In Loving Memory…
My dad’s faith became sight on April 27th, just a little less than two weeks ago. My mom and I said goodbye to the man who had been our protector and leader. It is bittersweet because while we’ll miss him, he has lived his whole life for the Lord and he’s in heaven pain and cancer free now. I’ve mentioned now and again about his cancer following his heart surgery. It was a long five years for him. Even though the chemo effects were minimal compared to many stories I’ve heard and people I’ve known to go through them, he
We each have a story of rescue… here’s mine.
My salvation story could be considered rather dull. I’ve heard so many begin the same way mine does- “I was born into a Christian home and went to church all my life….” And yet it’s not about what we’ve done or what has happened to us. Instead, what God has done in our lives to bring us to the point of trusting in Him becomes our testimony. As we’ve seen over and over, history is actually HIS STORY. That is true for American and world history, and it’s also true in our own personal histories. We all have our own stories. Yes,
Broken Rules Ushered in God’s Plan
Eighteen religious rules were broken in order to convict Jesus. Jesus never fought the injustice done to Him. Those broken rules and injustices ushered in God’s will. Reading the account of Jesus’ arrest in Mark 14 through that lens begs us to consider why. So many things about Jesus turn the Old Testament Jewish ways on end. He had a way of flipping the issue. When we read the story of Jesus’ arrest, we can see that God used broken rules and injustice to usher in redemption. Rules. We teach our kids to obey the rules. We have them memorize
What If God Has a Different View of Suffering?
Often we hear people ask the question, why would a good, loving God allow suffering and bad things to happen? And when we’re in the midst of trials and suffering, we often wonder the same thing. Why me, and when will this end, or what can I do to wriggle out from underneath this pain? Winter seasons of life that are painful are not the seasons we want to experience or look forward to walking through. They can be faith-shaking times and cause us to wrestle with our faith. Trials test our faith. Will we draw close to the Lord
Yes, the world is beginning to fall apart. Are you Ready?
We’ve all seen the extreme preppers and survivalists. Their goal is to simply survive in the face of a global disaster that they are sure is about to happen. They are preparing in a panic because they are fearful that the world is beginning to fall apart. When you consider their position and fear, it’s no surprise to find that they are giving no consideration to the Lord. Instead, they believe they can do enough and hoard enough to be their own savior. We have also seen the extreme Christians who have lost their minds trying to interpret prophesy and
The scariest verse in the Bible is written in red (and why it matters)
I am starting the new year contemplating the scariest verse in the Bible as we move through the third week of January. How we are this far into January is beyond me. Anyway, Happy New Year! I hope you had a merry Christmas and an enjoyable holiday season. I wrote a blog post at the beginning of December and edited it to apply to the second week in December, but I never published or sent it. All the chaos from Big Bro’s mess overwhelmed the entire month and finally ended just before Christmas. Then I could finally rest and recover
The Antidote to a Negative Mindset
If you are frustrated by a negative mindset, read on for the antidote! Hint: It has to do with remembering… Tell me I’m not the only one. When life gets hard and the days tend toward long and exhausting, I find myself feeling like everything is wrong and nothing is ever going to change. I begin to lose hope, and the negative mindset threatens to invade and take over. I don’t usually catch it as it begins, but I abruptly find myself quite miserable one day. And then, with that awareness comes God’s rescue. He gently reminds me of how
Remembering My Anxiety Story
In my last post, I tackled the topic of remembrance and why it is important, then I set out to spend 40 days remembering what God has done in my life instead of the typical thankful/grateful exercises. Interestingly, God brought me back to remember my season of anxiety and how He had worked within that story. As I read and reflected on what I had written about my anxiety story, I was amazed to see God’s fingerprints all over it. There was more there than I remembered on my own. Hindsight is said to be 20/20, and it offers a view
Remembrance- Why is it Important?
Ever found yourself in a season so hard you seriously wondered if there would ever be joy and happiness again? You’re in good company if you have. The devil loves to make us think we are alone in our suffering. He wants nothing more than to isolate us and keep us discouraged. Can I tell you a secret? You aren’t alone! My hard season has been an extended hard season, and I’m still waking through it. It’s been hard enough that two years ago, I felt like the “grateful” challenges were too shallow for the depth of my trial. Then
Genesis 1 Shows Us Four Things About God
I’m always looking for new ways to dive into scripture to study it. Finding those hidden treasures tucked away, buried but accessible for those willing to dig a little is incredible. Listening to the Enjoy God’s Word 2021 conference gave me a new concept and a perspective shift for reading and studying the Bible. The idea is this: We should read the Bible not to benefit ourselves but to discover who God is. That was a lightbulb moment for me combined with a duh! Of course we should be looking to learn more about God when reading His word. It