Recently, I watched a video clip of a young boy asking his mother who her favorite child was. It was clear he was attempting to cajole her into choosing him. Not to be outdone by her son’s persuasion, she responded with a bit of coaxing herself. The condensed takeaway was that any of her children … [Read more…]
Why do You make me see iniquity?Why do You tolerate wrongdoing?Destruction and violence are before me.Strife is ongoing, and conflict abounds.Therefore the law is paralyzed,and justice never goes forth.For the wicked hem in the righteous, so that justice is perverted. – Habakkuk 1:3-4 It is disheartening to live in a world where justice is perverted, … [Read more…]
I was taught a simple bedtime prayer as a young child. It was one repeated each night before I fell asleep. And although I knew it by rote, at times, I switched it up a bit depending upon the daytime experiences with my siblings. The version went as follows: Now I lay me down to sleep,I … [Read more…]
My husband is one of those people who watches the most random video clips. From funny bloopers to ultimate bad days to narrow escapes and a host of other weird and unusual scenarios that cannot even be categorized. The other day I walked through the room and caught a glimpse of one of them. It … [Read more…]
Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. – James 1:2-4, NIV These words from James challenge us in many ways. … [Read more…]
This time I’m writing out the plan in them, carving it on the lining of their hearts. I’ll be their God, they’ll be My people . . . They’ll get to know Me by being kindly forgiven, with the slate of their sins forever wiped clean. Such are the words from The Message’s version of … [Read more…]
Don’t you just love how kids misunderstand song lyrics and subsequently fill in the blanks with their own version? At the age of three, my daughter did that with the phrase, ” In our family, we communicate.” For days, she was skipping about the house singing, “In our family, we can eat some cake!” Silly … [Read more…]
With every twist and turn of life, God continues to unsettle my theology by settling me more firmly within Himself. Everything I once thought ministry was isn’t necessarily ministry at all. The titles and organizations rise and fall, come and go. Religious institutions are built, then close their doors. Positions are created, then dissolved. But … [Read more…]
God is sovereign. And kind. And powerful. And loving. Despite all of that, He can seem inconsistent when we look at a world crumbling around us. If God is all these things, why doesn’t He do something about the mess of humanity heading full-throttle on the highway to hell? Why continue to allow us to wallow in … [Read more…]
At the start of this past year, God gave me the word “soften” as a goal for 2020. Mercy is not my strong point. This truth has been confirmed by literally every spiritual gifting evaluation I’ve completed throughout the years, where mercy consistently ranked as my lowest score. So I immediately assumed God wanted to … [Read more…]