I have spent my life reading various stories in the Bible. Stories about Moses, Abraham, David, Joseph…pick one. In each story, God makes his presence known in some way; then a period of time passes before God’s promise comes to fruition. In a matter of minutes, I can read the entire experience. But a lot… Continue reading Life Between the Chapters
Tag: trust God
Know Ifs, Ands, or Buts
Reading God’s promises in the Bible always gives me hope for whatever situation I’m facing. Promises about His forgiveness, blessings, grace, gifts, wisdom…on and on. What I often miss when I read His promises are the ‘ifs, ands, or buts’ that are the key to receiving the promise. Take Matthew 6:31-33: “So do not worry,… Continue reading Know Ifs, Ands, or Buts
Unmet Expectations
I wonder how many times our unmet expectations of what we think God WILL do or SHOULD do in a situation leads us astray. How many times did Jesus’s closest friends and family search His face for a sign, any sign, while He was being beaten that God was in control? Did they search the… Continue reading Unmet Expectations
Rowing Against the Wind
I had the privilege of speaking to the faculty and staff at my children’s school a few weeks ago during their in-service training. In my remarks to them, I included a section of dreams I had for my kids. Being honest, it’s also dreams I have for myself. It wasn’t until after my talk that… Continue reading Rowing Against the Wind
Justified
The kids and I were enjoying a rare cool summer morning as I watched the kids playing, I saw my oldest retaliate against his younger sister because of a hurt she had inflicted on him minutes before. Being the designated peacemaker, I called my son over to talk about his choices and that’s when I… Continue reading Justified
The Wall
The wall, maybe you call it rock bottom, but whatever the name; it’s that place where you just cannot go on without something changing. It’s at the wall where you’ve come to the end of yourself, and your resources. I would venture to say that most of us who’ve been there didn’t relish the experience… Continue reading The Wall
Resting WHILE We Work
When I fill so much of my time driving up and down the same stretch of road, I tend to spend it thinking and praying about all that we’re walking through. It was on one of these trips where I began wondering how exactly am I supposed to ‘be still and let God fight for… Continue reading Resting WHILE We Work
Open Doors
As most of you know, our family has been walking through a long and arduous journey with no end in sight as we continue to fight for Chris’s full recovery after his Gallstone induced Infectious, Hemorrhagic, Necrotizing Pancreatitis (yes, all of those) which was further complicated through his development of ARDS (Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome)… Continue reading Open Doors
When Praying Doesn’t Work
What do you do when prayer doesn’t work? Rather, what do you do when it feels and looks like prayer didn’t work? This past week, I spent most nights not sleeping well and anxious for Thursday to come. Chris and I had spent time earlier in the week discussing how we both sensed a change… Continue reading When Praying Doesn’t Work
Live Expectantly
Three pregnancies and two kids later, I would never claim to be an expert in having kids. In fact, I often joke to use my life as the cautionary tale of what not to do. But, I think there are some general principles for most pregnancies we could all agree upon. Once you’ve been told… Continue reading Live Expectantly
Looking Beyond
Quitting is easy. It’s easy to look at my life and think it’s always going to be this way and want to quit. It’s easy to look at my worries and fears and think it’ll never get any better. It’s easy to focus on all the things going wrong and all the ways life is… Continue reading Looking Beyond
Deep Waters
Since we’re all friends here, can I share a ‘secret’ with you? I’m not the best swimmer. My parents never taught me how to swim, and I only received a few lessons given to me by an adult when I was in junior high which taught me the basics of floating and freestyle swimming. I… Continue reading Deep Waters
Rooted Leaders 