My mom was silent in response to my frantic question of her: Momma, will it be there in the morning? Tears were running down my cheeks as I glanced at the flames greedily licking up the wood walls of our 73-year-old farmhouse. My nine-year-old brain was trying to shut out the undeniable fate of my beautiful canopy bed. My grandmother had recently bought my sister and me a matching bedroom … [Read more...] about How To Not Panic When God Seems Silent
4 Revealing Ways To Know If You Are Angry With God
The angry words, like missiles aimed for their intended target, were carelessly flying out of my mouth. Are you angry with me? In the fifteen minutes of conversation that had passed between us, it was the one question my husband asked that made me clamp my mouth shut abruptly. Instead of the sound of my destructive words spewing, there was now total silence. I didn't want to answer him. I … [Read more...] about 4 Revealing Ways To Know If You Are Angry With God
How To Acknowledge Your Grief First To Forgive Your Offender
Looking back, grief should have been obvious, but its face stayed hidden from me as I struggled to forgive my offender. I did not realize that the first step towards forgiveness was to grieve over what had happened. In fact, I didn't realize that I was grieving until I was months into the struggle. Why we often miss grief as the first step in forgiving others: Who willingly signs up … [Read more...] about How To Acknowledge Your Grief First To Forgive Your Offender
Three Signs You Are Bitter and How To Overcome Its Poison
I was drinking the poison of bitterness without realizing what I was doing. I remember the bright red gas can in my grandfather’s garage that had a small skull and cross bones with the letters D A N G E R written in white towards the bottom of the aluminum container. Several adults had taken my hand and walked me over to the can, insisting that I look at the skull and cross … [Read more...] about Three Signs You Are Bitter and How To Overcome Its Poison
The (Almost) Perfect Crime
You and I have been the victims of the (almost) perfect crime. This morning I was reminded of this fact that we rarely realize as I drove one of my three teenagers to another town. Some of the best conversations happen unplanned while driving together. I am often surprised at what I can learn when we are inside those four doors on wheels with the road stretching out before … [Read more...] about The (Almost) Perfect Crime
How Our Deepest Ministry to Others Comes From Our Darkest Moments
Have you ever wondered what on earth God is doing in your life when all seems dark around you? In our darkest moments, we can lose hope and despair of Jesus even being aware of what we are going through. We may think that He could not possibly allow anything good to come out of the chaos, confusion, and sorrow in which we find ourselves. We have a few phrases we throw around (sometimes … [Read more...] about How Our Deepest Ministry to Others Comes From Our Darkest Moments