Kyria

Listening to God

One evening my six-year-old son, Christian, asked me, "Mom, what was my favorite song when I was little?"

"Jesus Loves Me," I told him.

"I knew it!"

"Do you want to sing it now with me?"

As we started the song Christian quickly interrupted. "Mom, what does sigh no mean?"

Sigh no? I thought a moment, then it hit me: He thought the words were, "Jesus loves me this sigh no."

I told my son the correct lyrics, ...

Related Topics: Communication, Contemplation, journaling, Listening, Prayer

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What to Do with Toilet Seat Gifts

An intriguing package under the Christmas tree teased me. Red and green wrapping paper. Obvious oval shape. My name on the gift tag. What was my creative husband up to now?

It was the year we were building a new house, so I began to suspect that the curiously wrapped package was an oval picture frame. I imagined opening the present and finding an oak frame encircling a photo of our family. I envisioned ...

60 Days to . . . A True Picture of Myself

You may be a wife, mother, friend, physician, teacher. Those are all great roles you play. But they are not who you are at your core. At your core, you are a child of God, created in his image, called and designed with special gifts, loved intensely and unconditionally "just because." Accepting that understanding is the first step to the freedom of living out God's call on your life.

Here are 60 days' ...

Related Topics: Abilities, Acceptance, Accepting God's Blessings, Approval, Gender Roles

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Taking God to the Grocery Store

I can't stand grocery shopping. Making a list of what we need, cutting and sorting coupons, and trudging the supermarket aisles mark the height of tedium for me. Add to that the fact that it has to be done over and over and it equals one really bothersome task. Or at least it did—until I brought God into the mix.

Three years ago a friend told me about a website that posts the current deals on ...

Related Topics: Food, praying, Service, Serving, Sharing, Shopping

Discipleship through Community

My friend Rachel was just walking out the door for a hair appointment when she encountered an interruption—one of the countless changes in personal plans she endures daily while living with fellow believers in an inner-city community house in Durham, North Carolina. A housemate who'd been jobless for several weeks requested to borrow Rachel's car to go to a job interview. Abandoning the haircut ...

Related Topics: Authenticity, Church, Community, Conflict, Friendships, Relationships, Trust

60 Days to ... More Authentic Relationships

You've probably heard the phrase, "No man is an island." That's never been more true than in the context of our faith. God didn't create us to be loners. He created us to be interdependent, to need one another in order to fully understand and be blessed by him. So for a few moments each morning, meditate on that day's community building thought or prayer. Then try to keep it in your thoughts throughout ...

Related Topics: Authenticity, Community, Partnership, Relationships

60 Days to . . . A Rested Life

The fourth commandment is the longest of the commandments. It starts: "Remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy." You may think, Oh, a day off a week! That would be wonderful! But it's too good to be true; I just don't have the time …

In a Kyria interview with Keri Wyatt Kent, she explained that her spiritual mentor used to tell her, "You have all the time in the world to do what ...

Related Topics: Joy, Obedience, Peace, Rest, sabbath

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The Experiment

"I've stopped spending completely," my sister-in-law, Lori, announced one day. "I'm going on a spending fast."

"You're doing what?" I asked, almost choking on my latte.

"I'm going on a 40-day fast," she explained. "I'll buy groceries but nothing for myself. No shoes, no clothes, not even lipstick. I'm going to break myself of my spending habit."

I hung up the phone challenged. I always counted on Lori ...

Related Topics: Choices, Fasting, Simplicity

Keeping It Together, Alone

I'm hiding right now.

I'm in my bedroom, with my laptop propped on a pillow, trying to work. I spent the last half hour in my home office, only to be interrupted with endless requests for play dates (from my 7-year-old), repeated inquiries as to the whereabouts of blue princess shoes (from my 3-year-old), and whimpering cries for attention (mostly from my dog, but occasionally from my 11-year-old). ...

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Why We Need Silence and Solitude

When I started practicing silence and solitude, I lasted ten minutes, eventually twenty, then a half an hour. Finally someone led me into an all-day silence and solitude retreat. I'd never experienced an all-day time of silence and solitude, so it was kind of daunting.

The morning felt similar to what I had done in the past on my own. But when it came time for lunch, we were told we were going to eat ...

Related Topics: Listening, Prayer, Quiet, Quiet Time, Silence, Solitude, Spiritual Intimacy