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Bite-Size Peace Devotions
Once upon a time in college, I was responsible for planning a chapel service. I racked my brain for weeks. Who should speak? What topic would serve best? How could I format it all to encourage worship? As I asked around campus, I realized what we all would appreciate most was time. Specifically, time with…
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For the Joy Set Before Him
Imagine you can have everything you’ve ever truly wanted. Deep, perfect relationships with everyone you love. Life with God, seeing Him face to face without any cause to doubt that you are fully known and fully loved. Freedom from fear, want, and pain. Access to every answer, every good opportunity, every wonderful place and experience….
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Do Not, For the Sake of…
What makes you lose your cool with or about someone? I have my own list. I’m sure you can think of a few personality traits, habits, or opinions that tempt you to anger and impatience. Sometimes, addressing those things that drive us up the wall requires confrontation. But sometimes, the things that bother us aren’t…
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What We Need Most When We Feel Left Out
“I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.” – John 15:15 Distress obvious on her face, my 7-year-old pal from the after-school club I volunteered at ran over….
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God Endures
I often read Hebrews 11 when I need a reminder that hard and perplexing circumstances can be endured by faith. It helps me to persist, seeking to honor God by faith when my sight feels dim. But. Recently it struck me that the “heroes of the faith” remembered in the passage weren’t the only ones…
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My Favorite Tree
Meet my favorite tree. If you look closely you’ll see that only half this tree’s trunk is present, and there’s no middle inside. Still, it bears leaves every year, and its branches stretch higher and higher. Against the odds, this deformed tree is strong because of its roots. Every time I see it, I am…
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2024 Good List
Keeping the tradition alive! Here are some good gifts I’ve been grateful for in 2024. -Matt’s persistent, consistent patience -Seeing the first two Abigail books in readers’ hands -Returning to favorite vacation spots -Discovering the joy of a well-producedaudiobook -Hosting friends from near and far -Hearing from readers and marveling at God’s kindness! -Sweetwater’s hot…
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Kids Need to Know Faith Is More Than “Being Good”
“Be good,” we say to little ones as the babysitter arrives. “Be good,” we say to school-age kids before they go over to a friend’s house. “Be good,” we say to teens before they drive off in their own car. This familiar phrase is one kids hear all throughout their childhood, and the meaning differs…
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3 Ways to Encourage a Child Who Leans Toward Legalism and Perfectionism
“Ready, set, let’s head out,” I told my Sunday School group. Everyone clamored into line eagerly except for one little girl. I urged her to join us. “But you didn’t say go,” she uttered dejectedly. It wasn’t the first time her precision overtook her participation. She was always the first to duck out of unstructured…
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Sometimes Growing is Shrinking
Someone told me recently that living within our God-given limits is good. A lot of someones have told me similar things, almost like I’m bad with limits… Ahem. God has been reinforcing the message, putting limits in place that I simply can’t control or push out of the way. I’m having to rethink some commitments,…