No Glass Ceiling, an audio blog with Carla Waterman A spiritual desert affords the undistracted time and space to recognize and confront temptation, whether from cultural messages, our own vulnerabilities, or in the enemy of our souls. But the desert provides another opportunity: it is a fiery place where our desires can be purified. Jesus… Continue reading No Glass Ceiling
Category: Wheaton
City in Illinois where we lived from 1993-2010.
A Bonsai of Righteousness
When I was teaching in Thailand, we called them “Teak of Righteousness”–Oaks are not native to Thai soil. But this morning I found myself praying with a wry smile and said to the Lord, “If you are making me a Bonsai of righteousness, I will not fight you.” My life has been pruned back so… Continue reading A Bonsai of Righteousness
A Few Threads of Wisdom
Last month I had tea with a young woman who was in the small group I describe in the chapter on “Wisdom” in Songs of Assent. As we talked she pulled out a tattered piece of paper, folded so many times it was falling apart. And she said, “Remember this? I was out of the… Continue reading A Few Threads of Wisdom
A Root of Integrity
When I am in a season of seeking to remember and reclaim why I am alive, I reach for the novels of Elizabeth Goudge. Finding myself once more in that season, I am re-reading my old friends. The Scent of Water is among my top three of her stories. Goudge, herself a devout Christian who… Continue reading A Root of Integrity
April Dew
Earlier this month I found myself standing in front of a group of women introducing my long-time colleague in ministry, Reggie Kidd. In attempting to set the context, I quoted the beginning of Psalm 133: “ Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers (and sisters) dwell together in unity.” And I was reminded of the… Continue reading April Dew
Breathe
Last March I had the incredible privilege of staying in a 14th century Pele tower in Northumbria. It’s bay-shaped windows faced north toward Scotland in a tower that was originally intended to protect the family fortress from marauders from the north. Unfortunately, it could not protect me from the tiny marauders within. I’m quite allergic to… Continue reading Breathe
Christ as Our Shield
Yesterday noon found me sitting in a local diner with one of my “girls.” (My "girls” are women who were students of mine at Wheaton College somewhere in the 90’s.) She is not, of course, a girl anymore, but a lovely young woman in her 30’s with a passion for the Lord and compassion for… Continue reading Christ as Our Shield
Drop Everything Now
My senior in high school left the house this morning with a slight swagger on the way to the golf team meeting. The top of the totem pole looked great at 9:00. At 9:40 the view was slightly different. Cell phone rings: "Mom! I need a sports physical before try-outs begin at 12:15." Hmmm. "OK.… Continue reading Drop Everything Now
Before Their Time
I am retreating up in the mountains with my husband of thirty years at the very moment that my friends in Wheaton are laying their beloved son, student and soldier to rest. He was a classmate of my son's. So I walked over to our little chapel high in the treetops and prayed for Sam's… Continue reading Before Their Time
A Real Battle
A few years ago I found myself having sustained one of those sickening, confusing, fearful spiritual attacks for which one is completely unprepared. I could only describe it as a poisonous arrow…and then I thought of Paul’s “flaming darts of the evil one” at the end of Ephesians. Perhaps Paul was not just painting a nice word… Continue reading A Real Battle
Carla Waterman 