "The Fellowship of Screw-Ups." Or would they join a church called, "The Beloved Family?" What if they were all the same people – folks who have messed everything up badly… Continue reading

  • The Verdict – No Condemnation

    Verdicts are rendered Monday-Friday in courtrooms all over the world. Verdicts are rendered 24-7 in the hearts and lives of human beings. What goes into a verdict? What determines its pronouncement? In a time when we understand the unreliability of… Continue reading

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