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Favorites of 2019
Praise God for 2019, and for all He has in store. I hope you’ll be blessed by some of my favorites from 2019. Maybe you’ll find a new favorite for 2020? Though we would ask Him “come in haste,” His patience is our saving grace! Favorite Books Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery The…
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Help When You’re Not in the Christmas Spirit
We were in a time of transition, and I’d been eagerly anticipating the reliable traditions, stillness, and cherished peace of Christmas Eve. Silly as it was, attending a noisy, atypical morning celebration we were invited to instead of a calm service made me feel sad. To add to my frustration of eager anticipation climaxing in…
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Just For Me
A group of us gathered in someone’s living room to work our way through the next session of a Bible study. We sat quietly as the video component ended, surprised by who spoke up in response first. “Sorry you all had to sit through that,” the quietest woman in the room grinned, “because that was…
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Because God Became Man…
Christmas is the season of celebrating the good news of Jesus: that God became a man to save us! That’s what the angel said: “Behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who…
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Packing for Heaven
Our packing routine is well established. We grab the green duffel bag, and lay out our clothes first. He rolls them up tightly while I wander the house grabbing other items, careful not to forget things like toothpaste. For health-related reasons and my picky eating and such, we talk through our plan A, our plan…
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The Greatest Search
“What are you looking for?” my husband sometimes says as I wander the house slowly with narrowed eyes. More often than not, I’m searching for my phone, or the ever-elusive glass of water I swear I just poured. If you could see inside my mind and heart, you’d often notice a similar posture of…
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Holding and Held
Thinking of Christ as our anchor, we often picture storms raging. Tossed about in the chaos, we think of clinging to Him. Our hands burn, grasping, struggling, to hold on. But picture this wonderful truth: as we’re holding, we’re also held. Our anchor is bound inseparably to our soul. Even when we let go, Christ…
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Are You Finished With That?
Years ago, a friend of mine shared something traumatic from her past. She ended her story with a question. “What do you think I should do with that?” she asked. Before I could answer, she rushed on to explain how someone else told her faith meant letting it go. Burying it. Leaving it alone. Forgetting…
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Condemnation vs. Conviction
“That’s the worst,” is the sort of thing we tend to say when someone tells us about the flu, or a car fluke, or the frustration of Netflix discontinuing a favorite show. The Apostle Paul had a different sort of view. “I am the worst,” he said, referencing his sinful self in 1 Timothy 1:15….
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What Does God’s Will Include?
One summer, I got food poisoning that set my body off-kilter for months. Crashing on the couch after just an hour of work made me feel useless in every way. Another time, I couldn’t find work. All I had was freelance writing, and all the projects wrapped at once. Day after day for a season,…