How to Break Cycles and Gain Victory
I have a problem. Maybe you can relate? It's this: I don't do what I want to do and I do what I don't want to do. I'm quick to speak and slow to listen. Quick to judge and slow to show mercy. I make up excuses. I put requirements on the "thing" that needs doing...
The Gift that Waiting Brings to Your Heart
Waiting seems discouraging, depressing, and detrimental. I want an answer now, yesterday, and three minutes ago. I want the shortest line at the grocery store, the shortest drive from Point A to Point B, and the shortest wait time for an answer to my prayers....
How to Have a Holy Spirit Controlled Life
Imagine a wee little spring bubbling and gurgling, laughing and splashing life giving water on it's surroundings. We see beauty in the rock's hidden treasures that only wetness can bring. Our eyes caress the little mountain wildflowers and we wonder at that...
Perilous Freedom
What does freedom look like? When I think of freedom I think of jubilant dancing, arms lifted high, lots and lots of chocolate and comfy spaces with a great view. I don't think of deserts or cliffside trails or enemies. Freedom leads us into some...
5 Ways to Live in Forgiveness Towards Others
Can you imagine leading a people who constantly opposed you? Who constantly accused you of trying to harm them? Who longed for the benefits of the land of their bondage and who found freedom too burdensome? This was Moses' experience. But every time the...
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...