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“Silence is the perfectest herald of joy: I were but little happy, if I could say how much.” -William Shakespeare Much Ado About Nothing Words have been hard for me lately. Silence is easier. I wasn’t so full of joy I could not share like Claudio in the above quote. The big emotions – all of…
“There is another leak,” my husband looked up to the ceiling and back down to the floor near his feet. A drop of water ran down our yellow walls. He raced to turn the water off at the meter. I crutched after him and helped him dig through mulch and mud to find the shut-off…
It doesn’t make sense. At least not this side of heaven. Cancer stealing years from folks who live and love well while rapists continue their lust for power and flesh. Infertility leaving wombs and arms empty while others abandon and abuse their children. Addiction powerfully pulling its prey away from work, family, friends. A momentary…
For far too long I have allowed my inner editor to silence my writing. “I have nothing to say,” I would tell myself. Besides if you can’t keep your house clean, what right do you have to write words? My inner diatribe would chide. So I’ve been silenced under the pressure of the mundane… …under the…
Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is stupid. Proverbs 12:1 Yes the Bible uses the “s” word as my kids say. (And I’m happy that is what they think the “s” word is for now.) Hates reproof…That bowing up I get when someone tells me I mis-spelled a word on my blog or that…
“Come, let us return to the Lord. He has torn us to pieces but he will heal us; he has injured us but he will bind up our wounds. After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will restore us, that we may live in his presence. Let us acknowledge the…
“Alright Ms Angela,” my instructor encouraged as he held out a red paddle shaped target. Last one is my best one, my mind whirled as I put my right foot forward prepared to kick. I twisted my torso and legs to my left, then lifted my left leg up to kick the target. The next thing I knew sharp pain…
“When? When will I stop having to fight this battle? I thought I already won,” her words dripped frustration, fatigue, maybe shame. We all have battles in different forms, but they wage war against our hearts and souls. I used to think that battles were either won or lost – a monument to success or…
“What do you think? A man had two sons. And he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ And he answered, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he changed his mind and went. And he went to the other son and said the same. And he answered, ‘I go, sir,’ but…
“No, sir! If you want to be cured of your sin, do not back away from God but run to him with more confidence than ever, entreating him as if you had suddenly been struck with a physical malady.” – Martin Luther Lent is a time to find joy in the midst of dark desert…
Sometimes I just can’t find the beat in life. I wake up morning after morning and the rhythm of life does not match the rhythm of my heart. And I know I am the one who is off-beat – not the good kind of off-beat. The kind when I am left looking around trying desperately…
“…a stiff-necked people.” Over and over again as God deals with His chosen people – the Israelites – that is what He calls them. And as God chastises the Israelites those words echo in my heart and mind. I.AM.STIFF-NECKED. I am stubborn, rebellious, and just plain ignorant. Still God calls me His precious child, righteous,…
You grow weary by the greatness of your way, but you did not say, ‘Despairing!’ You found the renewal of your strength, therefore you do not grow weak. Isaiah 57:10 The greatness of my way…The enormity of not only raising three kids, but teaching them…Hoping to instill a love for God and family and learning. While I stumble over…
I turned over and hit snooze on my alarm. I couldn’t keep my eyes open and nine minutes later the alarm woke me up again. So tired. And it rolls like ocean waves under the surface. I ride the waves in my dreams. I hold tight to God as I wake and I am tired….
God some days my sinful heart can’t see past my circumstances. There seems to be a hole in my heart. Disappointments tear, frustrations rip, emotions sear. Tension mounts and all I see is me. . . This stumbling fumbling woman who can’t get herself together. Desperately I flail at those around me. If only I…
[tube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcj5C6vDAlA[/tube]
Yesterday about 8:30 AM I read Psalm 34. I underlined the following verses: The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them. (verse 7) The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. (verse 18) The LORD redeems his servants; no one will…
I need a little dose perspective. Many days my rebellious and harried heart whispers lies. My heart whispers, “This will never change.” God says, “With Me all things are possible.” “It is useless,” my heart taunts. “No situation is wasted. My perfect plan will prevail.” “I can’t do anything right,” I shake my head. “You…
I have a natural revulsion to things I just don’t enjoy doing… Laundry, dishes, paying bills… Ugh. (Although I am grateful we have money to pay bills, food to dirty dishes, and clothes to get dirty.) This weekend I buckled down, paid bills, washed dishes, and did a little laundry (but it isn’t put away…
A pink faux wool coat lays discarded on the floor. {In 100-plus degree heat the question remains why was it removed from the closet at all?} A battalion of green plastic army men surround the pink coat as if it is their next conquest. Pillows from the couches lay helter-skelter while a trail of books…
I am praying for you. The you who is reading this blog post. You who are fighting the battles of this life… You who have lost a job, a loved one, your health. You who are dealing with uncertainty, becoming a care-giver, suffering loss. You who are battling the enemy of our souls as He…
My heart is tight. Frustration mounts. Things are not going how I think they should go. I feel overwhelmed. I am not focused on the thing God wants me to do, but on all the things that I am not doing. I doubt. I struggle. I wonder. I freak-out. I calculate what-ifs and borrow trouble…
William Wilberforce. He is one man I desperately want to look up when I get to heaven. Why? At age 26 Wilberforce met Jesus. He never got over his first love. He fought as a politician for those who had no voice. He argued for fair wages for the poor in England. He fought for…
It was stuck fast and it hurt. The tiny brown sliver was protruding from my daughter’s hand. Tears welled up in her eyes as she jerked her hand away. “Noooooo, Mooommmyyyy. Don’t touch it. It hurts!” she shrieked at me. Every time I attempted to hold her hand so I could look, she screamed before…
“I don’t want to,” I stamped my foot for emphasis and stormed into my bathroom. But storming and stamping did not change His mind. “It is just too hard and painful. I can’t do it. I won’t do it and You can’t make me,” I nearly stick out my tongue as I obstinately crinkle my…
“I can’t do it!” she shrieks and rushes on, “So I am not going to try any more!” Then she flees the room in tears. I had only asked her to find her shoes (which were in plain sight by the couch) and put them on. Not a monumental task for a five-year-old, but for…
Joplin, Alabama, Mississippi, Minnesota, tornadoes, floods…My heart breaks, my mind reels. Tornadoes touch down and damage and kill both in the West and East of my town. My mind wonders…Why not us God? Thankful it wasn’t us, but why did He allow the tornado to jump? Humbly I feel blessed and I hurt for those…
Welcome everyone. If you have come here from (in)courage I am so glad you found me! If you haven’t read my guest post at (in)courage click here to read it. Here is a special message from me to you! Now for the Give-Away opportunity…I am giving away a $50 Amazon Gift-Card. How do you enter?…
I am standing in what feels like the eye of a change-hurricane.The place where I am not making major changes, but many close to me are. People moving away, folks finding new jobs. They are changing around me and I stand in the eye not changing, but watching the havoc that these changes are wreaking….
We are at war. We, in the US, have troops fighting in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya. All day long our soldiers wear armor. Bulletproof vests and helmets. They carry weapons to mount offensives. They are tough. I wonder what would happen if everyday we followers of Christ would remember we are at war. What if…
Do you wonder on the Saturday after the cross, what Satan was thinking? Was he rejoicing over his conquest? Were he and his demons harassing the disciples and other followers of Jesus? Was he calling it his victory? Did he know yet exactly what Christ had done on the cross? The disciples, Christ’s followers, his…
The question hangs in the air. It asked by countless people across the world. “Why is Good Friday called good?” That question reverberates with me each year as Easter approaches. I wonder how I can celebrate a sham of a trial, an innocent man sentenced to die, a gruesome death, and all for me. But…
Just wanted to do a little housekeeping… 1. God is working on me lately. Mostly reminding me that if I don’t humble myself before Him, He can and will humble me. I would prefer to humble myself under His hand so He can raise me up (1 Peter 5:6), not to be humbled by Him….
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