What makes one person a prisoner of hope, while another is mired in hopelessness? My “one word” for 2017 is hope, so I’m especially attuned to this word this year. And the subject came up again during a recent lunch with a friend. She asked me how to become a...
Today is the 103rd anniversary of the first electric traffic system installed in Cleveland, Ohio in 1914. Four sets of red and green lights told drivers when to stop and go. The Cleveland Automobile Club praised the system, saying they expected that it was “destined...
The title of this post is probably not what you might expect from a Bible teacher. Bible study is important. No, it’s more than important, it’s critical. But studying the Bible for the purpose of quoting it or making memes or posters with Bible verses isn’t enough....
Is Christian your default status? To put it another way, do you identify as a “Christian” simply because other options such as Jewish, Muslim, or Buddhist don’t apply? There’s a significant difference between self-identifying as a Christian—even if you attend...
Do you remember hearing about the prayer of Jabez? When Bruce Wilkinson’s book, The Prayer of Jabez, was published 17 years ago, it took the Christian community by storm. Quickly propelled to the bestseller lists, it encouraged Christians to daily pray the prayer of...
I’m a broken person. I’m also someone who desires to live in a state of brokenness. Broken or brokenness? They may sound the same, but the difference in my life is huge. During a recent lunch with a friend, she mentioned a book she was reading on brokenness....
Ever feel as if God is trying to tell you something? I confess, I can be dense. But when I read or hear the same thing repeated in a short time, that’s usually an alert that God is trying to get my attention. This time, the subject is salvation. What is salvation?...
The last time I logged onto Facebook, several connections joyfully shared a wonderful discovery: a $75.00 Safeway coupon toward a minimum purchase of $80. Who wouldn’t be excited to find a coupon like that? Fraud. Hoax. False. Whatever you want to call it, it’s a...
I feel sorry for them. I’m talking about “pro-choice” supporters. The ones who say the baby in the womb is not a baby, it’s just a clump of cells. Then along comes science—the same discipline they often quote with abandon—and it proves them wrong. Again. Their latest...
She did it again. Last summer, I blogged about a friend whose prayer request resonated with me. She wanted to use her summer break to “Love Deeply, Care Openly, Share Boldly”—a request that became my own that summer, too. Her request this year also touched me. She...
Hot Buttons We all have them. Hot buttons. Sore spots, tender to even a verbal touch. When poked, these sore...
Six Steps to Speaking the Truth in Love Ever been attacked by someone who wields truth like a club? I have. And...
The Order of Submission If ever a word could be identified as an emotional trigger, it’s submission. And if...