Lamb + Oak

I've always liked the number seven. Now, before anyone starts thinking I've become one of those people who searches for hidden messages in license plates or counts the pickles on a cheeseburger, let me assure you—that's not where this is going. I was born in 1970 , on December 8th , the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. I've always thought that was a pretty neat birthday to have. The year starts with a seven, the day carries special meaning in my faith, and if you ask me the perfect temperature outside is exactly 70 degrees . Not sixty-eight. Not seventy-two. Seventy. Seventy degrees means I can throw open the windows, hear the birds, convince myself I'm going to spend the afternoon gardening, and then somehow end up with a cup of tea watching the squirrels instead. Life happens. I've never considered seven a lucky number. The Bible doesn't describe it that way either. Still, it has always fascinated me how often it quietly appears throughout Scriptur...

How God Calls Us to Live (Without Accidentally Becoming That Person) There is something oddly comforting about the fact that Jesus didn't spend His ministry teaching people how to become famous, wealthy, or admired. He spent most of His time teaching ordinary people how to be... well... good humans. Kind humans. Honest humans. Patient humans. Humans who don't lose their testimony because the grocery store only opened one checkout lane. If we're being honest, most of us don't struggle with the really obvious commandments. Most of us aren't plotting bank robberies while sipping our morning coffee. But we are tempted to roll our eyes. We gossip. We complain. We become impatient. We secretly hope the person who cut us off in traffic gets stuck behind every red light for the next twelve miles. (I'm just saying... if you've ever whispered, "Lord, teach them a lesson," you're in good company.) The beautiful thing about Scripture is that God isn'...