Some people just seem happy and positive all the time. They appear to never worry and fret. These people act like they eat rainbows for breakfast and ride a unicorn to work. But life isn’t all lucky charms. Sometimes it is just plain hard.
We should anticipate trials. Jesus promised trouble. “In this world you will have trouble,” He warned (John 16:33). Read more…
I set out to tackle a task I had put off for many years. I didn’t really want to do it at all. It was the job of cleaning out my ministry storage closet. A closet filled with boxes of memories collected over twenty years.
I was checking out my Facebook posts and feeling a little bit left out. It seemed everyone was having a big ole time with family and friends, and well, I wasn’t. It was Christmas time and it appeared that all the family gatherings were picture perfect…and mine wasn’t.
Pinterest postings of perfect sausage pinwheels. Facebook pics of glittery table setting with Christmas China and matching napkins. Read more…
My family growing up was one big mess. Fighting. Arguing. Yelling. Crying. And eventually, a lot of forgiving. If ever there is a place to learn about forgiveness…to practice forgiveness…to struggle with forgiveness…it is in the family. And interestingly, it is in the context of family where the word forgiveness first shows up in the Bible.
Let’s dig into Scripture today. Read more…
Let me tell you a story about what it looks like to hang on to Jesus. It just might be what you need to do today.
Blondin” was the stage name for Frenchman Jean-Francois Gravelet. He was a young man who migrated to the United States with a troupe of acrobats employed by Master Showman P.T. Barnum. In 1858, Read more…
I remember as a little girl, hiding under the covers of my bed, trying to shut out my parents’ yelling and screaming in the next room. I heard bad words. I didn’t know what some of them meant, but I did know how they made me feel. Dirty. The next morning, I awoke to the aftermath of the night’s tirade—Mom’s black eye, Read more…
Don’t you love those movies when boy meets girl…and then boy pursues girl…then they fall in love?
I was in college when I met my husband at a Bible study. He was sitting on the floor dressed in scruffy jeans, a red flannel shirt, and a strong face that needed a shave. The moment I saw him, I was smitten. Read more…
God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you’” (Exodus 3:14 NIV).
Do you remember the first Rocky movie? (I just looked it up and there have been eight.) In the very first film about the Italian Stallion, Read more…
Who in the world would wait until Christmas Eve to do their Christmas shopping? I find it hard to believe the statistics that show December 24th is one of the biggest shopping days of the year, so one season I decided to venture out to the stores and see for myself. I usually have my Christmas list complete by Thanksgiving to avoid the crowds, Read more…
It’s coming. We can’t stop it. The holidays are upon us. And while it is a joyous time of year, it can also try our patience and get on our last nerve. Actually, it’s not the season itself…but the people. Am I the only one who feels that way? I don’t think so…smile.
While pondering the happy and the harrowing feelings that come along with all this togetherness that is coming over the next six weeks, Read more…