We need endurance to finish a race well, and that includes our lifelong journey of faith, obedience and love. I’m strengthened to know that Jesus is with me and that He eagerly provides running mates along the way. Friends, mentors and teachers are provided by God to encourage…
Read MoreGod uses disappointments in powerful ways in our lives, if we’ll receive it! As I type this, I’m facing some disappointment in a relationship, and feel sad. Nestled in the melancholy cloud over my heart is an assurance that He is at work in me, His workmanship, whom He has created for specific good works.
Read MoreEscape. Vacation. Getting away from it ALL! Life sometimes feels like too much, doesn’t it? I mean, the pressures of ministry, financial burdens, health trials and tough relationships can tempt me to a) dream up a fantasy career…
Read MoreA friend of mine shared about a painful disappointment in her marriage. Seems that her husband had planned a day trip by himself to a favorite getaway in the mountains for some solitude and refreshment. After settling the details and booking a reservation, he casually mentioned his plans to my friend…
Read MoreHave you ever, like me, had the humbling experience to realize that a certain electrical gadget or appliance wasn’t broken but just needed to be switched ‘on’? After getting myself in a frenzied, frustrated state with “Ugh! Yet another broken thing to get fixed,” I remembered to check that important little on-off knob.
Read MoreMost of us love a great relationship story. It might be a romantic movie like “While You Were Sleeping”, or a soul-knot friendship like that between David and Jonathan in 1 Samuel, or Anne and Diana in Anne of Green Gables. There’s something about people truly caring, loving and being devoted to one another that stirs something in our emotional DNA…
Read MoreEllen Dykas joins us this week as guest writer for our special series, "What She Said!" No doubt many of you are familiar with Ellen but for those who aren’t, you are in for a real treat! I am drawn to Ellen for many reasons, but at the top of my list is that she shares powerful truths sheathed in kindness and love…
Read MoreMost likely Lamentations was written after Jerusalem had fallen. There was much grief, and the author wants to offer hope. Hope in our God. What was the struggle?
Read MoreThrough my MS, God has taught me that getting aggravated hampers my physical well-being. The dictionary defines aggravation as “an act or circumstance that intensifies something or makes something worse”. Aggravation can also hamper our spiritual well-being…
Read MoreMy silent emotional tantrum, still cracks loud and real, and causes my body to shudder. If I go to this memorial service, then that means she is really gone. If I go to this memorial service, then the hole in my heart is reality. If I go to this memorial service, I witness the heartbreak piercing her husband.
Read MoreIn our small development, there is only one intersection with a stop sign that is the entrance and exit to the main road. At the time the development was constructed, the builder had planted a tree line across the street for aesthetics. I have enjoyed each season as I have looked at this view. The warm green branches
Read MoreEach day after breakfast, my husband and I try to start our day together by reading Scripture and a page from one of our favorite devotional books. We pull out our prayer list from between the pages; children, grandchildren, extended family, church family, community group families, friends with current challenges, neighbors…
Read MoreThe Apostle Paul writes this letter to the Philippi church while he is imprisoned. He is testifying to God’s faithfulness in giving him opportunity to share the Gospel even in the midst of prison conditions. Paul challenges readers to be humble servants, rather than concerned about their own welfare…
Read MoreIn our Pilgrimage Fueled by Hope devotional series, we regularly asked the question, “What’s my default mode or auto response when life comes crashing down?” We have considered the importance of putting systems in place “when the sun is shining”…
Read MoreFaith isn’t just some baseless, pie in the sky, flimsy wish we cling to. It is the foundation of the Christian life, set in place by God and held there by his power. Faith is a sure, steady, immovable surety that what God says in his Word he has or will accomplish…
Read MoreIn that big, old house I struggle with, there is a full walk up attic and everyone I tell tends to think that is the best thing in the world. That attic is where we keep things. It holds a full twenty-seven years of accumulation; old toys, old clothes, old books, old empty boxes, old printers, old papers. Well, you get the idea…
Read MoreOur earthly experiences are bound to disappoint us. They just don’t have the quality of the ones we are waiting for. Things tied to earth perish. Even the best of what we enjoy here can be easily defiled. Worldly possessions bring fading happiness because our satisfaction with them is…
Read MoreThere’s not much mercy in the world today. We’ve become a judgmental, cruel and hateful society. So many things divide us: political party, race, age, denomination, gender, country of origin. These days it’s more about the fight…
Read MoreWhen we bless God, we celebrate everything he is and all he's done for us, because he is deserving of endless recognition. Gratitude is at the heart of true worship. We acknowledge his attributes as revealed in Scripture, proclaiming them to one another and the world. We tell of his wonderful acts….
Read MoreThe grace and favor of God cannot be diminished or enlarged. God has shown us the entirety of it through Jesus Christ. Every bit of love God has for Jesus is bestowed on us the minute we enter a relationship with him. God cannot love or accept us more completely…
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