Heartcry of one who overcomes
“I so want to be a woman of grace in all this!” she cried, through deep, wrenching sobs. In that holy moment, I heard the heartcry of one who overcomes.
When your world has changed
God taught them not to be driven by panic. He showed them a completely different way. When our world has changed, their story from long ago can help us too.
The blessing of mourning
There is a time to mourn. And much fights against our doing it. But what short-circuits our grief also blocks us from Jesus’ promise of comfort and blessing.
Spiritual sundowner’s: When darkness overwhelms you
Darkness can increase disorientation. It can increase anxiety and depression. Can something similar be true spiritually? Can spiritual sundowner’s be a thing?
I will change your name
No longer wounded, outcast, lonely, afraid - your new name shall be Confidence, Joyfulness, Overcoming one, Faithfulness, Friend of God, One who seeks My face.
Fighting fear with fear
The Proverbs 31 woman shows us what other Scriptures teach us: When we fight fear of the future with the fear of the Lord, our God becomes to us a sanctuary.
Two globes in the Musee Hospice Comtesse, Lille, France, depict two worlds – the earth and the heavens.
Living in two worlds
Jesus died, rose and ascended so we can live in two worlds at the same time - the natural one we see physically, and the supernatural one we see by the Spirit.
Smiling just thinking about it
The Proverbs 31 woman could look to the future and smile. Realizing that, I wondered: Might turbulent times be key times to learn the laughter born of faith?
When waiting is writhing
What do you do when you feel angry, impotent and stuck, in a place where evil seems invincible and justice, impossible? Be still? Wait patiently? Psalm 37:7 may seem like a call to “just relax.” Instead it affirms and encourages struggle – struggle to resist taking matters into your own hands, struggle to cooperate with Christ to birth deliverance and life.
Light is breaking through
In the very act of seeing what is brown, murky and decidedly unsafe, there’s movement. There’s life. And the light is breaking through.
photo courtesy Ryan DeLaney
Waiting for hope
It feels wonderful to find yourself waiting in quiet hope and encouraging others to do the same. It feels dreadful to seek the God you thought you knew while hope continues to hide. It feels like a betrayal on God’s part, or a failure on yours, or both.
And the future starts now
Even in suffering, even in exile, may you find growing within you: A life energetic and blazing with holiness, conceived by God himself. Life healed and whole. Laughter and singing. Genuine faith proved genuine. Living hope. One-anothering love. A future that starts now.