Have you ever gone through a period of discouragement? Perhaps you’re in one right now. Believe me, I’ve been right there with you. I’ve hidden in the cave with Elijah, under the gourd plant with Jonah, and in the dessert with Moses.
Discouragement comes when there is a gap between what you expect and what you experience—when there is a gap between what you hoped would happen and what actually does happen. Read more…
A friend told me of sitting with his father discussing the distribution of his “worldly goods,” when the time came to do so. “My dad had very little joy in his life,” Mike explained. “As we sat there discussing who was going to get what when he died, I saw a pride in him I had never noticed before. ‘I did all this,’ he said as he waved his hand around the room like Vanna White. Read more…
When I turned forty, all of a sudden small letters and numbers got smaller. A trip to the ophthalmologist proved that I needed reading glasses.
But I had a hard time keeping up with them, so the doctor fitted me with mono-vision contact lenses. In my left eye I wear a contact lens for close up and in my right eye I wear a contact lens for distance. Read more…
This post is personal…really personal. I pray God will use it in your life. Live free, my friend.
One last wish.
The longing of a dying mother’s heart.
A wish that only one person could have satisfied. But he didn’t.
If you’ve read any of my books, you know that my childhood was a cauldron of violent arguments, Read more…
Have you ever been afraid to say “yes” to God? I have. Today I’m writing over at Proverbs 31 Ministries. I thought you could use the encouragement too. Let’s jump in together!
I was sitting on the balcony, listening to excited squeals and splashes as children played in the swimming pool below.
One particular little girl caught my attention. Read more…
It was one of my favorite trees. And it was dying.
We live on a lake, and my dying tree was truly a “tree planted by streams of water.” So how could it be dying? How could branches right in the smack dab middle of the bushy green be turning into kindling? It didn’t make sense.
I called an arborist to come out and take a look. Read more…
I’m writing over at Proverbs 31 Ministries’ Encouragement for Today this morning. I wanted to share this with you too. By the way, if you haven’t been over to P31’s website, check it out!
Can I make a confession? Sometimes I quit too soon.
I’ve quit when what I really needed was to press on and press through. Read more…
I love Romans 8:28.
Now, let me be honest…sometimes I don’t.
When I am going through a dark time of loss or disappointment, and someone throws a sloppy coat of Romans 8:28 on my open wound, I just want to scream.
There. I said it.
What does God mean by “all things” anyway? Read more…
Did you know that God is pursuing you…still?
I was in college when I first eyed my husband. He was sitting on the floor at a friend’s Bible study gathering with his back against the wall, dressed in scruffy jeans and a red flannel shirt with the sleeves rolled halfway up his muscular forearms.
His thick brown hair and chocolate-brown eyes left me weak in the knees. Read more…
This devotion is running over at Proverbs 31 Ministries today. I wanted to share it with you as well. I’m giving away a FREE Identity in Christ card at the end, so leave a comment and join the conversation.
I stood in the front yard waiting for the yelling to stop before I went back inside. Read more…
