You’ve probably noticed this by now, but there aren’t many things that are perfect in this life, most everything is flawed and broken at some point or another. Even your people whom you love and who love you the most have cracks and inconsistencies. You do. I do. We all do.
The faithfulness of God, however, is neither cracked nor flawed.
Read MoreThis new year is still pretty fresh, but enough days have gone by for me to be able to see which of my New Year’s goals are going to be easier to keep than others.
Drink more water? Killing it.
Cut out sugar? No comment.
But what about those dreams and aspirations that have more to do with the kind of person I want to be than the new habits I want to form? What about those deeper desires of my heart that I sense are very much connected to my purpose?
Read MoreOne of the most precious treasures of truth from the Christmas story is that what seems to us to be falling apart or less than ideal are often the platforms where God stages His most beautiful and life-giving miracles. What seems to us to be failures and set backs are often God’s hand in disguise, positioning us to be in just the right place at just the right time to see His miraculous unfold in our lives.
Read MoreHow big is God? Is He bigger than all the hundreds of ways I messed up today? Is He bigger than the problem staring me straight in my face that I have exhausted myself trying to find an answer to? Is He bigger than the black and white facts that say "this isn't going to work"?
Read MoreThere is an unnamed man in the New Testament that I feel I am a kindred spirit to. You read his story in Mark 9, where this desperate father brings his child, his son, to Jesus' closest followers, asking that they heal him. When they are unable to do so, the father turns to Jesus and begs him to have pity on them and help them, if he can. "'If you can'?" asks Jesus. "Everything is possible for him who believes." At once the father blurts out what I have found myself so often feeling: "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!"
Read MoreWhen I was growing up, my family would often take walks in the evening and visit new neighborhoods close to us that were in the process of being built. We liked to walk through the unfinished homes when only the studs were up and try to guess what each area was going to be. I think this is when my fascination with the design and layout of houses began. Luckily, I married someone who shares that same fascination
Read MoreI often wonder how it would have felt to wake up on Saturday, the day after Jesus was crucified. How do you get up in the morning when just the day before you watched hope die?
Read MoreSeveral months ago, I sat next to my husband on our living room couch, quietly crying in frustration and pain over the circumstances we found ourselves in the midst of. I wondered out loud for the hundredth time why these things had happened, when they were going to be resolved, and where in the world was God while all this was going on. Because I sure hadn't been hearing from Him much lately.
Read MoreEver have those days when you feel like you're just not enough? I'd like to say I am asking for a friend, but I'm not (sigh).
Today was one of those days. And it wasn't just that I didn't feel enough, it was more of a cold, hard fact that I wasn't enough.
Read MoreThey say a smile can make someone's day. What makes God smile at me? What makes him nod his head and say "Yes, my girl, that's what I'm talking about!"?
Because I really want to know. And then I want to make sure I do it, day after day.
I'm not talking about what makes God love me, because that is a different question with a different answer - nothing.
Read MoreIt's always kind of awkward when someone forgets your name but it can be kind of painful when they just forget all about you entirely.
Especially when you were hoping they could help get you out of jail.
When you are stuck in a place you never wanted to be, don't deserve to be, and/or it feels like your dreams and your potential are slowly withering away - that's when you really, REALLY want someone to remember your name.
Read MoreI don't like hard things.
I wish I did. I wish I could say I look forward to a battle, that I relish the challenge of something that pushes me to my limits. But I don't. I like things that turn out exactly how I envisioned them or even better. I like it when everything falls right into place and goes according to my plans. When I can accomplish my goals and see progress being made in realizing my dreams. I like beauty, laughter, peace and smooth waters. I consistently avoid sad movies and books. I like happy endings.
But life doesn't stay in these cozy, safe parameters I set up for it and I am certain you have found the same to be true as well.
Read More
