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Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?”
“From childhood,” he answered. “It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.”
“‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.”
Immediately…
One can’t miss the intricate handiwork of spiders, especially in the fall. I recently found myself mesmerized by them on my morning walk. I looked up high in the changing trees and tried to follow the lines and curves. I couldn’t imagine how such a small creature could pull off such a great task. The picture at the top of this post shows one that must have been at least one and a half feet in diameter. The spider’s work is beyond me!
My husband called to me from outside, “Get your shoes on and come out here!” I thought for sure yet another item on our property was to be found damaged. Lately, storms had washed up debris into our yard, torn up our gravel road, and blown work projects across our lawn. I sighed, rolled my eyes, begrudgingly put on my shoes, and hesitantly opened the door.
I was relieved to find that he was not excited over another problem, he was excited about God’s creation. He pointed at the grass and exclaimed, “Just…
Gardening is a form of suffering. Not for everyone who does it, but it is for me! My dad peruses seed catalogs like I used to peruse the Christmas toy catalogs as a child. I, on the other hand, feel a bit anxious at the sight of them in the mailbox. What will I plant? When will I plant? Where will I plant? Will I really follow through all summer long with the weeding that must be done? Those decisions are small in comparison to the long drawn out process of…
Do you remember the tragic, true story about John F. Kennedy, Jr. accidentally flying a plane into the Atlantic Ocean off of the coast of Massachusetts?
Kennedy and his beautiful wife and sister-in-law were killed because Kennedy failed to maintain control of the plane over water at night, which was a result of spatial disorientation and possibly other related factors.
I often think of this story when I’m tempted to live life by my feelings instead of biblical truth. In fact, I wrote a more in-depth post on the story and how it relates…
I’ve recently found myself in a place of being tempted to give up on an extremely difficult situation. At the same time, the Lord has impressed upon me through prayer, his word, and conversations with multiple people, that that is not the thing for me to do.
I knew that I needed to give up something in regards to this situation, though. If I wasn’t going to give up on the situation itself, I knew I had to let go of SOMEthing.
After a much-needed vacation, the letting go became clear. It wasn’t…
Does this passage resonate with you?
“Blessed be the Lord!
For he has heard the voice of my pleas for mercy.
The Lord is my strength and my shield;
in him my heart trusts, and I am helped;
my heart exults,
and with my song I give thanks to him.” -Psalm 28:6-7
Me too!
I can say that no matter how you answered that question, it resonates with me too.
You see, many times I cry out to Him and I sense…
Have you ever witnessed a great mediator at work? One of the best human mediators I’ve seen in action is my husband. He’s great at calming a storm in just about any kind of situation. Our family is blessed to have him as he can readily bring peace into intense situations brought on by offenses that happen (most often between brother and sister)!
When I’m the one offended, I’ve caught myself wanting to hold onto the offense, resisting the calm he intends to bring us to. It’s embarrassing to admit…
“You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.” -Isaiah 26:3-4
This is a call to be centered on the Lord in the midst of life’s hardness. When it’s hard, He is harder. I mean that in an encouraging way. He is a rock. A steady, unmoving place to place our feet. A rock that doesn’t cause us to stumble, but keeps us from stumbling. I want to…
It was 9:00. I had thirty minutes to run to the store. Thirty minutes to get the essentials. Thirty minutes before my man left for a trip into St. Louis. Thirty minutes before God would teach me something.
So my husband’s trip…it wasn’t just any trip. A trip to his first official meeting with potential supporters of a ministry he is starting up. My husband is passionate about discipling men and he has recently been appointed Area Director for Man in the Mirror in the St. Louis…
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