A Christmas Carol Message: “Silent Night” The quintessential Christmas carol, “Silent Night,” has an interesting backstory. Written 200 years ago for a guitar accompaniment because the church organ required repair, the poignant lyrics and melody are still a...
Christmas Carol: “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” When I think of Christmas carols, I think of joy. Celebration. Cheer. But the Advent season (the four weeks leading to Christmas day) is often ushered in with a song that can be described as melancholy. Mournful....
Gratitude Prompts There’s a saying traveling the internet these days that goes something like this: “What if you woke up today with only the things you thanked God for yesterday?” (Was that as convicting for you as it was for me?) Thanksgiving Day is the...
Be the One, Not the Nine We’ve all heard the advice: Don’t buck the crowd. Go along to get along. Don’t rock the boat. When I’m with a group of people, often the last thing I want to do is buck the crowd. Teens are especially vulnerable to this feeling, but...
Where Do You Live? Where do you live? I don’t mean your street address, or your city, state, or country. Where do you live spiritually and emotionally when the storms of life break over you? Where is your hiding place when your stress level is off the charts?...
Is It the End of the World? The 2024 presidential election is finally over and while many are celebrating, others are convinced the end of the civilized world as we know it has arrived. Can both polarized opinions be correct? The “end of the world” seems to be...
Is it Easier to Give or Receive Love? A conversation with a friend sparked this question. In her daily quiet time a few years ago, she had asked God to show her how to give absolute love. Aware of the many ways the Lord has lavished His love on her, she wanted...
Four Things to Do While Waiting Are you in God’s waiting room? Have you been praying for something, waiting for an answer, hoping your circumstances will change? I confess, waiting is not my favorite activity. And right now, I’m in a season of waiting. During...
Please Don’t Say That! Last week another hurricane hit Florida. Yet another powerful storm, this one bringing the added danger of record-breaking tornadoes. We endured Category 1 winds in my hometown, but not the Category 4 and 5 originally forecast. Worse than...
Storms of Life, Trust, and God’s Sovereignty Hurricane Helene roared up the west coast of Florida and left devastation in her wake across several states. Two weeks later, Hurricane Milton blew up in the Gulf, sliced through Florida, and left more devastation...
Fight Spiritual Battles by Standing When we think about physical battles, we often think of two opposing...
Can We Really Control Our Thoughts? The brief thought leaves as quickly as it came. By the time I realize what...
Does the World Know What We Are Against or For? The Christian community has taken a stand on the issue of...