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,...
Should We “Celebrate” Memorial Day? Celebrate. Sacrifice. Two words we don’t usually pair together. Still, two days on our calendar have been set aside to do just that. To celebrate sacrifice. Not with joy, but with solemnity, honor, and gratitude. Because...
God Knows Your Name Have you ever felt the urge to hide? Maybe you messed up so badly that you didn’t want anyone to know. Or you were so beaten down emotionally that you felt worthless. All you wanted was anonymity—to find a place where no one knew who you...
Greater Than Obstacles, Time, and Timing Nothing is impossible with God. Yes! All things are possible with God. Right on! Our awesome God does abundantly more than we could ever ask or imagine. Amen and say it again, Sister! But...
The Encouragement of an Encouraging Word Our Western civilization is becoming less and less civil by the day. Anger erupts over true slights as well as perceived ones. The art of civil discourse has all but died. And the lyrics to the familiar “Home on the...
Are You Feeling Pressured? Is anyone besides me a bit tired of hearing how pressure turns coal into diamonds? How we should welcome pressure because God uses it to refine us into “jewels”? Every time I hear this illustration, my first thought is that coal is...
In Jesus’ Name: More Than a Tagline! How often have you ended a prayer with “in Jesus’ name”? We say it so frequently, that it has almost become a tagline. But how did this practice begin? Several verses in the New Testament tell us to pray in Jesus’ name,...
How Did the Solar Eclipse Change You? The 2024 solar eclipse is now history. The special glasses sought in a frenzy prior to April 8 have been cast aside. Life is back to normal once again. So, has anything really changed? For some, the dance of the sun and...
The Parable of the Donuts Today’s blog post is a bit different from most of my posts. This parable has been around for a while, although the author is unknown. I cry every time I read it. It’s a little longer than usual, but I pray this will touch your heart...
Changing the Way We View Substitution With Easter fast approaching, I’ve been thinking a lot about substitution. And I suddenly realized that, for all my years of teaching, I’ve missed it. Maybe you have, too. All too often, we’ve allowed the world’s way of...
Four Things to Do While Waiting Are you in God’s waiting room? Have you been praying for something, waiting for...
Please Don’t Say That! Last week another hurricane hit Florida. Yet another powerful storm, this one bringing...
Storms of Life, Trust, and God’s Sovereignty Hurricane Helene roared up the west coast of Florida and left...