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Making Summer Strategic
Making a successful transition is all about managing our emotions as well as our beliefs. How can we best use our summers to prepare them for transitions in the fall?
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God so loves
“What is God’s primary desire for you, Amy Leigh?” he asked. My inner fourth grader worked to fill in the blank without the help of a word bank. I stumbled through something about being loved in biblical community, to which he responded, “Sure, God desires that for you, of course.” Just as I started to mentally scribble an A+ over his pop quiz, my Spiritual Director added, “But, what God primarily desires for you is to give himself to you…to give his own love…in himself…to you.” Interesting. God’s primary desire and my primary instinct are at odds: For he so loved, he gave. For I so earned, I received.
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Loving and Giving
“For this is the way God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16
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Seeing As God Sees
As I’ve grieved over this time of civil unrest, God has reminded me of my constant prayer years ago. I’m not a naturally merciful person and I don’t have the gift of mercy, but God graciously burdened me to see people as he does instead of through the lens of my culture and human nature. As God is loving and merciful to all, I wanted to be also. I really hadn’t thought of this prayer for many years, but as I look back now in this time in history, I see that God has been answering it. The polarization in the United States calls us to see everyone as either…
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Confronting Change with Courage
“ I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In the world you have trouble and suffering, but take courage --I have conquered the world..” John 16:33 (NET)
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Praising God for Who He Is!
Many years ago, our daughter and I were driving on an icy road when I lost control of my minivan. It was spring break, so my daughter and I decided to go to a movie. The weather was a bit concerning, but living in Kansas everyone knows how to drive on the ice, right? The moment we walked out of the movie theater, I knew that the conditions had worsened and that we were in for a very long drive home. Growing up in the Midwest I was taught to drive slow on ice and to only tap the breaks lightly. We were about 10 minutes from home, and…
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Cancer Can’t Separate You from God’s Love
Today’s blog comes from Joan Floyd, a dear friend of mine who died of cancer 12 years ago this week. She was my mentor, my ministry shepherd, and my dear friend. Her impact on my life and on the lives of others around her is still being felt. The following words were written in a message she wrote for our Bible Study class covering Romans 8:31-39. Can anything ever separate us from God’s love? What if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? That’s the million-dollar question, isn’t it? Does it mean He no longer loves us if…
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The Greatest Lover
Even in the best of earthly relationships or the closest marriage, we don’t always feel loved. We long for a perfect love from one who knows us intimately and loves us sacrificially and unconditionally, but only God can give us perfect love. As we celebrate Valentine’s Day, it’s a great time to ponder a few of God's words of love. I hope you read them as a Valentine to you today. For this is the way God loved the world: he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16). In this is love: not that…
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The Greatest Gift: A Partridge in a Pear Tree
What’s your favorite Christmas carol? I can’t pick just one because many carols bear fond memories of my dad. Each year growing up, my family sang in church choirs and caroled through neighborhoods with a large group of singers. Today, I still sing along every chance I get (out of earshot from others, mind you). One of my all-time favorite classics is the “12 Days of Christmas” as sung by John Denver and the Muppets. Corny, maybe. But it always ignites a smile. And you can’t deny the endearing chutzpah of Miss Piggy. Christmas carol junkies like me: it's worth watching the video on YouTube. Recently, I found out…
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What God Says about You
Listen to this blog as a similar podcast: One of the top search phrases leading people to Bible.org is this question, “What does God say about me?” That could be a natural question for anyone to ask who does not already know the Bible’s teachings. But, a lot of times, that question is wrapped up in mega insecurity, even among Christians. Perhaps this question is constantly rolling over in your mind. Looking at stuff on the internet and reading through some devotionals and Bible studies, it’s obvious that there is a lot of shallow teaching out there that focuses constantly on our sinfulness (and, yes, every human is prone to…
