Have you ever gone on a rant to the Lord, telling Him how he should have done it or what He should have allowed? Or maybe how He should intervene, how He should fix it and make it right? Have you ever felt left to deal with the confusion of nothing going the way you… Continue reading Processing Problems
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What’s on the inside?
I always like to take a moment when I wake up on my birthday to ask God what this year is going to be about, what He’d like to teach me or would like me to focus on. This year when I woke up on my birthday and began to pray I quickly sensed God… Continue reading What’s on the inside?
“Do I Matter?” A Search for Significance
“Sometimes when the bell rings and the halls fill with students, I wonder do I even matter, does anyone even see me?” shared my youth student. We can often feel like an insignificant number lost in a large crowd of people. I remember being her age and asking the same question, and in all honesty… Continue reading “Do I Matter?” A Search for Significance
Our Stories have Written us into the People we are Today.
My single super hero mom full of endless energy and strength had never taken anything so hard, and I had watched her take my father’s hot-tempered, unfaithful and irrational verbal abuse for almost 15 years. She had persevered with such grace as she gave daily care to my grandmother in her last months of cancer.… Continue reading Our Stories have Written us into the People we are Today.
Search for Peace
The advent season is a time to slow the rush of life and to reflect on our greatest gift, the gift of our Messiah. “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting… Continue reading Search for Peace
Passionate Patience
I am one of those people that try to fit way too many things into any given block of time. Always believing to a fault that everything will run smoothly, according to plan, the quickest and most thorough way it could happen so that everything I want to get done will be accomplished. Only to… Continue reading Passionate Patience
The Discomfort of Change Can Bring the Maturity of Peace
Tis the season of Back to School stress!! In the frenzy of emptying our bank account and filling our shopping carts with binders, folders, notebooks, glue, pencils and pens not to mention the shopping demands of the new back to school attire shoes, back packs and clothes for each of our children and you have… Continue reading The Discomfort of Change Can Bring the Maturity of Peace
The Truth About Serving
I had the honor and the privilege of working alongside our youth group for Serve Springfield this week. Serve Springfield is a collaboration of 15 local youth groups to go out and serve the city of Springfield. During the days they are doing projects for organizations such as the Victory Mission, Convoy of Hope, Pregnancy… Continue reading The Truth About Serving
Feeling Inadequate?
Empty. Dry. Out of gas. Ever been there? Ever been there spiritually speaking? Where you just don’t feel like you have anything of much worth to offer others? A few weeks ago I was at this empty cup place. When I get to this place I begin to look towards the next break. If I… Continue reading Feeling Inadequate?
4 Things to Keep You Deeply Rooted
Tis the time of year that every gardener begins to think about what to plant, where to plant and how to nourish the soil so that it will best feed the plant. All nature of things are fed to the compost, coffee grounds saved, manure secured, egg shells kept all in an attempt to create… Continue reading 4 Things to Keep You Deeply Rooted
What Calms Me
“The Lord your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.” (Zeph 3:17) Our fears are quieted in the Father’s love. All our anxieties, stresses and worries are hushed by His love.… Continue reading What Calms Me
The Path to Peace
My New Year’s resolution is nothing others will see on the outside of me. Meaning I won’t have a smaller waistline, or a diminishing number on the scale, I won’t make more money, or have more organization or cleanliness, but I will have more peace. My resolution is a detox of the mind not the… Continue reading The Path to Peace
Comparison Breeds Loneliness
We were created in the image of God. From the beginning of time it has been God the Father, Jesus Christ His son, and the Holy Spirit. They have had perfect intimacy and community from the beginning of time. We were created to share in their family. We were created with a need for the… Continue reading Comparison Breeds Loneliness
Where to Turn
There have been seasons of life where I felt wrung out and brought low. For some reason last night laying in bed the past feelings of being humbled and weak rose up in my chest, feelings produced from seasons of grief, abandonment, loss, betrayal, financial strain, illness and pain. These… Continue reading Where to Turn
What to do When Circumstances Overwhelm You
One of my favorite things about celebrating the Christmas season this year was going skiing with my family and my sister’s family. It was near the end of our first day on the slopes, we were tired, sore and ready to make our last run. My sister who hadn’t been snow boarding in years, my… Continue reading What to do When Circumstances Overwhelm You
Thanksgiving: Protection from Discontentment
Thanksgiving opens the doors of our hearts to the presence of God. It heightens our awareness of His work in our lives and to all he’s given us. It awakens us to the grace He’s poured out. It reminds us of what He’s provided and done on our behalf. It makes us aware of His… Continue reading Thanksgiving: Protection from Discontentment
Forty and Free
Yesterday morning the Today show took a break from reporting on the unprecedented results of the presidential election of the previous evening to highlight the newest revolutionary product in age defying skin care. It struck me that a new facial cream actually seemed to warrant news time on the morning after one of the biggest… Continue reading Forty and Free
Further Faster
Our culture has a very strong message about self achievement; that we are our own gods if we will work hard enough, long enough, be disciplined enough then we can accomplish anything we put our mind too. I was told this all the way through junior high and high school. The problem with this message… Continue reading Further Faster
What’s Comfort Costing You?
My first lesson in freshman economics was “everything costs”. Nothing is free. As I tried to think through all things life and prove Mr. Sewell wrong, he always had the cost required for each of my selections. So my economics question for us today is what is comfort costing us? We would all agree that… Continue reading What’s Comfort Costing You?
Limitless
Unfortunately there are a lot of resources that aren’t limitless. We have to make hard decisions about where to spend time, money and energy because we all wish we had more and at times there seems there is never enough. Making decisions about where to spend these exhaustible resources can be stressful. I often spend… Continue reading Limitless
The Dangers of Rule-Keeping
I’ve always struggled with the idea of balancing truths, which the New Testament is full of, and I know it’s because we are supposed to walk in freedom by the Spirit’s guidance. There’s always been a part of me that likes rules. I like the clarity of what is expected and how things are always… Continue reading The Dangers of Rule-Keeping
Achievement ≠ Worth
When God is at the center there is a peace, a soul rest, a joy, an inner contentment, because we see not only his power and wisdom over all things, but we see clearly his deep penetrating love and are made whole in his soothing grace. Very early on in my life the sales pitch… Continue reading Achievement ≠ Worth
Best ≠ Rest
I was struck by the personification my friend and overcomer used to describe Satan in one of her recent articles, (https://www.namb.net/flourish-blog/the-danger-in-entertaining-lies?). She painted a picture of how we often invite him in to sit on our couch and give us his opinion, instead of banishing him with truth the way Jesus did. She says, “I… Continue reading Best ≠ Rest