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Being a Mosaic: Beauty for Brokenness
I love mosaics – defined as “decorative designs made by setting small colored pieces, as of stone or tile, into a surface; or the process or art of making such pictures or designs.” As I began researching mosaics for a book I am writing, I discovered just how long they’ve been around. The ancient Sumerians first developed the technique of making mosaics around 3000 B.C.
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Dancing in the Minefields
Every time I turn on the radio lately, I hear Andrew Peterson’s song “Dancing in the Minefields.” It serves as a poignant reminder of how fragile, and yet how powerful, our marriages can be. When we’re standing at the altar with love filling our hearts and “diamonds” in our eyes like we see in the eyes of cartoon characters, we have no idea what we’re getting ourselves into.
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Success vs. Significance in Ministry and in Life
How do you define success in ministry and in life? How do you know if you are truly impacting and influencing people to become more like Jesus?
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The Power of Focus
Several years ago, my sister Colleen and I traveled to California to attend a missions conference at Fuller Seminary. We rented a convertible and drove along the gorgeous scenic route of Highway 1, all along the magnificent Cali coast from San Francisco to Pasadena.
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A Lesson in Hope from Haiti
Our eyes have been glued to the TV screen as the macabre images of devastation continue to flash in front of us. A day before the earthquake, my husband told me that he had read an account from a man from Haiti who said, "Our goal is to get our country out of misery and INTO poverty." When a nation is trying to raise its standard of living to reach the level of poverty, we know that it is hurting.
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Drop 100 Pounds in 2010… Break Free from the Weight of Shame
On the TV show HEROES the other day, I heard Hayden Panettiere’s character say, "Freedom is what you do with what’s been taken away from you." Intriguing point. But from a spiritual sense, freedom is what you do with the grace that has been GIVEN to you by God through the sacrifice of Christ.
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Seeking First the Kingdom of God
What does it really mean to seek first the kingdom of God? We tend to just sail over this command from the mouth of Jesus rather than really letting it sink in deeply. As I adjust to the schedule of being a new mom, a wife, a writer, and much more, sometimes my role as a daughter of the most high God gets pushed into the background. The urgent tasks of life tend to crowd out the really important ones. I wake up with the intent on spending time with the Lord FIRST, but something comes up, and that’s all she wrote!
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Balancing “Wifehood” and “Motherhood”
As a new mom, I sometimes find the "mom" part of me defining my days, while the "wife" part of me has to take a backseat at times. Thankfully, my mother-in-law, Maria, who is from Romania, is living with my husband and me for a while. She has helped us tremendously with caring for our new little boy, Evan Christian, who was born on July 6.
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The Joy-and the Agony-of Waiting on the Lord
A friend of mine told me recently, "God is rarely early, but HE’S NEVER LATE!" I thanked her for that remarkable reminder. The seasons of my life when I was waiting on the Lord to move and to work have been some of my darkest seasons… and, in hindsight, my brightest. There’s no doubt about it – waiting can be painful. It’s an art, a science, and a spiritual discipline. It’s a time when we feel like God is at the Potter’s wheel, crushing us, smoothing us out, and making something new out of us. But we don’t yet know what.
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The ALLS of Scripture
Women in ministry face quite a challenge, don’t we? We work, we study, we love, we sacrifice, and sometimes we pour out so much to others that we come to a point where God says this to us: "I have this against you, that you have left your first love" (Revelation 2:4). When that happens, I realize that I have to get down on my knees and get back to the basics. I have to forget about everything else and refocus on my love relationship with the King of the Universe.