As I sat on my screened-in porch early one morning, I was taken aback with the beauty surrounding me. I held a steamy cup of coffee in my hand and placed my open, well-worn Bible in my lap. As if on cue, as had been our routine for the past several weeks, a visitor hopped from the shrubbery and onto the night-cooled patio. Read more…
How do you see yourself?
How does God see you?
Are the answers to those two questions the same?
For many years after I became a Christian, I operated under a false sense of who I really was. I had no idea the change that occurred in me the moment I accepted Christ. I did not see myself as God saw me and had no idea His truth was different from my perception of it. Read more…
I sat across the table from a broken friend. Her life was scattered on the coffee shop floor like spilled grounds from the bean machine. Melissa (not her real name) had had an affair, and she finally mustered up the courage to tell me the truth. I knew about some of it, but not all of it.
While listening to her through tears, Read more…
When my brother was a teenager, my mother used to threaten him when he hunched over at the dinner table. “If you don’t sit up,” she would say, “I’m going to buy you a back brace from Sears.” I don’t even know if Sears made back braces then, but it sounded like a pretty good threat to me.
Then I had a son who seemingly grew to six feet overnight. Read more…
I like instant. I like brewed coffee in a minute or less. I like microwaved leftovers in 45 seconds or less. I like instant text, instant on-line shopping, and instant movies at the click of a button.
I’m not a fan of process but would rather have immediate results. One of my favorite words in the New Testament is “immediately.”
She has a name. But in my house, she’s referred to as The-girl-who-doesn’t-like-me-and-I-don’t- know-why.
Do you have anyone in your life like that? In social situations, she steers clear of you and refuses to make eye contact. When trying to reach out, you draw back an emotional nub of rejection. You rack your brain trying to figure out what you did to make her dislike you but come up blank. Read more…
Have you ever faced a tough circumstance and wondered, God, where are you? Maybe you’re in one of those situations right now. I’ve had them too.
That was the situation with many of Jesus’ followers after He was crucified and buried. They had lost their hopes and dreams and didn’t know where to turn. Let’s take a look at one story. Read more…
I was so tired. I felt so empty.
Ministering had worn me out.
We’re all ministering to someone: toddlers, teens, parents, friends, co-workers, and the list goes on. On this day I was traveling to teach a group of women in another state, wondering if I had anything left to give.
Have you ever felt that way? Read more…
My son was about seven years old when we took him up to the mountains of North Carolina to go snow skiing for the first time. For hours I instructed him in my best teacher voice how to stand up, ski down, and get up once he fell. After several hours, it appeared he was not getting the hang of it at all. Read more…
My husband, Steve, and I sat anxiously in our seats. I wondered if I was going to be able to endure the ride, especially knowing my propensity for motion sickness. But we began nonetheless.
The guide strapped all passengers into the tiny boats and gave last minute instructions. Of course there were life preservers, but what good would they do in the fierce rapids that threatened to suck its prey below the surface? Read more…
