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The Importance of Pronouns
Recently, I discovered an important lesson in the book of Lamentations from my Bible Study Fellowship (BSF) questions. Upon observing the pronouns used in the different chapters of Lamentations, some things became clear in chapter 3 that impacts my life and how I live. Most scholars consider Jeremiah to be the author of Lamentations. So, in Lamentations 3:1-20, the pronouns “I” and “me” refer to Jeremiah. These particular pronouns occur 30 times in the first 20 verses of chapter 3. Furthermore, “my” occurs 18 times in these verses. The references to God in verses 3:1-20 focus on retelling the devastation Jeremiah has experienced from God’s hand. In summary, in the…
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Trusting God on the Other Side of Bizarre
In my last blog post, “Trusting God in the Bizarre,” I shared how a diagnosis of tongue cancer had blown up my world and how I was wrestling with my fear—again—of pain and suffering. It has now been 11 weeks since a surgeon removed a third of my tongue. I am still healing, both my tongue and my neck, from which he removed 20 lymph nodes—which were cancer free. I still thank the Lord for that graciousness. My speech is no longer impaired although it is affected. I sound like I have a cough drop in my mouth when I talk, and the “s” sound is still a challenge. Let…
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Guided By an Unseen Hand
It was a year to remember—but not for the reasons I hoped. Just two weeks after finding out we were expecting our third child, my husband came home with news we always feared. He’d be moving on from the coaching job where he’d served for thirteen years. Our family would be moving on from the community where we’d raised our children. We walked forward into an unseen, unknown, and unexpected future. Where would our soon-to-be kindergartener go to school? Where would we live? How would we make ends meet? The uncertainty continued for months. My husband jumped on a seemingly endless carousel of job interviews before ending up at a…
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The Story of 12 Years
We all face times of pain, uncertainty, and despair. And Jesus shepherds His daughters through the dark valleys, step by step. Here’s the story of two female lives running parallel for 12 long years: one growing in family, love, laughter, joy, and hope for the future. The other declining in sickness, isolation, financial ruin, fear, and hopelessness. Both experience spiritual healing, renewed life, and eternal hope through faith.
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Ministry to the Broken-Hearted
There is no opportunity for ministry as powerful and as necessary as ministering to the broken hearted. As Christian leaders, we know this is part of the calling we have in caring for the people with whom God has entrusted us. Yet this kind of ministry may come with considerable personal sacrifice. To weep with those who are mourning and comfort those who are afflicted over a period of time can be spiritually and emotionally exhausting. Frequently those who are the comforters need comforting themselves! Watching the suffering of those we love is not an easy road. Yet I am convinced this is by far one of the most vital…
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Quiet Presence: Comfort Those Who Hurt
Two friends call with heartbreaking news—news that will change their lives. And as a “word” person, I’m profoundly aware of how inadequate words are at such times. In fact, offering comfort can be as much about what we don’t say as what we do. An obstetrician friend told me that during his first year of medical practice, he sat with his first couple to lose a baby—this one died at twenty-three weeks. Feeling at a loss for words, he sat in silence and wept with them. When they thanked him later for saying just the right words, he wondered aloud “What words? I didn’t say anything?” Then he realized…precisely. “The…
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Suffering Is Necessary in Order to See Glory
Beyond being a book of facts, people, events, and doctrine, the Bible is book that paints for us a very clear picture of the glory of suffering.
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Pain: God’s Just-Right Tool
I wrote this blog post on May 7, 2012. When I ran it again almost five years later, I added this introduction: Not quite five years ago, when I originally wrote this, I had no idea that by this point, I would hardly be walking, using a scooter 95% of the time and unable to move without a walker for the rest. Pain and serious weakness are my daily companions. As I noticed the counts on my most popular blog posts and discovered this one among the top, I am grateful that the wisdom God gave me five years ago is even more true today. And I am grateful that…
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Lessons from a Blue Cast
Two weeks ago, I had a close encounter with the sidewalk. I caught my foot on a stump and found myself on the ground bleeding and in pain. Some stitches and a cast later, my routine has changed: no more going non-stop grabbing breakfast and dashing off to work. I function at turtle pace. Preparing my lunch takes planning. My limitations teach me lessons I’d prefer not to learn, at least not THIS way. Here are three of them: 1. Being a member of the body of Christ means receiving as well as giving. The body of Christ and my larger community of friends amaze and humble me. My capable…
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Political Pressures Sharpen Your Focus
Listen to this blog as a similar podcast: Often, when I am studying the Old Testament books of history, I marvel at how similar to today are the challenging situations faced by the people and their responses to those challenges. Although the types of challenges may be different, human nature hasn’t changed one bit. And, the choice in every situation back then or today is this: On whom will you rely? Will you rely on God and obey Him regardless of what the culture says? Or, will you rely on your own reasoning and side with the world? One very good example from the Old Testament is found in 2…
