My willow tree is my gentle and beautiful warning to dig deeper into the truth today. Instead of distracting avenues of seeming fulfillment, I focus today on deep spiritual truths. For when the storm comes, I want to be found in the pruning and not in the ruining.
Published Articles
Chasing Seagulls
"May God arise, may his enemies be scattered; May his foes flee before him." Psalm 68:1 With Spring Break upon us and so many returning after a warm stay near the beach, I itch to get my own toes in the sand. Last year at the ocean, I vividly remember watching a scene...
Closet Tours
“Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers a multitude of sins.” 1 Peter 4:8 Belly laughs and giggles erupted from our son’s bedroom, so I peered my head around the door jam. Four kids sat on his bed while he proudly displayed a flannel shirt on its...
Worn Out Shoes and Blurry Vision
By Lana Shoaf published in First Mennonite’s “Update” in June 2019 “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably...
Quarters and Zoo Passes
By Lana Shoaf published in First Mennonite’s “Update” in May 2019 “Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do...
God Grows the Seed
By Lana Shoaf printed in First Mennonite Church's "Update," April 2019 “He also said, ‘This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how.”...