Tag: heart
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Hope Your Heart Needs Review
We’ve got a little dog with a lot of character. Every day, I’m reminded of his faithfulness when I get home and he’s happy to see me. I recognize his intelligence when he teaches himself new tricks. I know what he loves as he paws insistently, begging for laps and food and soft blankets to…
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Getting to Know the Holy Spirit
“The Holy Spirit isn’t an ‘it,’ but a person. You can say ‘He’.” I don’t remember who told me that, or when. But someone did, and it sparked a Bible-quisition when I was a new Christian. The more I read about the Holy Spirit in Scripture, the more excited I was about the reality that…
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Give Me My Due or Else…
During one of my experiences working in a school, I encountered a new disciplinary system. Operating under the philosophy that positive reinforcement would encourage students to do their due, the school offered students tickets. A small “store” was open during lunch so students could exchange their tickets for various goodies. Although possibly a good idea,…
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It’s Not Me, It’s You (And That’s Okay)
“It’s not me, it’s you….” The bad breakup line always seemed so unfair. It’s been my habit to live life assuming there’s always something I can do…some level of responsibility I have to take if I’m truly loving. But over the years, I’ve met the people-pleasers dilemma: some people aren’t pleasable. Living this truth has…
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Lord, Help My Countenance!
Sometimes all our favorite coping mechanisms fail us. Sometimes clearing our heads just makes the clutter in our hearts stand out more. Sometimes it’s not a matter of unbelief or challenging circumstances. Call it hormones. Label it mood. The fact is, sometimes despite what we believe, we just aren’t “feeling” it. While there are many…
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3 Ways to Get Truth from the Head to the Heart
You might have heard the famous quote: “The longest journey you will ever take is the 18 inches from your head to your heart.” 18 inches doesn’t seem that far. We can cover that distance in one swift step with our feet. Many of our pets are about that length, and we can run our…
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It’s (Not) Going to Get Better
I’m not a pessimist. In fact, I tend far too much toward optimism. However, I’ve learned that belligerent optimism isn’t helpful when equally stubborn hardship prevails. The reality is that we should expect suffering as a result of sin. Believers should expect the added difficulties of persecution and living apart from the pattern of the…
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Confession: I’m Not a Fan of Devotions
My love-hate relationship with devotions started in college. It was my first time immersed in a Christianese culture. I didn’t know much about Jesus, and I didn’t care about the Gospel. I just wanted to be a good person and prove myself worthy to the God I didn’t understand. In waltzed a dorm-mate one day,…
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Lie 3: Sin Defines You
(A series on lies sin tells us to tempt us and trick us. Join me in exposing sin’s lies to God’s Word in this 8 part series.) We more or less have a Sunday School answer memorized to counteract this lie: Christ defines who I am. But when it comes it to living it- predisposition…
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But I Feel…
I can’t seem to say the words without closing my eyes. “But I feel” …like there is no good option. Then, eyes opened too wide, I grope for words to justify the way I feel. I explain all of the reasons I’m stuck. As if I have to be convinced that my own conclusions are…