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EnJOYing Election Season: Cultivating Joy in the Chaos

“Evangelicals for Harris” are all CHINOS — Christians In Name Only. God is not fooled. Neither should we be fooled. My Social Media feeds are full of vitriol…from both sides of the political divide. “How can any Christian vote for a convicted criminal, rapist, insurrectionist, etc.” And it grieves me. The Bible says that all…

Art and Beauty: How to Embrace Beauty to Change Culture

“I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn’t say any other way… things I had no words for.” ― Georgia O’Keeffe Sometimes we forget that God created beauty. At least we evangelicals who value utilitarianism above beauty and art do. We forget that God is the original artist. He paints on canvases…

A Reason to Go to Church: God’s Presence and Joy

“Silence is the perfectest herald of joy. I were but little happy if I could say how much.” Claudio, Much Ado About Nothing, Shakespeare God does something special when His people come together as a congregation. When we sing, take communion, baptize people, listen to the preaching of God’s Word, His presence comes to us in a special…

Joy and Presence

Just a note…I have missed sharing this space with you all. So through prayer and planning, my goal is to post here twice a month. I hope you are blessed. Where Joy is Found You [the LORD] reveal the path of life to me;in your presence is abundant joy;at your right hand are eternal pleasures. Psalm…

Obedience, Running, and Calling

“So don’t throw away your confidence, which has great reward. For you need endurance, so that after you have done God’s will, you may receive what was promised…But we are not those who draw back and are destroyed, but those who have faith and are saved.” Hebrews 10:35-36 and 39 CSB I’ve been silent for…

A Season of Silence: Experiencing God’s Peace

“Silence is the perfectest herald of joy: I were but little happy, if I could say how much.” -William Shakespeare Much Ado About Nothing Words have been hard for me lately. Silence is easier. I wasn’t so full of joy I could not share like Claudio in the above quote. The big emotions – all of…

What to Think: How to Boss Around Your Mind

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” Philippians 4:8 ESV God cares about what we think. In fact, He gives us a list of the types…

Mind Your Mind: Joining the Battle for Joy

This past weekend I had the privilege of leading two break-out sessions at Arkansas Baptist Women’s Inspire Conference. What a blessing it was to see about 900 women from all over Arkansas gather together to receive encouragement, correction, refreshment, and learn to fall more in love with Jesus. The session I led was called Changing…

The Hope that Does Not Disappoint

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces…

Sovereignty: Three Ways to Trust God When Failure Looms

Last week I watched Clemson trounce Alabama in the NCAA’s Football National Championship game. Clemson was up 31-16 at halftime and never looked back. After a botched fake field goal at the beginning of the third quarter Alabama’s loss seemed imminent. Failure, at least in that game, was coming. Still Alabama did not walk off…

Love and Obedience: Do We Really Love God?

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments…” John 14:15 ESV When madly in love a man will bend over backwards to do what pleases his woman. He will write poetry, buy flowers, and even watch NCAA basketball for a whole day even though basketball is not his thing (thanks honey!). In fact when…

The Responsibility of Knowing: Doing Good or Choosing Sin

“So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.” James 4:17 ESV Taking care of the less than, the widow, the orphan, the have-nots has always been part of the DNA of God’s people. Part of God’s moral law included not reaping the edges of their…

The Truth About Greed and How to Avoid It

“Greed hides itself from the victim. The money god’s modus operandi includes blindness to your own heart.” Timothy Keller, Counterfeit Gods (Dutton, 2009), p. 52 Greed: a selfish and excessive desire for more of something (as money) than is needed. A selfish and excessive desire for more of something than is needed… So when I selfishly want eat more…

Forgiven: How to Remember the Past without Condemnation

Know, therefore, that the Lord your God is not giving you this good land to possess because of your righteousness, for you are a stubborn people. Remember and do not forget how you provoked the Lord your God to wrath in the wilderness. From the day you came out of the land of Egypt until you came to this place, you…

Obedience: How to Flourish in Dry Places

When my circumstances seem dry and I feel brittle I always have an excuse for disobedience: I erupted at my husband (There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts Proverbs 12:18a ESV), but I hadn’t slept well the night before and I had a really bad headache. I snapped at my kids (Be angry…

Timing: Delayed Obedience and Grace

Have you ever felt a tug at your heart and were sure God wanted you to do something outside of your comfort zone? Maybe ask that visibly upset person at the grocery store if you could pray for her or ask your hairdresser to go to church with you. And maybe like me you decided…

Winning by Losing: Finding Purpose in God’s Upside-Down Kingdom

“He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.” Jim Elliot Competitive. You can call me that. I don’t like to lose. But winning in God’s kingdom is very different from winning on a basketball court. In God’s Kingdom: …the last will be first, and the first…

Taking Charge of Your Attitude: Finding Hope in the Messiness of Life

I don’t want to! My mind only spoke what my heart had been whispering to me all day. You are too tired. You need a break. You just feel off. You want to get back in bed. Why is life so hard? And I allowed my heart grumble all day long. No wonder making dinner seemed like…

How to Dig Deep for Joy When Life is Hard

You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. Psalm 16:11 ESV Nothing can shake God’s joy, no one can steal it, nothing can tarnish the fullness of God’s joy. So why do we feel joyless? Too often I convince myself that joy…

Grumbling or Gratitude

“25 was holding my player that’s why 14 got the open lay-up,” I grumbled as the referee ran past. I coach a team of third and fourth graders in the Upward program at my church. The referee was a 14-year-old volunteer, but that didn’t matter at the moment. My team was wronged! In retrospect my…

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Rethinking Challenges, Rethinking Christian Life, Rethinking Faith

Rethinking Christian Life, Rethinking Hard Times

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