Do you ever feel like the world is drowning in frustration and anger? Just turn on the news or spend a little time on social media and you’d start to believe that frustrated and angry appears to be the mood of the day. Add to that moms and dads being confined at home with their…
It seems like everywhere I look, friends and family . . . even complete strangers are overwhelmed by grief. Covid and chaos have caused us to lose loved ones, jobs, and financial security. Isolation and emotional stress has broken relationships, worsened depression, and increased substance abuse. The list of reasons people are grieving is growing…
On the list of things most of us wish Jesus hadn’t said … this would be at the top! But it’s right there in Matthew… “You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!” Matthew 5:43–44 Love your enemies! Really?!…
I want to stop and celebrate the blessing of friends today. Not our list of Facebook friends with whom we share the edited versions of our stories but the close group of people who know our real stories … those stories we keep hidden away from most of the world. I want to celebrate the…
Terrorism, politics, illness, heartbreak, loss, and pandemics… Sometimes this broken world feels like it’s too much … too painful. Too hard. Then I stop and remember Solomon’s words: History merely repeats itself. It has all been done before. Nothing under the sun is truly new. Ecclesiastes 1:9 Nothing’s new. It’s all happened before. No, I’m…
I wish I’d read this quote years ago… “Parents can only give good advice or put them on the right paths, but the final forming of a person’s character lies in their own hands.” Anne Frank She certainly shared a lot of wisdom for her young age … and for someone who never lived long…
Do you trust God’s goodness? We say God is good, but do we really believe it? I recently shared this on social media… After you have suffered a little while, [God] will restore, support, and strengthen you. 1 Peter 5:10 And an individual responded by saying … “a load of nonsense.” I don’t think you…
Do you ever feel frustrated with yourself when you read… Jesus said, “The most important commandment is this: ‘Listen, O Israel! The Lord our God is the one and only Lord. And you must love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.” Mark 12:29–30 I don’t know about you, but…
I tend to think of praise and worship as synonyms … which can too often mean that I hear the sounds of music when I imagine doing either one. But… Praise is simply defined as: an expression of warm approval or admiration. Worship is defined as: the feeling or expression of reverence and adoration for…
Even if you are not personally suffering at the moment … you can’t turn on the news or scroll through social media without seeing it all around you. So many of us are feeling the heaviness of suffering … either our own or the empathetic burden we carry for one another. But God… Oh, how…
I have to admit, I’m confused and nothing makes sense! Almost every news report, ad, tweet, and post seems to have an agenda. It’s hard to know what to believe when contradicting points of view all claim to be “fact-based” truth. One thing I know for sure is that nothing feels normal and no one…
If you feel like something is missing right now, you’re not alone. I think most of us feel like we’re experiencing an unending cycle of missing out. We’re missing… time with loved ones. going to school. going to work and having a steady income. weddings, graduations, birthdays, and group celebrations. coffee and visiting with friends….
Are you satisfied? Especially right now, when we’re not doing so many of the things we’re used to doing. No matter how hard we try … we just can’t seem to find satisfaction. So, I wonder… Are you satisfied? The dictionary defines being satisfied as being content or having peace. Does that help? Are you…
It’s hard to think about the reality of Jesus’ suffering and death on the cross. I’ll never forget the first time I watched the movie, The Passion of the Christ. I’d read the Bible and knew the account well but it was always easier to imagine the scene through cleaned up artwork and Sunday School…
I sometimes try to picture how it must have looked… The Philistines camped on one side and the Israelites on the other. The enemy army had a giant—Goliath … the Bible describes him like this: He was over nine feet tall! He wore a bronze helmet and his bronze coat of mail weighed 125 pounds…
What do you do when life is uncertain and you are struggling with feelings of vulnerability? It’s interesting to be living at a time of collective uncertainty. But the truth is … everyone experiences that vulnerable feeling from time to time. I can’t tell you how often I’ve thought about the words spoken by the…
It’s hard, isn’t it? Delving into the unknown. Waiting and wondering. At the moment, it’s hitting us all. People all over the world are watching and listening … uncertain about what the future will bring. It’s really no different than usual. It’s just that this time we have a common subject. But every day, all…
I’m a good student … someone who has always believed that information helps me achieve my goals and helps my relationships. So, whenever we faced a challenge in our marriage or family, I went searching for information that would “fix” the problem. I’ve read countless self-help books … books on personality types and love languages…
Is it hard for you to be honest with God? Do you struggle to pour out feelings of impatience or frustration? Are you able to tell Him when you’re losing hope because your problem persists and you wonder if things will ever change even though you’ve prayed and prayed and prayed? I love that God…
If you watch the news … the world is a mess and it’s only getting worse. Maybe you are doing okay personally or maybe you’re not. But even when you and I are fed, housed, and healthy … we always seem to have concerns to lay before the Lord in prayer. Some big, some small,…
Our grandson loves math. I get it! I love math, too. We were talking about his love for math the other night and he told me it’s his favorite because it is logical and consistent. Then he said, “Words are harder … with language you have to figure out things like there, their, and they’re….
