The Forgiveness Ripple Effect and How You Create One
I sat by the pond today. The sun shone on my head and the fountain twisted left and down in the wind, but continually sending droplets of water upward and downward. Thousands of them splashing down and ring after ring spreading outward to the shore. I sat,...
How to Forgive God When He Keeps Secrets
How do we reconcile our disappointments with unanswered prayer when the Psalms distinctly says that God does not disappoint us? What about the things we beg God for that appear to line up with His will, such as no one should perish, and a loved one dies without ever...
The Real Reason We Struggle to Extend Forgiveness
Control. We want it, we fight for it, and we don't like to give it up. At our core, we live our lives in response to what we can control and what we can't. We fuss and fume for our rights. What happens when they're violated? We feel unheard, unwanted, and...
The Three Miracles Forgiveness Brings To Your Heart
All too often I focus on the evidence of unforgiveness in my life rather than the forgiveness. I'm familiar with the indicators of unforgiveness because I know them well. I know the messy battle of wrestling with what I know to do and how I end up acting. I...
Why Forgiveness Helps Us Love Others
I've lived on an acreage for twenty plus years and we've probably had forty cherished farm cats over the years. At one point we had thirteen cats at the same time and we went through bags and bags of cat food to keep them fed. Seraphina was one of the...
How to Identify Unforgiveness in Your Life
I like to think I'm a forgiving person, that my thoughts and words are kind. But I find myself struggling to overlook the offense. It's as if the enjoyment of holding onto a grudge is more enticing than the glory God promises if I overlook an offense. Or I say...
How Grace is Your Antidote to Bitterness
I've worn bitterness like a security blanket. I've wrapped it tight around me and held it close under my chin. The fabric is worn and ragged with stuffing spilling out, but still I cling to it. Nothing can penetrate, and no one can see what's underneath. I've found...
What Comes After Grace Runs to You
We've had Good Friday and then a Saturday. Some call it sad, or silent, and for some it's just Saturday--that day of getting things done. But Sunday comes and with it the recognition and celebration of Jesus' resurrection. There's sunrise services, pancake...
How Sin and the Holy Week Collide
The memories play on repeat. The shame weighs heavy. How can it be? There is this grace that pours down like sweet rain. Will I dance in it or will I run from it? Will I see that it's running into grace that wipes shame away or will I let shame whisper it's lies to...
Power and Grace and Your Life on Display
How many times have you gotten up and within fifteen minutes wanted to crawl back to bed? Or you just wondered why you keep pushing forward and onward and ahead? Last week, I wondered "why" and my why's took me down dreary paths. I moped and questioned God and...
How the Performance Mentality Interferes with Grace
Have you heard the phrase, "What's the catch?" or "If something is too good to be true, then it probably is?" For example, commercials. If anything brings out the skeptic in me, it's commercials. Nothing is as it seems. But listen long enough and pretty soon, we've...
A Both/And Kind of Grace and Truth
I'm a both and kind of girl. It's both coffee and chocolate. It's both chocolate cake and chocolate frosting. I can't separate the two. I mean, I can, if I have to, but I'd prefer not. But those are the easy both/ands. Those are the ones that I can take and run with...