can we be real? (how i lost my voice, and how i found it again)
Alright, folks—can we be real, here? Somewhere, along the line, things have gotten off track. I’ve been feeling it for a few months now, but haven’t been able to put my finger on it. At least not until I attended the Killer Tribes inaugural conference in Nashville a few weekends ago. And that was when I realized why this blog had started to feel like work, and why readership was becoming a bit flat. I had lost my voice. You would think, for someone who has built her whole writing career up until this point on finding my voice, I would have known better. And, to my credit, I was...
Read Moretransformative trust
(This post is dedicated with my deepest sympathy and hope to Nicolle Bompart of Eyes Wide Open International) If you know me well, or if you’ve spent any time at all on my couch, you’ve heard me mention, at least once, Hannah Hurnard’s spiritual allegory, Hind’s Feet on High Places. On my Top Five Books of All Time list, its impact on my life, and on many others who have read it, has been profound. (You can read more about my own experience with “Much Afraid” here.) Hind’s Feet on High Places tells the story of little Much Afraid, a crippled and disfigured young...
Read Moregarbage for riches: embracing grace
We’ve all felt it—that horrible sinking feeling in our center paired with the self-protective urge to run, to cover, to hide. When we’ve made a horrible mistake. When we’ve said something we shouldn’t have. When we’ve come up against our brokenness. When we’re faced with the consequences of our sin. We’ve all experienced SHAME. But we don’t all know its antidote. We try to fix it. We try to fix US. We try to cover up, to shape up, to give up. We redouble our efforts. And we rack up a hefty column of failures. ...
Read Moreyou tell me… what is grace?
What is GRACE? Unmerited divine assistance given humans for their regeneration or sanctification The freely given, unmerited favor and love of god. The influence or spirit of God operating in humans to regenerate or strengthen them. A virtue or excellence of divine origin. Also called state of grace; the condition of being in God’s favor or one of the elect. How would you define GRACE? How do you experience it in your own life? In what areas of your life do you find yourself wishing or longing for more...
Read Morewhat is the standard?
If we are seeking to be BETTER—to follow after God in our desire to be instruments for special purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work (2 Timothy 2:21), we must first know the target at which we are aiming. There is much to be found, particularly within the New Testament, about the behavior desirable of Christians. Here are but of few of the instructions given by Paul, alone (all from Ephesians 4): As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be...
Read Moreyou tell me: gifts from god
What is the best gift you have ever received from God, that did not FEEL to you like a gift at the TIME? When did you realize it was truly a gift?
Read Morea christmas blessing
A Christmas Blessing May the Christmas light glow in your window as you come home on a dark and stormy night. May the music of carols warm your discouraged souls and make you want to sing again. May the crib scene catch your eye and hold you in its fascination. May you realize that every gift is as special as you want to make it. May the Christmas tree draw you to its dazzling lights. May your love be even more dazzling and welcome everyone home. May Jesus and Mary and Joseph bless you and all yours and keep you patient and happy and joyous all the season long. May you remember as best...
Read Morechristmas eve: mary’s immanuel
Unto us a child is born (Isaiah 9:2-7) Sweat begins to form on her forehead, her breath coming faster and faster, her heart beating faster and faster, her pain coming faster and faster. Young and inexperienced, weary and frightened, alone and ill-prepared— she shudders as labor begins. …there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress… Hands strengthened from his trade now ache from her grip as she wrestles with her discomfort, wrestles with her apprehension, wrestles with her body. …you have increased their joy, they rejoice before you… Waves of pain overcome her— waves...
Read Moreyou tell me: which is harder, giving or receiving?
Which is harder for you: The giving of gifts? Or the receiving of them? Why? What does this tell you about yourself?
Read Moreyou tell me
I asked God for strength that I might achieve. I was made weak that I might learn humbly to obey. I asked for health that I might do greater things. I was given infirmity that I might do better things. I asked for riches that I might be happy. I was given poverty that I might be wise. I asked for power that I might have the praise of men. I was given weakness that I might feel the need of God. I asked for all things that I might enjoy life. I was given life that I might enjoy all things. I got nothing that I asked for, but everything I hoped for. Almost despite myself, my unspoken...
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