Two Hands: Grief and Gratitude in the Christian LifeA Renewed SpiritualityNurturing Hope: Christian Pastoral Care in the Twenty-First CenturyThe Power of ListeningJoy Together: Spiritual Practices for Your CongregationSabbath Keeping FastingPrayers of the Old TestamentPrayers of the New TestamentSabbathFriendingA Garden of Living Water: Stories of Self-Discovery and Spiritual GrowthDeath in Dunedin: A NovelDead Sea: A NovelDeadly Murmurs: A NovelPersonality Type in CongregationsBeating Burnout in CongregationsReaching Out in a Networked WorldEmbracing MidlifeAdvent DevotionalDraw Near: Lenten Devotional by Lynne Baab, illustrated by Dave Baab

Holy Spirit disruptions: Wait

Lynne Baab • Thursday July 22 2021

Holy Spirit disruptions: Wait

Some of Jesus’ disciples are terrified. Jesus has died, his body has disappeared, and some of the other disciples are saying they have seen him alive. The ones who haven’t seen him yet wonder if Jesus has become a ghost, and they don’t know what to do with their questions and strong sense of loss.

Then Jesus appears among them.

When they see him, he does look like a ghost to them, so Jesus asks them to touch him. He requests something to eat, affirming that he’s still living in a body. Then he teaches them from the Old Testament scriptures about the...

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Spiritual diary of sheltering in place: a kite string as a lifeline

Lynne Baab • Wednesday May 20 2020

Spiritual diary of sheltering in place: a kite string as a lifeline

In a prayer letter about her ministry, a friend of mine described her angst as a teenager. Her sister knew that she wanted to be a teacher, but my friend wasn’t clear on what she wanted to be and do, and she felt shame that her ambitions weren’t clear to her. Toward the end of her college years, God spoke to her in a picture:

“First I saw an arrow and felt God say, ‘See, this is like your sister, keenly focused on a single target that she’ll hit right on the mark.’ Next, I saw a kite swaying in the wind...

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Spiritual diary of self-isolation: the lifeline of God’s constancy

Lynne Baab • Wednesday April 1 2020

Spiritual diary of self-isolation: the lifeline of God’s constancy

In this strange, unsettled, constantly-changing time, Psalm 130 gives us a beautiful reminder of God’s constancy and God’s invitation for us to bring everything in us into God’s presence.

Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord. Lord, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications! (verses 1 and 2)

I don’t know about you, but my rate of crying out to God has dramatically increased in the past month. It is right and good to do that. We are not the first people to be bewildered and scared about what’s going on. We must not criticize ourselves for...

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Stories I ponder: My father-in-law and money

Lynne Baab • Friday September 15 2017

Stories I ponder: My father-in-law and money

My husband Dave has vivid memories of his parents’ arguments about money. Dave would lie awake in his bed hearing the arguments, wondering if his parents would split up and he would end up at the orphanage down the street.

Dave’s dad, Hubert, was born in 1913 and had some rough years. Soon after the depression started, his mother died, and his father fell into alcoholism and stopped providing for Hubert and his brother. The two teenagers left their home in Ohio, rode the rails to Iowa, and found work on a farm. Later they returned to Ohio and found jobs at...

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Featured books

Two Hands: Grief and Gratitude in the Christian Life Two Hands: Grief and Gratitude in the Christian Life A book for people grieving because of the pandemic, health challenges, family conflict, or other losses, while also seeing so many things to be thankful for. A book for small groups – each of the seven chapters has discussion questions at the end. A book for Advent and Lent. This book draws on a vivid word picture of holding grief in one hand and gratitude in the other, and allowing ourselves to be stretched large by both.
 Buy online » Joy Together: Spiritual Practices for Your Congregation Joy Together: Spiritual Practices for Your Congregation Although interest in spiritual practices has grown in recent years, most of the books available address individuals who wish to try Christian disciplines such as fasting or fixed-hour prayer.

This book, by contrast, offers guidance and examples to Christian leaders as they seek ways to involve their congregations or small groups in spiritual practices. Buy online »

Featured articles

New: Yes, Jesus Told Us to Pray in Secret. But He Also Prayed with His Friends.

Lynne Baab • Saturday October 9 2021

By Lynne M. Baab. Originally published in Christianity Today, July 8, 2021

Listening for God: The Joy of Spiritual Practices

Lynne Baab • Sunday August 9 2020

Originally published in Horizons: The Magazine of Presbyterian Women. May/June 2019, 11-14.

AWARD WINNER - To be a Neighbour Must Include Listening

Lynne Baab • Friday February 5 2016

This article won a 2017 award from the Australian Religious Press Association for the best social justice article. Social justice didn't cross my mind as I wrote the article. I was just thi...