Exercise Your Faith Muscles Exercise and I have a tenuous relationship at best. I want to work out, but several discs in my lower back limit what I can do. Now I could say that since I can’t do most types of exercise, there’s no point in trying. I am what I am,...
“What If” or “Even If”? Why is it easier to focus on the negative? On every fear-inducing “what if”? Yes, the world can be a scary place . . . and it shows no sign of improving. Of course, it doesn’t help that my default reaction is to ask, What if things get...
Aging Gracefully Is it possible to age gracefully? What does that even mean? Facebook is great about reminding me of friends’ upcoming birthdays. And yesterday, one friend posted about her eldest daughter’s 17th birthday. Seventeen? I first met her when she was...
Trusting God for the Next Five Minutes In a world that seems to be spinning out of control, can God be trusted? And if you’re having trouble trusting Him for the next year, can you trust Him for the next five minutes? For years, I struggled with anxiety attacks...
Walking in the Light When It’s Dark Have you ever been in a situation where you were walking in a well-lit place and the lights went out? It might have been a power outage in your home. Or perhaps you were walking through a park and a dark thunderstorm suddenly...
Spiritual Heroes and Practical Obedience Have you heard the story about a man who escapes his boring life by fantasizing about being a hero? If you’re familiar with books and movies such as The Secret Life of Walter Mitty or Don Quixote, you know what I mean....
Spiritual Growth When God is Silent I don’t usually do well with long periods of silence . . . especially when God is the one who is silent. Many illustrations about spiritual growth come from the agricultural world. A seed is planted, and then it sprouts,...
Time Constraints . . . Or Not It has been almost two weeks and I’m finally adjusting to the time change after re-setting our clock forward for Daylight Savings Time. My dog, on the other hand, is still confused as to when she should be fed. Based on past...
Six Steps to Speaking the Truth in Love Ever been attacked by someone who wields truth like a club? I have. And ouch, did it ever hurt! Or maybe you recall the childhood rhyme, “Liar, liar, pants on fire.” Do you remember chanting that childhood accusation at...
The Order of Submission If ever a word could be identified as an emotional trigger, it’s submission. And if submission is mentioned in the context of marriage, then dive for cover because the trigger just became a grenade! Do the following words sound familiar?...
Test or Temptation? April showers bring May flowers . . . unless you’re a student. Students are not thinking...
When Bible Reading Becomes Discouraging Discouragement is real. And often the easiest time to become discouraged is...
How Much Storage Do We Need? It doesn’t matter how many garage sales I have, how many bags I donate, or how...