She raked slender fingers through her long hair, willing the movement to ease her tensed nerves. Her heart seemed to gravitate towards the floor. Why couldn't something go right for a change? No matter what she did, it all seemed to unravel in the end. Seized with sorrow, she sank to her knees and wept. Plagued with doubt. Overwhelmingly defeated. Dogged by despair.
Category: encouragement
What is Your ‘Why’?
In the race of life, there are moments when we forget why we are running. We focus on how to be better, faster, and stronger. We waste fruitless hours bemoaning the uneven ground, the unexpected rocks, the sand in our shoes, and more. We see something lovely, our breath momentarily suspended, only to trip over our own feet and hit the ground. It's a long, hard race. (Can I get an amen?) In this race, every person, at some moment in time asks the question, 'Why am I here?' or 'Why am I doing this?'. Indeed, why are you here?
Why are you sleeping?
I can't imagine how embarrassing that would be to have Jesus catch you sleeping when you were supposed to be praying. And yet, how often does Satan catch us unaware or "sleeping?"
3 Words You Need Every Single Day
Every single day we face some form of testing. Every day we are beset with a trial of some kind. Every day God is watching to see what we will do with the time we are given. How do you get through your time of trial? I have 3 words for you...
Does anybody care?!
For people like me who wage a daily war with depression, there is a phrase that pops up every so often, and we grow weary of saying it: "I'm depressed... Again." It's frustrating, upsetting, and draining. "Will this ever completely disappear? Surely people are sick of my black cloud... I know I am." You know you have to face the day again tomorrow. You know you'll likely wonder why you bothered to get out of bed. You feel like nobody cares. There is One who always cares. He already knows you're hurting. He holds all your tears in a bottle. He watches the ongoing fight.
No tests?
The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold, and the Lord tests hearts. ~ Proverbs 17:3 ESV My children have taught me a great deal about parenting. For instance: when I was a starry-eyed parent-to-be I said things like, "I'll never yell at my children. I'll never say, 'because I said so.'… Continue reading No tests?
Feeling overwhelmed?
Somewhere, right now, there is a young mother standing in her house, the fingertips of both hands pressed into her head in frustration. The house gets cleaned, only to be dirty within a few minutes. She sits down to rest only to be interrupted by another of her children. The sink is clogged, the repairman is calling, the bills need paying and dinner needs preparing. Somewhere, right now, somebody you know is feeling overwhelmed. It might even be you.
Short-term memory loss.
Sometimes I read Bible accounts and have a face-palm moment. How could these people be so dense?! And then I realize something---I am just as foolish at times!
Progress Report – February 2016
Remember those goals/resolutions you created at the beginning of the year? You do? Wait... you don't? Where's your list of goals? "oh, right.... that list was in my head." "Goals? What goals?" "My New Year's Resolutions? Well... Uh..." That's where a lot of people are by this point in the year---all those great plans are often under a pile of papers or covered in dust. If you are on track with most of your goals for the year, congratulations! Keep up the good work! If you still have your list of goals and have fallen behind, there's no time like the present to rev them up again.
It’s time to break camp!
A man's heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps. ~ Proverbs 16.9, NKJV When I was young, I had very definite ideas about what I wanted to achieve in life. I wanted to have enough money to live in a nice big house in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. I wanted a college degree, a good career and a good church to worship with. I wanted to be married, have children. I wanted to have it all. There's a funny truth about our crazy dreams: while many are attainable, they are not necessarily attainable together. I couldn't have everything without sacrificing something.
