I went to bed, pulled the covers over my head, and had a big ole pity party. Once again, I had been rejected…come in second place…told I wasn’t quite what “they” were looking for. The scarlet letter loomed large. It wasn’t an A like Hester Prynne’s in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s book I had read in high school, but a big fat R that I chose to wear when life turned ugly. Read more…
My mom wore a two-carat diamond necklace that hung from a gold chain around her neck. My dad had given it to her for an anniversary. Before you say, “Good for her,” keep reading.
One day, when she was shopping in my little hometown, she walked through an alley separating two buildings. This spunky seventy-something year old held several packages and her purse looped over her wrist. Read more…
Poor Daddy. He just couldn’t shake it. Shame weighed him down like a dead body strapped to his back. No matter how many times I told him that God loved and accepted him just the way he was, he couldn’t believe it. That kind of grace was unfathomable, unthinkable, unbelievable . . . especially for a man like him. I wonder if you know someone like him…or maybe have been someone like him? Read more…
What do you see when you look in the mirror? Do you see yourself as God sees you?
I was in the sixth grade when I first ventured into the House of Mirrors at my hometown county fair—a mere 12 years old. My friends and I ran from booth to booth, suckered into paying good money to play rigged games. Read more…
I so enjoyed all your comments last week listing what you are thankful for! I read them time and time again. What a wonderful way to enter into Thanksgiving week. In this strange year of of 2020, we still have much to be thankful for. But what about the times when we just don’t feel very thankful?
When the job stinks or the kids get on that last nerve. Read more…
When the writers of the Old Testament penned the words to the long lists of lineages, the so-and-so begat so-and-so passages, they almost always listed men. Very rarely did a woman’s name make the list.
But when we turn the page from the Old Testament to the New Testament, we see God honoring women in a brand-new way. Read more…
I’m writing over at Proverbs 31 Ministries today! I thought you might enjoy it too. If you’ve ever felt far from God, then keep reading. Make sure and read to the end for free goodie.
One day I was praying for my son a prayer that had almost become as rote as “God is great. Read more…
Have you ever felt like Jesus was on vacation or lost your address? Have you ever cried out, “God, where are you?” I know I have.
A crisis of belief occurs for most of us during difficult situations. We know that God is all-powerful and could rescue, heal, or save us at any time. So we tend to feel abandoned or duped when He doesn’t. Read more…
What have you been thinking about for the last five minutes? Was it good? Bad? True? False? Worry? Regret? Sometimes I can do all six in one minute!
In the Bible, Paul tells us to think about what we’re thinking about.
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, Read more…
I had braces on my upper teeth three times. Count them. One. Two. Three.
As the orthodontist explained, “Teeth have a memory. They always want to go back to the way they were.”
As soon as he said those words, I felt convicted. I have a tendency to go back to the way I was.
We all do. Read more…