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The Ongoing Struggle with Control (And How God Answered My Prayer)
I heard the sound of glass rattling in the kitchen. Peeking in, I saw my guy kindly unloading the dishwasher. My first response? To *almost* inform him he was doing it wrong. How does one unload a dishwasher incorrectly? By breaking everything? By dumping dirt on the plates? Placing everything in the cereal cupboard? Nope.…
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Who (Isn’t) My Neighbor?
Love. That’s the spirit of God’s law. Jesus made it clear, even saying that “loving others” is the second greatest command. When talking with Jesus about the command, an expert in the law asked “but who is my neighbor?”* The question- and Jesus’ answer of the parable of the good Samaritan- are often talked about…
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That You May
Though the preposition in the phrase changes, there is such certainty in God’s words: “that you may”. We encounter the phrase throughout Scripture. These 3 little words are pivotal in directing our feet on His path. Rebekah, in Genesis 27:10, tells Jacob to bring food to Isaac so “that he may” bless Jacob. In Deuteronomy 5:33, the…
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Questions about Loving Well
Paul’s greeting to the church at Philippi warmly displays his godly affection for the fellow believers he was so invested in. Each expression of love in the greeting teaches us something about what it means to build one another up in Christ. Let’s not gloss over this passage as a nicety. Will you take it…
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When Sin Trails Behind Us
The sins of some are obvious, reaching the place of judgment ahead of them; the sins of others trail behind them. –1 Timothy 5:24 Paul made this small but vivid remark at the end of a letter to his younger friend, Timothy. The wisdom has stuck in my mind. Sin on the Flashing Sign There…
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Will It Last?
Caught up in the moment. It’s an easy place to wind up, unaware we’ve veered off course. It’s the kind of host that refuses to let us leave on time. It’s a bit like the junk drawer we fill up with useless stuff while complaining about a lack of storage space. How often we find…
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Is This the Change You’re Looking For?
Having just traveled a few states to work in the summer heat, it was admirable how upbeat the youth were. Their mission trip involved hard work laboring to repair homes and make helpful upgrades. They spent a lot of time in one house rebuilding part of a damaged wall. Everything from measuring to cutting to…
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The Light of Summer
This past winter, we let our car pretend it was a sled as we moved from the east coast to the Midwest. Now, we live on the western edge of the Eastern Time zone. That didn’t mean all that much to me until summer sauntered in. The sun shines here until nearly 10 o’clock at…
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Exceeding Limits
“Well that’s enough of that,” I’d smile and say to the sweet toddler I was watching after he guzzled a glass of apple juice but reached for more. I say the same words to myself when I’ve gotten lost in a good book but need to get the dishes done. “Enough,” in my vocabulary, usually…
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Jesus Text
“buuuzzzz, buzzz.” “Who’s that?” I ask. It’s not my business. I don’t especially care. I’m just being nosy (usually because I’m bored.) My husband’s reply is often, “It’s Jesus.” I roll my eyes. He smirks. It’s our bit. But sometimes when we play that little game, I think about how nice it would be to…