Two things never cease to amaze me: 1) How quickly life moves from calm to chaos 2) How God consistently provides—especially in the chaos. The last five days of my life have been like something from a comedy show. If I were watching myself on TV, it would be hilarious. It's one of those segments… Continue reading If Chaos is Controlling Your Family
Yesterday, as I reviewed my retirement accounts with my financial advisor, she commented, "Retirement looks much different now than in years past. People used to retire and live a leisure life; these days, people pick up another job just to stay busy." She is right, of course, although I believe there are more factors than… Continue reading The Need for Rest
"The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law." ~ Galatians 5.22, ESV Have you ever prayed for patience? What happened? In my experience, whenever I have asked the Lord to give me patience, He answered by providing opportunities to develop patience. I wanted the actual… Continue reading The Trouble With Praying for Patience
God has the power to take what is ordinary and make it truly extraordinary. Give every task---significant or insignificant---to the God who sees in secret.
I've been immersed in birthday plans this week. My son is turning seven very soon and has spent most of the month counting the days and weeks until he can have a party with his friends. I've got a piñata drying on my dining room table, cake ingredients on the counter, and a little boy… Continue reading A Different Kind of Birthday
Several years ago B.K. (before kids) my spouse and I hosted a "Singing in the New Year" party. We invited people to enjoy food, games, and offering praise to God as the new year ushered in. Out of the forty people we invited, only half showed up. We had a fantastic time and the twenty that showed up suggested we do it again the following year. The other half that didn't come said the invitation had not been sent early enough and they already had plans. It seemed a plausible excuse, so the following year, we sent out the invites immediately after Thanksgiving, requested RSVPs, and sent out a reminder about a week before the party. We still had a great turn out, but the people who didn't come the first time still didn't RSVP until a few days before, saying, "oh, I already had plans." If they already had plans, why didn't they send their regrets when the invitation was sent a month before? Oh, the sting of weak excuses...
We never like to address the inconveniences of parenting. We don’t like to tell expecting moms and dads, “Sleep now, because you won’t be sleeping for the next few years.” Or, “Enjoy that pre-baby vacation because it’ll be awhile before vacations are relaxing.” It all sound so “glass-half-empty,” doesn’t it? Here’s the reality: Raising children is inconvenient, but it’s the opportunity of a lifetime. When the Lord blesses us with children through adoption or birth, He has entrusted a young soul into our care for teaching, training, and affection. Your plans are going to be interrupted, and at what seems like the worst moments! How do we react to these interruptions?
Some would say blame-shifting is a popular trend these days. It does seem as though our society promotes this idea of abdicating accountability. Despite what we think, people have been making excuses since the first man and woman. Apparently, nobody ever likes to be caught doing something they shouldn't, or failing to do something they… Continue reading Why are you making excuses?
This idea of walking with God comes up again and again in the scriptures. Noah walked with God. Moses commanded the people to "walk in all [God's] ways." The apostle John commanded Christians to "walk in the light as [God] is in the light." The apostle Paul wrote "walk by the Spirit" and "keep in step with the Spirit." We know we are supposed to walk with God, but what does this look like in our lives?
In the aftermath of the mass shooting at Sutherland Springs Baptist Church, there’s been plenty of blame and finger-pointing. There’s also been something else: People mocking those praying for the situation. This derisive attitude toward prayer is nothing new, but it may stir up doubts as to the effectiveness of prayer or the power of… Continue reading For Those Questioning the Effectiveness of Prayer after the Sutherland Springs Shooting
