Category:
God’s Character
A Tale of Two Mountains
In 2010, I made my first trip to Alaska. More than six years in the planning, it was more than a vacation. It was a celebration with two friends to culminate the end of my Ph.D. program. Needless to say, by the time I finally arrived in Alaska I was nearly uncontainable with excitement. With…
Doubt
Sometimes I doubt it all very much. If Christianity were real, why don’t we act more like Christians? If there is only one faith, why are there so many factions? If there is only one truth, why aren’t even the most fundamentals agreed upon? Yet even as I lash out in angry questions, an irony…
Clean T-Shirt
There are some who do not understand the appeal of camping. “How is that a vacation?” They want to know. Cooking in primitive conditions, swatting mosquitos, trudging through the elements… “Doesn’t sound like a vacation to me,” they say. Their logic is hard to argue, but I just can’t help it. I love to camp. …
Tower of Babel
I was sitting in the Moscow airport when I heard it. After four days in Russia, I had managed to increase my Russian vocabulary by 400%. From zero words to four: tea, thank you, no, yes. In that order, apparently the four most critical words for a traveller to Moscow. Or at least the four…
The RLT Principle
Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you saying, “This is the way; walk in it” (Isaiah 30:21). I call this verse the RLT Principle. This is not to be confused with the BLT, which is a delightful deli sandwich comprised of bacon, lettuce, and…
Associations
Every time I eat a banana, I think of my dog. This isn’t quite as strange as it sounds, really. My dog loves bananas, and I always give her the bottom tip when I’m eating one. This habit formed so automatically that I don’t even realize I am doing it until I am someplace without…
Laptop Lessons
Someone once said you never know that God is all you need until God is all you have. I tested this theory recently during a business trip to Moscow. When I stepped off the plane, I was dragging my suitcase in one hand and clutching the business card of someone I had never met in…
Bird Talk
Sometimes God speaks to me through birds. I don’t mean in some mystical fashion. A brilliantly plumed creature has never perched upon my shoulder and shouted prophesies. But on more than one occasion, I have felt the nearness of God when looking upon one of his feathered creations. There was a time several years ago…
Joy of Giving
One night as I was reading my Bible – I don’t recall exactly what passage, but it was one that referenced our future in heaven when we would spend our time singing praises at the throne of God – I had one of those all-American, in-the-flesh, I-can’t-believe-I just-thought-that thoughts. I thought: what’s in it for…
Fish Money
Have you ever found money in the mouth of a fish? Imagine a lazy day at the lake, casting out your line and reeling in a beautiful fish. You open the mouth to remove the hook and there – right next to the hook – is a shiny coin. This is exactly how Jesus and…
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Meet Janet!
Janet Beagle, PhD is the founder of The Mustard Patch. She divides her time between the Midwest and New England, and if she’s not writing, she’s probably out hiking with her 2-and 4-footed friends.