Are you waiting on God to make something beautiful out of your mess? To all who mourn in Israel, He will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair. In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks that the LORD has planted for His own…
When your mess gets exposed, whether it is of your own making or not, it’s impossible to look good. The painful truth is that an exposed mess leaves us open to judgment, criticism, gossip… and the list goes on. Talk about feeling vulnerable! I’ve found it surprising though that an exposed life is better. It may not feel like it right away….
This cracks me up. One of those funny truths. Some days people are just too hard. Day’s when you’re: Frustrated. Angry. Hurt. Tired. Exhausted. _________. [Tweet “What do you do when you can’t people? Can’t family? Can’t coworkers? Can’t . . . nope you just can’t?”] Paul had an answer. Since God chose you to be the holy…
I believed the lie. Like Eve—I stood before the tree and listened. “God’s holding out on you.” Have you listened to the lie too? It’s the enemy’s favorite… You’ve waited so long… “God’s holding out on you.” You’ve wanted so much… “God’s holding out on you.” You’ve needed so desperately… “God’s holding out on you.”…
What does wonderful mean to you? You want wonderful days. A wonderful family. A wonderful job. A wonderful vacation. Etc. But what is your definition of wonderful? Does wonderful make you happy? Should it? Why do I always have more questions than answers? Whew! I’m just thankful for easy access to information. Let me share…
I was once described as “unflappable.” Unflappable! Are you kidding? Not even close. Rev says I am, “Eight years ago when you sat in the Cardiac surgery waiting room not knowing whether I would live or die, you were unflappable.” “Maybe. But two years earlier I was undone. Broken.“ Then Rev reminds me, “It’s when we are undone that God is…
How are you? Is life peaceful and easy? Not so much? Paul ended his letters to the Thessalonians with these words: Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who loved us and by His grace gave us eternal comfort and a wonderful hope, comfort you and strengthen you in every good…
I remember dates. Mostly good. Anniversaries of special events. New beginnings. Celebrations. Joys. But then there are the not so good. The downright terrible. Days we’d like to forget but must remember. Some dates pull up powerful images. Like a scrapbook of life living inside our heads. Dates. Pictures. Remembrances. Today we remember. 9/11 Flag…
Each child is born with a unique personality, individual talents, and specific abilities. Wouldn’t it be nice if they’d come with instructions too? I want to tell you about a beautiful princess. She was a daughter of the most awesome King, the King of Forever and Ever. On the day Sarah was born a shout rang out across the…
C. S. Lewis published his first work in 1919 and went on to author more than 70 books the most famous being The Chronicles of Narnia and Mere Christianity. Countless Christians have been inspired by his life and writing. His quotes inspire me. Lewis knew life’s difficulties. His childhood faith rejected in college, describing himself as “the most…
The schools in our area started a couple of weeks ago. For many of you school will start this week or next. With new routines and adapting to differing schedules . . . I thought it might be a good idea to share my favorite tips for beginning each day in ways that offer less…
Gossip is anything said about someone to someone that isn’t loving and kind and that you wouldn’t say directly to the person about whom you’re talking. If you catch yourself participating in this—you are gossiping. Gossip hurts. If you’ve ever been the victim of gossip you know it hurts. People gossip because of… Pride Envy Insecurity Resentment And…
My grandmother called it “putting on” her face. Makeup. Concealer, foundation, blush, shadow, eyeliner, mascara, and lip gloss. I refuse to leave the house without makeup. I’ve even been known to go into surgery wearing a little mascara. I know you’re supposed to go under the knife sans products, but I just feel so naked without lashes…
I don’t usually remember my dreams. That’s one of the reasons I’ve found it interesting when the Lord chooses to teach me through dreams. A few times I’ve had wow, smack me up the side of the head get my attention dreams. Most often, it’s been repetitive dreams that finally make me stop and ask, “Okay…
I decided years ago that if I was going to get wrinkles anyway, I wanted smile lines. No frown lines dragging the corners of my mouth down to my chin for me. Nope, I wanted lines between mouth and cheeks created by years of intentional grinning. And that’s only one of the benefits of smiling. It also: Improves…
I think women want beauty because deep down we believe no we know that beauty is power. It starts when we’re very little girls and continues throughout school. It doesn’t take us long to realize that pretty girls are able to manipulate teachers, parents, boys, and even the other girls. [Tweet “We learn that to not feel beautiful…
God made you. You are beautiful! So say it, “I’m Beautiful!” Say it again. Say it until you believe it… I was in high school when Twiggy became the face of modeling. Her stick thin figure only added to my dissatisfaction with my size and shape . . . I’ve pretty much been on a diet ever…
I will sing of the Lord’s unfailing love forever! Young and old will hear of your faithfulness. Your unfailing love will last forever. Your faithfulness is as enduring as the heavens. Your kingdom is built on what is right and fair. Love and truth are in all You do. Happy are the people who know…
The photo above comes from the moment when the following dialogue takes place in Wicked, The Musical. Elphaba: I wish I could be beautiful… for you. Fiyero: Elphaba… Elphaba: Don’t tell me that I am, you don’t need to lie to me. Fiyero: It’s not lying! It’s… uh… it’s looking at things another way. Elpheba the…
Do you ever wake up in the morning and realize before you get out of bed . . . “Ooh, I’m in a mood today?” You don’t know why. Nothing particularly bad happened. But your nerves are on edge. Or the opposite is true . . . you’ve got the blues. And you just know the next 15+ hours…
It’s hard to overcome negativity. I’ve had times when it seemed like the gray cloud above me stretched as far as I could see in every direction. Friends and family would remind me of blessings they could see in my life. And although I knew they were right, what wasn’t loomed larger than what was . . . at least…
