I watched my friend, Patricia, struggle through more than twenty years of a difficult marriage. Her husband left three times during the two decades—once before their three children were born, and twice after. They lived through nineteen different homes in multiple cities, revolving jobs, rumored affairs, cycles of financial plenty followed by financial deficiency. Eventually, after twenty-three years, Rodney packed his bags for the last time and left. Read more…
It was the hardest day of my life. One phone call, and my life crumbled into a pile of dust easily blown away by shock and unbelief. In a moment, my trust in God was tested as never before. Could I trust Him with this?
Trusting God would certainly be easier if we could see Him and His angel armies face-to-face. Read more…
With Thanksgiving just around the corner, I’ve been thinking a lot about gratitude lately. What is it? When should we show it? What does God say about it? How does it change the way we view life? Then I remembered the day I got contact lenses.
See, when I turned forty, suddenly small letters and numbers got smaller. Read more…
My son, Steven, and I sat on the floor in his room playing a card game. This summer was proving to be the best ever. Our golden retriever, Ginger, had just delivered seven adorable puppies, Steven was enjoying his sixth summer of life, and after four years of negative pregnancy tests, God had surprised us with a new life growing inside my womb. Read more…
I wrote a devotion over at Proverbs 31 Ministries last week and I thought it might give you a bit of hope too…especially if parts of your story haven’t turned out like you thought they would. If you’ve already read it over at P31, consider forwarding it to someone who needs a dose of hope in her life. Read more…
My husband woke one morning with a nostalgic urge to revisit the small North Carolina town where he spent the first eight years of his childhood. At family gatherings, he and his twin brother recounted endless stories of playing kick-the-can and baseball in their front yard, which was “at least the size of a football field.”
They recalled long hardwood hallways where they slid sock-footed, Read more…
Has anyone ever scolded you with the words, “Shame on you”? If they have…don’t receive it. I’m here to today to tell you words God wants you to hear: “Shame off you!”
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. 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…
I shared over at Proverbs 31 Ministries yesterday, and thought you might be encouraged by these words too. It’s for every woman who has ever failed…and that includes me. Let’s talk about it.
Sometimes, walking or running away from my failure is easier than facing it.
I’ve walked away from a struggling friendship rather than working through the rough patch to keep it strong. Read more…
Have you ever had times when you felt like you just couldn’t breathe? Stress weighs you down and the “to-do list” becomes the “too-much-to-do list.” Sometimes we just need a friend to come and breathe life into us. And one of the ways they do that is with words.
When I was in my teens, I went scuba diving with some friends. Read more…