• Heartprints

    The Spiritual Battle

    My heart is stirred by the spiritual battle raging around us all the time.  Oh, that God would open the eyes of His children to see what He sees. I would that our ears might hear the clashing of swords and the clink of the armor that fills the spiritual realm. Praying believers are warriors who shield one another from the fiery darts of the enemy whose desire is to oppress God’s children. Prayer warriors wage war against the enemy who grips tightly the unbelieving souls of those in spiritual darkness. 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 makes it clear that there is a spiritual battle. “For though we live as human beings,…

  • Engage

    2018: The Year of Open Doors

    As we approach the mid-point of the year, most New Year’s resolutions are a faint and distant memory. High hopes for 2018 smacked into overloaded schedules and the realities of our daily To Do’s. Many of us are slogging into summer, yet we still muster hope for new opportunities and renewed purpose. What if the remainder of this year could become a doorway to new opportunities for each one of us? What if 2018 could still become “The Year of Open Doors” for you? The idea of a year possessing special meaning is nothing new. In Chinese culture, each year is themed on one of twelve zodiac animals, and many…

  • Engage

    Good Summer Reads

    A good friend emailed me commenting on how much she is looking forward to the summer break. I do want to slow down this summer and catch my breath.  Maybe even read a little in some of the books I have under my bed! Oh, how delicious – having a space of time to read; to let your soul recover from living in the fast lane and slow down to the speed of life. I, like my friend, am the stacker reader type. Books are stacked on most visible surfaces in my home.  While I have more books waiting to be read on shelves that shout – no more room…

  • A girl taking a selfieDescription generated with very high confidence
    Heartprints

    Praying for Heroines

      Do you have any special women or girls in your life that have made a difference? Let’s take a moment to focus on our heroines.  Time to give them some prayer support. When I was growing up many women were housewives, stay at home moms. They were somehow lesser than the working women by our cultural standards. There was even a popular song with lyrics like these, “Oh, such are the dreams of the everyday housewife you see everywhere any time of the day; an everyday housewife who gave up the good life for me” The song begins with her looking in the mirror and seeing that time has…

  • Heartprints

    In the Shadow of Christmas is a Cross

      Christmas, for many, is colored with twinkling lights, the sound of singing, bright colored packages topped with elegant bows, cookies, candy, parties and laughter. But for others, Christmas is colored with the stark reality of roaring fires that ravage neighborhoods, hospital rooms, funeral homes, broken relationships, drunken relatives, and memories of those whose faces are missing from thier lives. As we teach our children about Jesus, God’s greatest gift to the world, we must not forget to teach them that the manger was shadowed by a cross. The Messiah in the manger was destined to be a man of sorrows acquainted with all our grief, bearing all our sin…

  • Heartprints

    How to Have Your Own Advent Wreath

    Christmas will be here before we know it. It’s time to start gathering the things you need to help your family or classroom really get the most out of the season. The Advent wreath is a part of many church services but it originally started in homes. The Advent wreath is a really great way to help our families focus on Christ throughout the season. There are many different versions on line. I want to share what I found out about how to put together an Advent wreath with you. It all begins with a wreath. Insert four candles in a circle with one in the middle. Traditionally three of…

  • Engage

    Giving Thanks for Everything

    Today, some of us will gather around festive tables, eating our fill of roasted turkey, whipped potatoes, and pumpkin pie. It’s Thanksgiving in the United States, and so we pause today to celebrate —to give thanks—for a year filled with beautiful and hard things. But it isn’t as easy as it sounds. Perhaps there’s a chair at our table sitting empty this year. There’s a longing within us that a smile can’t dull. Maybe there’s financial stress that the holidays only highlight. A festive tablescape and full stomach may make us feel good for a moment, but they cannot fix the hurts and heartaches that we often carry with us…

  • Engage

    A Prayer of Thanksgiving

                        Lord today we stop to come before you—to remember the reason why we give thanks. We live in such fragile times and if we are not careful this day will pass us by. The jingling of bells, the sparkle of lights, and the Black Friday sales already have captured our attention. Lord, keep our eyes only on you. May we get rid of any distractions today that will eclipse the glory of thankful worship.   Lord help us as we prepare to serve our family, friends, and guests. We ask you to get our hearts ready to serve wholeheartedly, unconditionally,…

  • Impact

    What A Friend We Have in Jesus!

    In a recent blogpost titled, “Jesus will never unfriend you,” Pastor Patrick Thurmer explores the theme of the Son being the “friend of sinners” (see Matt 11:19; Luke 7:34). As the author notes, based on 1 Timothy 1:15, Jesus left the glories of heaven to offer Himself on the Cross as an atoning sacrifice. His intent was to make salvation freely available to eternally condemned “sinners.”   Pastor Thurmer draws attention to Facebook, where individuals one barely knows can either be “friended” or “unfriended” with the click of an on-screen button. In sharp contrast to this languid and watered-down notion of “friendship” popularized on social media, Jesus’ commitment to redeem…

  • Engage

    “Don’t You Care?”

    The refugees were fatigued and distressed. Now trapped, they could not escape. Impassible mountains surrounded them on one side and impenetrable forts on the other. In front stretched the Red Sea, preventing their advance. Closely behind marched the enemy, preventing their retreat. There stood millions of Israelites in shock, unable to understand why God had paraded them like royalty out of Egypt and now guided them straight into a watery grave. Fear drowned their souls in despair. Many cried out to God, “Don’t you care that we are dying?” The disciples were fatigued and distressed. Now trapped, they could not escape. Towering mountains surrounded them to the east and hills to…