It’s easy to love someone who loves you. It’s possible to love someone who is indifferent. But to love someone who hurts you… To forgive and love them takes divine assistance. Last week, I asked you to tell me what relationship issues you’d like to talk about this year. A huge thank-you to those of you…
Unable to sleep, I tried to pray. I went through my mental list of people to lift before the Lord and then I stopped. I realized how often I hesitate when it’s time to pray for things affecting my family and myself. Why? Why is it easy to pray for others and so difficult to pray…
I can’t believe we’ve come to the end of The Faith Project. I’ll never come to the end of learning and growing . . . but this week closes out my year of digging deep and writing about twelve themes I believe are important parts of a life of faith. Freedom Love Wisdom Prayer Humility Patience Stillness…
I hope you enjoyed a wonderful Christmas celebration yesterday. The day may be over but my prayer is that your joy will continue into the new year. So this is it, the last week of The Faith Project. Before we wrap up 2016, I want to close the December with a review of what I learned about…
I’d lost my joy. Jesus said, “The thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy.” John 10:10 And it felt like our family had been in his cross-hairs. I wasn’t sure how I was going to get through the holidays. I could fake happiness at moments but inside I felt stunned and joyless. Maybe you remember John…
When was the last time you laughed for pure joy because of Jesus? This week, I’ve worried about how I’m going to have everything ready in just a little over a week. What should I buy that hard to shop for someone to show them how important they are to my heart? Will I have the…
Are you ready to surprise and impress your family and friends with some fun Christmas facts? I thought it might be fun to compile a list of as many fun details about our Christmas beliefs and traditions as I could find. All set? Good! Let’s go… The History of Christmas – the Holiday 1. Christmas,…
It’s the most wonderful time of the year. A little less than two weeks until Christmas but in many households joy-filled wonderful is not filling the air. I’ve heard from a number of people who feel there is not enough time, money, or energy to see them through to the end of the year. They’re exhausted…
I was undone. I doubted I would ever be happy again. At the time I couldn’t see the way God was working in and through my pain to patiently and lovingly give me something more precious than my lost happiness. God knew my greatest need was not happiness. My greatest need was joy. I believe…
It’s the last month of The Faith Project. I can hardly believe it. We’ve taken a close look at Freedom in Christ, Love, Wisdom, Prayer, Humility, Patience, Stillness, Goodness, Peace, Worship, and Gratitude. Let’s end the year with Joy. Joy that goes deep into the heart and soul dwelling in the presence of God Himself. Here…
Entitlement is 1) the condition of having the right to have, do, or get something 2) the feeling or belief that you deserve to be given something. Entitlement is the Opposite of Gratitude. It is a greedy, self-serving “I deserve it” attitude about life. What do you and I deserve? I turned to the internet, where I…
I didn’t choose my life verse. It chose me. And then a few years later, it chose Rev too. Psalm 73:26 literally jumped off the page as I sat reading my Bible with a crumpled and defeated heart. Physically I was fine but emotionally I was wrecked. Then just a couple of years later, Rev’s…
I wasn’t feeling very thankful. In my defense, I was pregnant and raging hormones were affecting my thinking. It seems silly in retrospect, but there I stood in the closet grumbling to myself as I moved Rev’s suits and dress pants from wire hangers back to suit hangers. Kind of funny considering all the parenting…
Paul wrote… Pray continually, and give thanks whatever happens. That is what God wants for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 (NCV) Really? Whatever happens? Even when life hurts? When I was curled up in the fetal position, broken and feeling like I’d never feel happy again, giving thanks was not a priority. Slowly, I began…
Do you ever need a little extra inspiration to jumpstart feelings of thankfulness? I do. Some days are just hard and as I look around it’s hard to feel thankful in the midst of so much chaos and confusion. But there is always a reason to be thankful. Always. God is great. He is…
You and I know God wants us to thank and praise Him but I sometimes wonder if I’m thanking Him the ways He wants. I start my prayers with thank you and praise Him for who He is and what He does but are words enough. David wrote: Make thankfulness your sacrifice to God, and keep…
I’m not proud of this… I’ve had too many times in my life when all I could focus on was the problem. Like the eight years we struggled with secondary infertility, or when Rev was so sick, or when I allowed a problem with a child to consume my thoughts. And if I sat here for…
Do you want to know something funny? If you wanted, you could almost make gratitude a priority for purely selfish reasons. Seriously, it’s that good for you! 10 Wonderful Reasons Gratitude is Good for You Gratitude will make you happier. You choose . . . appreciative or dissatisfied. I know which one can tank…
I sometimes wonder what more can be written about gratitude. Countless articles have been written about the ways gratitude can improve your health, bless your relationships, and turn the average day into a celebration. And yet… We’re still not very good at it, are we? We don’t consistently express our gratitude to God or the…
When I started my month-long study of worship, I wanted to know the what, why, when, and who of worship. Not why people gather together in churches on weekends or their preferred style of music but why you and I worship, what does worship look like in a believer’s life, and when followers of Jesus worship. So, here’s…
Why do you worship God? Seriously, stop for a minute and think about it . . . why do you worship God? Do you worship Him because… You were brought up that way? The Bible tells says you should? You like getting together with like-minded people? It’s good for your children? You don’t know it…
