Have you ever heard someone say, “Just go with the flow?” Let me tell you a story about why that’s not always a good idea.
I met my husband at a Bible Study in college and quickly learned that he was a very frugal, industrious, and resourceful young man. On our first date, he came to pick me up in his ten-year-old Volkswagen Beetle that he had purchased for $725. Read more…
Most of the time we Christians talk about not being afraid of this or that. After all, the Bible says various versions of “fear not” over 300 times. But today, I want to talk about something we should be afraid of. Let me start by telling you a story about when my Golden Retriever dug up a tree. Read more…
I sat on my back porch, wrapped in my fuzzy worn robe—the one that’s twenty years old that I just can’t seem to get rid of. The birch trees waved “good morning,” and the newly planted gerbera daisies stretched their faces to the sun…just a bit higher than the day before. Then I heard him. The rooster.
ER-er-ER-er-ERRRR. Read more…
I don’t know about you, but a few of my greatest lessons on how to love other people haven’t come from church folks. For example, one came from a dance club. You read that right.
Nestled 50 feet off Highway 17 in Pawley’s Island, S.C., rests C.J.’s Beach Club. For years, Steve and I eyed the clapboard building tucked in the grove of myrtle trees, Read more…
Are you a worry wart? Do you know any worry warts? Are you afraid of the future? Good news! God knows about our tendency to worry so He made sure there was lots in the Bible about it! Let’s talk about two words we read a lot in Scripture.
“Fear not!”
That’s a common shout out in the Bible. Read more…
Ever had a day when nothing turned out like you thought it would? Interruptions. Wrong turns. Traffic jams. Mercy!
Just the other day, I got a bit lost going to pick up takeout at a restaurant I had never been before. Once I arrived and got in line, I watched the woman in front of me with a baby in a stroller. Read more…
Chris, one of my friends, was in a seminary class when someone raised his hand and asked the professor: What is your best advice on how to be a good pastor?”
“Empathy,” the professor replied. “Have empathy.”
Then Chris raised his hand. “How do you get empathy?
With a trace of sad knowing in his eyes, Read more…
Have you ever felt that your love for Jesus has just grown cold? Maybe you feel that way right now. If so, keep reading…
Most of us come to Christ with a certain “inloveness”—a stirring of emotion mixed with an inexplicable knowing that we’ve discovered our reason for being. But some years into our spiritual journey, the wonder that swelled during the early years ebbs into routine religion laced with busyness. Read more…
Ever feel like you just don’t have what it takes? I often do, and it all started in the first grade.
When I was six years old, I skipped off to school with a new box of crayons, a Swiss–polka dotted dress, and fresh hope that I would be smart. But first grade only confirmed my greatest fear. Read more…
If you’re like me, you’ve tried to get control of your words, and then a knee-jerk reaction makes words pop out of your mouth to make you look like a big-jerk reactor. The following story gives an example of the power of verbal reflexes and how to tame them.
One day I was driving home from the beach in July Fourth holiday traffic. Read more…