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How To Tell a Friend That Is Struggling With Fertility That You Are Pregnant
A friend recently told me about her experience struggling with fertility and the best way to tell a friend who is struggling with infertility that you love that you're pregnant. The information was so good that I felt it needed to be “out there” somewhere. Here's her opinion on the subject (in my words): Call, don't go in person. My friend preferred this because she wanted to have a quick conversation where she could be excited for you. Honestly, she would need time to grieve as well and she didn't want to do that in front of the expectant mom. A phone call allowed for it to be quick. A…
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Selfie-Inflicted Wounds
The selfie: that well-orchestrated, yet "accidental" picture of yourself as you just happened to be holding your camera up at the right angle to get a great shot of yourself and so you're posting it. Taken at the right angle it can apparently even make your eyes look bigger, your cheekbones more defined, and your overall appearance just awesome. For some, the number of likes and comments a selfie garners can mean everything. It's a quantifiable number on popularity. Back in the "olden days," you might wonder how many friends you had. Now you can know down to the exact number, including how often they interact with you, "like" you,…
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Dangling Off the Mountain
My son is hanging from his high chair. He's turned himself around, pushed himself towards the ground,. His hands are still holding onto the arm rests of the hair chair. His legs are dangling. He's a couple of inches from touching the ground. He looks up at me, fear in his eyes, and says, “Momma, Momma, help.” It's kind of a humorous picture. His fear of something I can see so clearly is not a problem at all. Then it hits me. This is what I must look like to God so much of the time. Doing something new, trying something out, unaware there's just a couple of…
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Does Sponsoring a Child Do Any Good?
Recently, I wrote about child sponsorship as one way to help end child trafficking. But, how do we know thought that child sponsorship makes any impact or does any good? Christianity Today answered this in their June 2013 cover story about a study done on Compassion International and it's impacts. It turns out that it actually does an amazing amount of good when you sponsor a child. Why? Because you bring them something greater than your $35 per month. You bring them hope. I can remember dreaming as a child what I'd want to be when I grew up. I'm sure most of us reading this can remember…
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Under His Wings
A professor of mine told a story that went something like this: There was a farmer whose barn burned down. Once the fire was out, he walked around the smoldering embers angry and worried about his livelihood now that he'd lost so much. He stomped around kicking at the ground. He kicked at a partially burned board. It made a satisfying crack as it went flying. He walked a bit further. Crack. Another bit of debris flew off. Crack. Crack. He kicked again and again, until he heard a thump as his foot kicked at something different.
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Don’t Throw That Away: Earth Conscious Christian
Jen Hatmaker, you have messed me up. I spend my days like I'm the recycling police now. I note when something could have been reduced. I kick myself when I come out of store with bags because I forgot to bring in some cloth ones. I've even carried groceries out in my arms with no bag at all just to avoid plastic. I look like a freak. Suddenly, my blasé fair attitude towards the earth has turned into a budding obsession with treating with care. I blame you and your book 7 (more info on book). Take for example, my recent trip to Chick-fil-A. Now, I have no problem going to Chick-fil-A. It may be fast food,…
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Second String Singles
There's a message we're sending out about singleness and marriage: Singleness is just second best. No one is really saying this out right, but we are saying it all the time in other ways. We're trying to set up our single friends. We pray for those who are single like they need healing from a disease. We look upon them with pity. Sometimes we even relegate them to lesser positions of leadership because they are single.
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Deep Heart Theology
In the Garden, God was pretty clear about His will. “Don’t eat,” he said. It didn’t take long for those first people to exert their own will instead. “Not Your will, but mine,” they said.
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My Just Desserts
Deserve: “to be worthy of” We are a people who deserve many things, or so we think. Thus, we are the center of the universe in so many ways. Most often, we think we should be the center of the place we most frequent in our own little universe—our home.
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Peace
The holidays are a mixed bag if you ask me. We’ve got the beauty of God’s gift of His son, next to the ugliness of fighting over the latest and coolest gift for your kid. There’s this amazing little family made up of a young faith-filled couple in awe of the God-child within travelling miles away and laying a baby in a manger, and there’s your own squabbling, stressed out family trying to get everyone together for one meal without a fight. You’ve got that first Christmas, then you’ve got this one. How do we pull it back a bit? My suggestion? Simple. Listen to this.
