Doubts creep into my mind as quickly as weeds pop up in my flowerbeds.
I doubt my abilities, faith, feelings, God, and thoughts. Sometimes they are fleeting, but usually they result in anxiety.
All in Faith/Trust
Who Said It Would Be Easy?
When my husband and I surrendered to ministry, our lives became harder than ever before. Everything started breaking, including cars, furniture and appliances…big stuff on a very limited budget.
When My Plan Doesn’t Work Out
“What if I can’t have a baby? What do I do with the rest of my life? That’s my purpose in life!” That was my prayer at the altar that day. My husband and I were facing the heartache of infertility.
Only a few times can I say I heard, without a doubt, the inaudible voice of God speaking to my heart. This was one of those times.
What I Fear
What are your greatest fears? It’s not often I’ve feared for my life but several memories remind me I’ve had a few.
Traveling home from Belize with one of my 10 year old twins as we flew through a terrible storm was terrifying. I was not sure we would make it safely back to Houston.
Restore. Repair. Rebuild the Ruins.
The pages of Amos are filled with sorrow—this lament I take up concerning you: “Fallen is virgin Israel, never to rise again” (5:2). The visions the LORD gives his prophet are too great to bear.
Expert
Do you consider yourself an expert at something? Perhaps “expert” doesn’t fit well. How about skilled, professional, or you know without a shadow of doubt that you have authority in a particular area? Reflect on the trials you have experienced to become better; concentrate on the amount of time—months, years, decades—it took you to fully grasp and understand.
Barrel of Monkeys
Can anyone else relate to having a barrel of monkeys for a family? When I was a child, my grandma’s house would be considered our “barrel.” That was where everyone showed up after work, for family meals and holidays.
Minding our Tenses Well: Day 1
Where I live, it is an almost season. The days are almost summery, the flowers in the garden are almost blooming, it is almost time for neighborly visits on the porch and almost time to take a walk without grabbing a jacket on the way out.
Power From On High
Forty days had passed since the empty tomb. Jesus had told them more than once He’d have to leave them, and had done His best to prepare them for His ascension:
Believing is Seeing
Eight days later—so much to take in.
Jesus didn’t play hide-and-seek with His friends for long. The empty tomb alone was not the crux of the story. The truth of who He was and what He had accomplished lay in His appearing, alive. So He began to reveal Himself first to those closest to Him.
So Much More!
I love asking the Lord to direct me to books of the Bible He would like me to study. However, I was less than thrilled when He directed me to…Lamentations. Seriously? Who studies Lamentations? Well, YOU do if that is what the Lord says do.
Reframe
Have you ever had a conversation that helped you reframe a current circumstance? Recently my husband’s comments about a difficult situation provided me much-needed perspective.
So Little to Give
Have you ever taken on a project that felt impossible? You don’t know where to start. It feels overwhelming. There are too many steps in the process. Certain things have to happen that are out of your control in order to accomplish it
Fixable
My grandson’s stuffed toys bring him much pleasure. He talks to them. He sleeps with them. Rarely does he ever get in the car without one or two in tow.
Blind Trust
I enjoy the crazy ride of a roller coaster.
All the surprises of things that you cannot see ahead of you… twisting and turning… ups and downs.
But to ride them… it is a step of trust.
Angelic Protection
The thought of God charging angels to “keep watch over you” comforts me, especially since I mostly think of angels watching over children. When my young son fell out of a tree, his sister ran into the kitchen screaming for help. As I headed out the door, he passed me on his way in.
God as my Protector
My son-in-law built a charming playhouse for his girls. But to my surprise, he recently converted that same little house into a chicken coop! I now believe the chickens’ shenanigans have provided more entertainment than the girls’ playhouse adventures.
Voice in My Head
When our pastor started preaching from the book of Romans, we received stickers of a visual way to share Christ with others. I stuck mine in my Bible and promptly forgot about it. The day it fell out changed my life and eventually the life of someone else as well.
Running a Good Race: not in vain
Is cross-country skiing on your bucket list by chance? Then the perfect place for you is in Stowe Vermont at the Trapp Family Lodge—yes, the Sound of Music von Trapps settled in Stowe in 1942, having fled Austria in 1938.
Quizzical Times
A well-crafted phrase intrigues me. It also helps me think new thoughts. Here’s one from a new-to-me resource, The Love of God, a small book from the Oswald Chambers Library:
“Watch the circumstances of life. We get them fairly well mixed, and if we are getting fairly well more than enough of one kind, let us thank God for it. It is producing the particular grace God wants us to manifest.” *