Dance in the Rain
Welcome to My Journal
My life has often felt like a raging storm. A hurricane without an end. And yet God has given me joy in the midst of it. And through the raging storms and the intermittent drizzle, I’m learning to dance in the rain. (Figuratively, of course.)
When We Need The Comfort of Others
Suffering in another human being is a call to the rest of us to stand in community. It is not a question which demands an answer; it is a mystery which demands a presence.
The Blessing of Failure
My extraordinary failure stripped away everything I’d been clinging to. And in the destruction of those accomplishments that once defined me, God did a radical work.
Grace Always Heals Deeper
Most of us would prefer healing to grace. It’s tangible. Visible. A cause for celebration. What healing can grace offer us in comparison?
When the Detour Becomes the New Road
When my plans go awry, I always want to believe that I have taken a temporary detour. Maybe it’s a long one, but I hope I’ll soon be able to return to the way things used to be.
An Unlikely Word for 2016
My word for 2016 is challenging all of my thoughts and actions. Rather than something I think about occasionally, it must change my very fiber to become a reality in my life.
A Way in a Manger
The manger highlights the way God uses our deepest pain, our humiliation, the things we wish were different, to bring Him the greatest glory. God’s kingdom is upside down.
The Lens of Thanksgiving
The first thanksgiving was an act of faith. The Pilgrims’ thanks was not based on pleasant circumstances but rather believing that God should be thanked in prosperity and adversity.
What are you trusting in?
What are your idols? What do you turn to besides God to fulfill you? I turn to approval. And the more I want people’s approval, the less concerned I am with God’s approval…
When Your Prayer Requests Feel too Personal
We all have griefs that don’t wear black. Struggles that will not end up on the prayer chain. But we can share these griefs with a trusted few who can pray with us and point us to God.
When Everyone is Irritating You
I was mentally jotting down people who had been irritating me. It was everyone I knew. But then I picked up the Bible and was convicted of my own actions and attitudes.
Nothing is Beyond Redemption
I pull into the driveway, and I’m undone at seeing my camellia bush. This resurrected shrub has weathered many storms and has taught that God is always working, especially when I can’t see it.
When You Struggle to Believe that God Loves You
It’s hard to believe God loves us in the midst of relentless trials. And yet God does his deepest work in the fiercest storms.
The Gift of Sustaining Grace
No one complained about the parting of the Red Sea. Everyone loves delivering grace. But no one is satisfied with manna, God’s sustaining grace. Yet that is the grace that tethers us to God.
The Necessity of Lament
It’s okay to lament. It’s biblical. God wants us to pour out our hearts to him honestly, without pretense or platitudes, acknowledging both our joys and sorrows…so we can be comforted.
Is My Suffering Meaningless?
While it sounds cruel to say that God willed my infant son’s death, believing my son died against God’s will is far worse. I am thankful that God is in all my suffering and it all has purpose.
When the Pain Never Ends
George Matheson, Alexander Solzhenitsyn, and Joni Eareckson Tada have all shown me that trials, gifts wrapped in black, can be the greatest gifts God gives us.
Is God Really There?
I came to Christ after praying, “God, if you are real, please show me.” When we ask Him sincerely, He answers us in the most extraordinary ways…
When Disappointment Comes…
I received disappointing news the other day. My first reaction was self-pity and frustration, but then I was reminded that nothing will happen that is not for my good and God’s glory.
Job and the Prosperity Gospel
Job has taught me about the value of God and the dangers of the prosperity gospel. At the heart of the PG is our value. At the heart of Job, and all of Scripture, is God’s value.
Can Heaven Outweigh our Suffering
When I remember that God’s blood-bought promise for those who trust in the Gospel is that they will live happily ever after in heaven, my perspective changes.