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You Have A Purpose
Psalm 139:13 You[God] knit me together in my mother’s womb. Knit- to join together, put together. I am as unique as a snowflake. My fingerprints are unique to only me. God has a plan for me! God gave me purpose! God has a purpose for your life- unique to you as well! Comprehending this statement is important because life without direction and purpose is futile. Please do not confuse busyness or achievement or success with purpose. Some people think…
Boundaries – Do Good Fences Make Good Neighbors?
Most of us have heard that phrase – good fences make good neighbors. But is that true? After all, aren’t we supposed to be breaking down barriers rather than putting them up? Don’t walls just keep people apart? Well, yes…and no. Let’s dive in, shall we? History time! If we could go back in time to the Old West and journey beyond the borders of the Ponderosa and past the OK Corral, we would find ourselves embroiled in an age-old…
Thin Yellow Lines
Do you remember the first time you saw The Wizard of Oz? The moment Dorothy opened the door to the brilliant Technicolor of a new and foreign land? The strangeness of the houses and the munchkins’ clothing and speech–and the “Lollipop Guild”? “Toto, I have a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.” I had an out-of-Kansas experience in my early twenties when I moved across the ocean to teach in a foreign land: China. There everything seemed unfamiliar. I looked…
More Meaningful Together
“Happy are those who mourn; God will comfort them!” – Matthew 5:4 GNT This verse from Jesus’ sermon on the mount sounds like an oxymoron. Right? Can the path to God’s comfort and joy really begin with mourning? Can joy and sorrow even co-exist? My experience has been that they cannot only co-exist, but they are more meaningful together. I was terrified the first few times I attended GriefShare and know how hard it can be to push through feelings…
I Can’t Cheer Them Up – When a Loved One Struggles With Depression
I lift my eyes to the hills – where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. Psalm 121:1-2 Watching a loved one struggle with depression is a frustrating, often exhausting battle. For many of us, our natural inclination is to try to “cheer up” someone who appears unhappy. For someone with depression, this is not always possible, and the effort involved can leave caregivers feeling exhausted, frustrated, and emotionally…
Unloved
Have you ever been in a Bible class when the teacher asked you to name a Bible character you admire? Maybe you wanted to be strong like Samson or a skilled warrior like Joshua. Maybe you wanted faith like Abraham or Mary or passion like Peter, even in his missteps. I’ll bet that you never thought, “I want to be like Leah.” A few years ago, someone sympathetically told me that’s who I reminded him of. Leah. Yep, the ugly…
“Roads in the Desert”
I don’t like asking for help. I have a couple of theories on this. The first is easier to digest: we Southerners are raised in such politeness that we are always willing to offer help and generally reluctant to accept it. There’s a charm, an old-fashioned chivalry in that belief. My second theory, though, is strikingly less noble: I am either too proud to ask for help or too fearful that I will ask too much–or worse, that I will…
Offended Christians
What’s the deal about Christians being offended? Let me start by saying we are all humans, which means we experience physical moments on our spiritual journey. So yes, we may be hurt by people. However, we should be distinguishable in how we deal with our “hurt” feelings. Christians are some of the most easily offended people in the world, when in reality we should be the least. If we are discerning, we ignore gossip, we address concerns directly with the…
Six Inspirational Quotes
Raising children can be draining. Besides praying scripture and reading books, I so appreciate quotes about parenting (and life in general) from wiser people, because they give me a quick battery recharge during my mundane tasks of running a family. I thought I would share a few of my favorite words of wisdom: 1. Good Kids “Don’t let yourself become so concerned with raising a good kid that you forget you already have one.” — Glennon Melton-Doyle, Momastery 2. Grounded…
Raising Culturally Aware Kids
According to research your child can see skin color and hair textures as early as 6 months old. By two, your child is putting words to what he recognizes and between 4 to 6 years old, he is assimilating likenesses. Anything that is unfamiliar or unlike him is yucky or funny looking. 7 to 10 year olds are beginning to refine their understanding of how we are different and alike all at the same time. I included these statistics to…
Celebrating Advent
Would you like your children to be a little more giving and a lot less focused on getting? Why not start a tradition of celebrating Advent. Advent is about the expectant coming of our Savior and the Joy of celebrating the Hope he brings to the world. Check out this video and try a few of the suggestions below for a change to the customary christmas celebrations. Display an Advent wreath with 3 purple and 1 pink candle. Progressively light…
Thanks Giving
It’s Thanks giving. When we say these words we usually put them together and it becomes synonymous with “I have eaten too much”. I hope that it also means family gatherings where you’re intentionally giving to others, and making lasting memories and family traditions. And I hope it means laughter- tons of laughter!!! This is my favorite time of the year. I love getting together with my siblings and extended family (from both sides of our family). I’m smiling now as I type,…