I truly love how the Bible is the living, breathing Word of God. When I hear comments that it’s an ancient book that has no bearing on our lives today, I’m stunned. Those who can make such claims surely haven’t delved into the rich history, divine guidance and timeless lessons that can be gleaned each time its tissue-thin pages are …
Although many of my friends find it hard to believe, I’m an introvert by nature. I think most people don’t understand what constitutes introversion and extroversion. It’s not that an introvert sits huddled in a corner, unable to socialize and an extrovert is a party-hardy type. Rather, an introvert regains his/her energy by being alone while an extrovert is energized …
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds…” James 1:2. I love the book of James, although I will admit the above verse has confounded me in the past. Joy when facing a trial? Is that even possible? I believe it is, when we have the right perspective—and it isn’t ours. Less than two weeks …
Last year, my husband and I did a couples’ study of Romans 12 with Chip Ingram. In one of the DVD’s he told a story of a little girl who vacationed with her family at the beach. Around her neck, she wore cheap, plastic beads, which she treasured. There was an old fisherman who noticed her love for these beads. …
It was on Sunday, during the first session of a Bible study my husband facilitates on marriage, that it struck me—I am a nitpicker. The book we’re studying is Sacred Marriage by Gary Thomas. His premise is that God created marriage to make us holy more than to make us happy. Nitpicking is definitely not an attribute of holiness. And, …
Most people who know me see me as a disciplined person. I spend time in the Word each morning, work out every day, and aside from the occasional chocolate indulgence, eat healthy. I’m not making this claim to toot my own horn—believe me, some of these practices come from psychologically unhealthy motives. But I want to set the stage, so …
A couple weeks ago, I started Priscilla Shirer’s Gideon study with my ladies’ Bible study group. Although this character has only three short chapters in the book of Judges, he has so much to teach me! And Priscilla Shirer is a whiz at pointing out the commonalities between this meek, insecure Israelite and those of us walking the earth today. …
For a lot of us, sitting is an occupational hazard–and I do mean hazard. More and more research is coming out about the health risks of sitting for extended periods of time. When I was raising my kids, this wasn’t an issue. When I worked at my own housecleaning business, this wasn’t an issue. When I taught school… You get the point. …
I’m going to admit it straight up—if you’re a fan of Sarah Young’s devotional Jesus Calling this post may not be well received. My sweet aunt gave me a copy of this book more than two years ago, and until recently, I read it daily. There were times when some of the wording Mrs. Young used made me slightly uneasy, …
I’ve never been one to make New Year’s resolutions–why wait until January 1st if changes need to be made? But I see the value in reassessing the past year and making goals for the upcoming one. Although, now that I think about it, I didn’t even do that until I married Chris. He’s a list guy. You know the type. Even …
