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A Small Act of Faithfulness
While I don’t know what legacy I’ll leave behind, I can be certain of this: God will use me to exalt his great name. He will use even my small acts of faithfulness for his kingdom purposes. I don’t want to miss out on the moments God has given me to be a small encouragement to those I encounter, whether it be for a lifetime, a season, or one brief moment. https://t.co/yVVv7J11BU?amp=1
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Reflections on an #Unproductive #Garden: Facing #disappointment in our everyday lives
Now, Lord willing, I will have a thriving pumpkin plant soon (they always surprise me), but I hate waiting. I want immediate satisfaction, no snags (or slugs), immediate success. I don’t know about you, but I feel the same extreme impatience in many areas of my life. I want immediate results in my relationship with my husband, my prayers for my children, my mentoring relationships, and my educational and professional goals. I know, I know, we live in a fallen world ruled by God’s purposes, not mine. But when I pray, I want an answer, when I make an effort in a relationship, I want results, when I make a…
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Celebrating #Father’sDay in a Fallen World
It’s true. Despite the many wonderful fathers I’ve had the privilege to know, a discussion of fathers quickly reminds us that we live in a fallen world. What’s funny? We all still want fathers, even those who’ve had the worst of experiences. If I could count the hours I’ve spent listening to kids talk about their fathers, especially those who didn’t have contact with them anymore because of abandonment, incarceration, severe addiction, etc. . . . Good, bad, or indifferent, fathers are important. Period.
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A #Mother’s Day Prayer in an Imperfect World
While holidays tend to highlight the pain of the lonely and broken, the gospel gives comfort. Psalm 68 reminds us the God is “A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families. . . . “ (Psalm 86:5-6). James 1 explains, “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this; to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world” (James 1:27). In short, the church is meant to be a family in a world when so many don’t have one.
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I Lift My Eyes
In the year 2000, I began a six year stint as a teacher in a treatment facility. I had just moved back my home state of Montana, after spending 6 years in Oklahoma and Texas, when my Grandmother died tragically. I missed my family, and I was really questioning how I had spent so many years in the flat lands, so I moved home. That year I began a six year stint as a teacher in a treatment facility. My experience in this setting is and was invaluable. As I taught, worked in the residential lodges, and helped lead worship with the students I taught, I was educated in what…
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The Shocking Truth About Easter
I have reflected on this incident many times since then. That day, I began to understand the shocking truth of Easter. Easter is about resurrection, an occurrence only brought about by a miracle of God. It means not only have our sins been covered, but we, in Christ, have conquered death. We are truly free of the fear of guilt AND of the afterlife. Without Easter, our faith is meaningless, we might as well claim nothing. Everything we know as Christians hinges on this miracle, foolishness to those who don’t believe. So, this weekend may we truly meditate on these words, “He is not here, but has risen. Remember how…
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As We #Reopen, Let the Children Lead
If you’re like me, I get a “verse of the day” on my phone. Today’s verse was Jeremiah 17:7-8 which states, “Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD. He is like a tree planted by water that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit”. What a timely word. The words “. . . does not fear”, “ . . . is not anxious”, and “does not cease to bear fruit” are so contrary to much of the what the…
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My Recent Post on Weakness by Connect PCA
When I consider my own temperament, I often question why God chooses to use seemingly difficult dispositions to accomplish his plan. Well, we may never have the answer to that question this side of heaven, but there is good news! The fathers and mothers of the faith were human too—personality flaws and all.
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My newest article in Servantsofgrace on the #miracle of #forgiveness .
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I Don’t Know About You, but I Need Some #Rest
Fortunately, God is in the business of rest. Not the kind of rest after the source of stress is already eliminated, but the rest that happens in the middle of the storm, when the waves are still crashing in, disrupting plans and lives, rest for the truly weary.