Rachel Starr Thomson

I wrote “Run With a Vision,” on the importance of vision to a homeschooling family, several years ago, but it’s just been published by Kerry Beck at her blog. You can read the whole article here. Although it’s written specifically for homeschoolers, the principles apply to anyone who’s trying to get anywhere in life!

Discouragement is no stranger to the homeschooled household. Homeschoolers are, after all, pioneers. The road less-traveled is always rocky. As a homeschool graduate, I can look back and see lots of things my parents did wrong, but the one wrong thing they didn’t do was give up. They had a vision for what they were doing that kept them going no matter how many obstacles they encountered.

In Bunyan’s beloved allegory Pilgrim’s Progress, Christian passes through a place called the Valley of the Shadow of Death. He is compassed about with danger—a bottomless pit on one side, a swamp on the other, and evil, taunting, blasphemous voices in his ears. He barely makes it through. Later, however, another band of pilgrims pass through the Valley without much trouble. What made the difference? The second band made their journey during the day, while Christian’s was made at night. They had vision, where he only had darkness.

No matter how many difficulties fill your path, if your vision is clear, you will make it through.

Behold the Child is no longer on tour. We finished our 22nd performance on Sunday night, Carolyn and I wrapped up company finances Monday morning, and I drove the four and a half hours back to my family home on Monday afternoon. I stepped onto our front porch to see half the family playing the dreidel game in the living room while the rest of the family drank tea from a 24-hour carafe in the kitchen and ate Christmas cookies.

It’s nice to be home. (That 24-hour carafe is a brilliant invention.) I’ve got many student papers to finish before Christmas Eve, e-mail to catch up on, family to hang out with, and possibly even a movie or two to see. And then of course, Christmas.

Christmas means a lot to me. My latest Boundless article, “I Remember Christmas,” went up last week and I didn’t get a chance to blog the link.

This year I am celebrating differently . . . but I remember Christmas as a child. No matter how my observances may change over the years, no matter how busy the season grows, the shadow of those Christmases is still at my elbow, hushed and fragrant.

Thanks for reading . Merry Christmas, one and all!

In John Bunyan’s classic allegory Pilgrim’s Progress, a major subplot features the character of Ignorance. Throughout the story, he follows Christian, doing things his own way, refusing counsel, deliberately turning a deaf ear to any truth that makes him uncomfortable. When he reaches the Celestial City, he fully expects to be allowed in — but he is turned away. Ignorance is pathetic, but we can’t excuse him on the grounds that he didn’t know. He chooses his own doom.

My latest Boundless article, “What We Don’t Know”–on the importance of becoming biblically literate, and practical ways we can all do so–is up here.

The popular question “WWJD?” used to frustrate me. “WDJD?” — What Did Jesus Do? — has had a far more profound effect on my life. Read the article on Boundless.org.

The much-anticipated article on Amy Carmichael was featured on Boundless.org this weekend. Amy is best known for her lifelong work as a missionary in India, but she was also a prolific writer — and her writings have had a profound effect on my life. You can read “Fire Words,” an introduction to Amy and her work, here.

When life really hurts, sometimes the best thing to do is surrender. Read “I Surrender All” at Boundless.org.

Another article is up on Boundless today, this one sharing my response to the recession — and more importantly, God’s response to me!

You can read Work, For I Am With You at this link.

The Lord’s Prayer is one of the most repeated in the world, but do we really know its richness? This summer, I helped tour a production called “Father,” exploring the themes of the prayer through music, dance, and narration. In doing so, I realized anew how desperately we need the God who is revealed in it. “Our Father,” published on Boundless.org, is a reflection on the prayer and the experience of sharing it with hurting people. You can read it here.

The narrations in “Our Father,” as in the ballet production, come from my book Heart to Heart: Meeting With God in the Lord’s Prayer. You can learn more about it on this page.

Of all the thrills in the world, few compare with that instant when all the lights go dim, the crowd hushes, and for a breathless moment the theater hovers between the face of the deep and “Let there be light.”

Yet, the real miracles happen backstage — in the theatre and in life. My musings on the topic are in “The God Backstage” on Boundless.org.

(This was written and published just after we hosted Ballet Magnificat! Omega’s Hiding Place in early May — I’ve just been too busy to get the link up!)

The busier — and harder — life gets, the more I realize my need for transcendence: for the ability to take the hand of Jesus and walk in the reality of eternity. "A Walk Across the Water ," up on Boundless.org this week, is a look at transcendence and why we need it.

Ted Slater, editor-in-chief at Boundless, posted this blog post on the topic as well.