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Restoration and Reliance
Physical pain is something I run from. I have a low tolerance for pain and often look for ways to quickly alleviate it. Whatever it takes! In Ephesians chapter 4, the Apostle Paul talks speaks of prophets, apostles, pastors, teachers and evangelists equipping the saints for the work of the ministry. The word equipping is often understood as teaching or instructing. In addition to this meaning, equipping means to restore or mend as if setting a broken bone back into place. That sounds hopeful yet painful! Sometimes restoration does not feel like things are being restored. Sometimes it feels like things are getting worse. Sometimes the things…
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Prayers Interrupted
On a recent date night, my husband and I had rich conversation. It is beautiful to even get a date night then even better when our love and intimacy grow because of rich conversation. Interestingly enough the rich conversation did not begin until the third hour of our date. We were tempted just to go home after a couple hours but we didn’t and it was worth it. Small talk and catching up was needed for a couple hours then we got into the good stuff. This isn’t the first time this has happened. Even as the hour of good stuff was happening we had at least 4-5…
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Performance Not Required
In the movie Chariots of Fire, Olympic runner Harold Abrahams says, “I will raise my eyes and look down that corridor; 4 feet wide, with 10 lonely seconds to justify my whole existence. But WILL I?” Abrahams justification of worth was based upon his performance. His worth was based on what he did and the titles he was given. He sought validation, approval and applause. If we are honest with ourselves, we do the same. We base our worth, and some of us even our existence upon performance, upon titles and achievements. Our hearts search for validation and we don’t even realize it. We base our sense…
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The Grace to Grieve
We all grieve. We all grieve but we do not necessarily do it well. We do not even give ourselves the freedom to grieve, feel sadness, loss, so how can we begin to grieve well if we are not even honest about it? Why do we not give ourselves permission to grieve? Many of us do not give ourselves the grace to grieve.
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A Way Out
God provided a way out for so many at the Boston bombings. We read the stories of those that walked by the bombs just moments before or after they exploded. Their lives were spared. Yet three did not get a way out.
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Let the Applause Die
“Two are better than one, because they can reap more benefit from their labor.” Ecclesiastes 4:9
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Fruitful in Affliction
Affliction. I don’t know about you, but I tend to want to either run from it or get rid of it. I do not like it, I do not want it and I do not pray for it. Flee or fight – that is what I do.
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Forward Encouragement
Often encouragement comes in the form of praise or a word of kindness. Someone says an encouraging word because they noticed something about you or something that you did. Maybe you performed your job incredibly well or have incredibly consistency. Maybe you did something extraordinary or maybe something ordinary.
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A Deeper Patience
Over the past year, my prayers for patience have exponentially increased. Losing a job with commensurate loss of family income, a new daughter, waiting for an answer as to where to use my gifts, a loss of community, waiting for provision and in desperate need of patience. The patience that God required this past year exceeds human ability.
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Internal Scoreboard
“When we start by being too impressed by the results of our work, we slowly come to the erroneous conviction that life is one large scoreboard where someone is listing the points to measure our worth. And before we are fully aware of it, we have sold our soul to the many grade-givers. That means we are not only in the world, but also of the world.
