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The First Day of Lenten Season
Today marks the first day of the Lenten season—the beginning of the 40-day period (excluding Sundays) that ends with Easter Sunday. On this Ash Wednesday—across the country and around the world—Christians from various denominations will commemorate this “Day of Ashes” by fasting and praying. Others will participate in ceremonies that will involve ashes marked on their foreheads in the shape of the cross. For those of us who will participate in Ash Wednesday and Lent, we do so in anticipation of renewal and newness in our intimacy with God. We shift our focus towards spiritual reflection…
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Comfort For Those Harsh, Spiritual Cold Days
While most people find the holidays uplifting, I find them hard and distracting. Don’t get me wrong, I love Christmastime, and I enjoy all the festivities. However, after all is said and done, I find myself troubled, burdened and undone. I don’t get it, but this season in my life never fails. With these harsh, spiritual cold days, a profound loneliness soon follows. The battles with the self begin. Discouragement engulfs me and it latches on to me firmly. Yet, my desire for a deep relationship with God remains. Lord, are you still here with me? I read the devotion; I read your Word. I listened to…
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Forgiving Each Other
“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32 NIV) bold and italics mine I know resentment and forgiveness don’t mix. If anything, resentment leads to bitterness. And guess what? Bitterness loves to mess up our hearts. I don't know about you, but it does very strange things to me. God did not hardwire me to walk around carrying heavy grudges or unbearable burdens. Eventually, they will take a toll on my life. Others around me will suffer the consequences of my ungracious heart. What if forgiving feels like an impossibility? How can we know we’ve forgiven…
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Gratitude Challenge
Each year in October the social media community challenges itself to post, share and declare one gratitude per day for 40 days. From what I understand, the effort started eight years ago by Tisha Poncia, who blogs at On the Wings of Gratitude. Usually, I shrug away from social media challenges. However, the more I thought about this one, the more I realized, I needed to do this. Although I didn’t post it anywhere, I thought I’d share my first seven days with you. Day 1: Toilets. I’m thankful for toilets—indoor plumbing, I should say. The first five years of my life, we had an outhouse. Words…
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How to Have the Best Moments with Your Family During the Holidays
Sometimes the best moments in our lives happen to us out of the blue. We don’t plan them or seek them out. We go in without any expectations and we don’t try to force anything to happen. These special moments just show up—unexpectedly. So how can we have more of these moments with our families during the most stressful time of the year? I love the holidays. I find great joy in gathering around a table with my loved ones, reminiscing about God’s faithfulness throughout the year. I get excited about all the holiday season stuff, especially the food! I don’t like the drama that comes with it all.…
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Hidden With Christ in God
“Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God.” Colossians 3:2–3 (NLT), bold and italics mine Much of our esteem arises from various aspects of our lives—gender, heritage, possessions, accomplishments and how others perceive us. Yet, when we entered into a relationship with Christ, we “died to this life” and our “real life” began “hidden with Christ in God.” The phrase hidden with Christ in God means our life now rests safely locked away in Christ. He is our life now. We are in Christ and we have all the…
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Unanswered Prayers—When Your Desires Go Unmet
What happens to you when you pray and the many requests you have shared with God go unanswered? How do you approach God when your desires go unmet? How do you respond to God when nothing happens and you’ve prayed, prayed and prayed some more? I don’t know about you, but oftentimes I feel deflated and frustrated with God when my requests go answered. Hope turns to hopelessness. The confidence I once had— the great expectation I shared with God— morphs into a total disappointment and my faith hangs by a thread. Do I truly believe God is good when my prayer request go unanswered? Do I truly…
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Only Strong and Courageous
I cried when I hugged my daughter goodbye on the parking lot across the street from the dorm where she now lives. I didn’t care. I knew that moment would unleash the emotions I had bottled up all summer long. So I released it right there. Up to this point, I had watched my student take charge of her college checklist. I helped her unpack and I watched her settle into her new “home.” Honestly, it all felt so wrong but I knew in my heart God wanted this. So when I hugged her one last time, God said, “Let her go.” And I did…
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How to Glorify God at School (Part Two)
Last year—at about this time—I wrote about Anna starting junior high and how students can glorify God at school. You can read about it here. What about us as parents? What about those of us who anticipate challenges that will in no doubt bring trials, problems and difficult situations at school? Every year I meet with Anna’s new teachers to talk to them about LVAS, the FM system and the struggles my hard-of-hearing student will have in their class. No matter how much I try to prepare them, problems always arise. It never fails. For us, starting a new school year means dealing with apathetic attitudes, stares and questions. Each…
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Where is Your Faith?
He said to them, “Where is your faith?” And they were afraid, and they marveled, saying to one another, “Who then is this, that he commands even winds and water, and they obey him? Luke 8:25, (ESV), italics and bold mine. Ever lost your confidence in Christ—in His love, His power and promises—during a severe storm of life? Ever felt disoriented and you couldn’t figure out solutions? Instead you felt suffocated from the drowning waves of a bad storm that relentlessly came at you. We know crisis can come at any time. So we stay alert and watch carefully. Sometimes things seem pretty calm and then wham! You…
