Have you been blindsided by the unexpected? Read more to find out how God walks with you through it.
How God Walks With You Through the Unexpected
Category: Blog Posts
How to Navigate Suffering Like Jesus
Suffering isn’t easy. Whatever we are going through often seems to make it harder to have the right attitudes and do the right thing, doesn’t it?
If you are going through a time of trial and suffering, you’ll find a lot of wisdom in this guest post from my friend, Beth Steffaniak. Beth’s words have always been an encouragement to me, and today is no exception. In her post below, she shares a verse with us that can make all the difference in how we handle suffering. I was encouraged by this verse, just has Beth has been, and just as I feel you will be, too!
Click below to read Beth’s post and find 6 ways to navigate suffering like Jesus.
This One Simple Verse Will Help You Fight Your Fear!
Are you lacking confidence or feeling insecure? Are you stalled in taking that next step to go forward in something the Lord is leading you to do? Is fear getting the best of you?
You and me both. We’ve all been there – probably in many different situations throughout our lives. The fear is real, friends, and it takes many forms in our lives. Becuase of this, we’ve talked recently on the blog about finding confidence and overcoming insecurities.
Overcoming fear and being bold is hard, but it is something within our grasp because of the truth of God’s Word and the Holy Spirit within us.
Let’s take a look … (Click below to read the rest of this article!)
5 Action Steps to Carry You Through a Misunderstanding
Misunderstandings. We all have them at one time or another. We just can’t make it through life without facing hurt feelings, harsh words, and misunderstandings within a relationship. Sometimes we receive it; sometimes we dish it out. When these kinds of things happen, our relationship feels fragile. We may stand there stunned, wondering how in the world we could be in the middle of such a misunderstanding. Or we may feel convicted, knowing it was our fault when our own bad attitudes and words created the situation in which we find ourselves.
And at this point, we have a choice.
We can avoid the situation, hide our hurts, cover up the misunderstanding, and even deny our need to seek forgiveness. Or we can be seekers – seekers of His grace both for ourselves and for pouring out to the other person. We all know the right choice, but it’s the hardest one, isn’t it? How can we move forward and turn those hurts and misunderstandings into a deeper relationship?
We can find some amazing answers in Colossians 3:12. Friends, I have read this verse many times. I have prayed it for the past few weeks since this post. I know others of you have prayed these verses right along with me. But what I didn’t realize is what we were really praying when we claimed and prayed this verse over our relationships!
Click below to read more!
Memorial Day 2017
Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. (John 15:13, NKJV) To all men and women who have served our country, thank you for your service and all that you feely give. To those who have lost their lives defending our freedoms, we remember and honor you […]
Build A Better Prayer Life (By Avoiding This Perfectionism Pitfall)
For every house is built by someone, but He who built all things is God. (Hebrews 3:4, NKJV)
Prayer is a little like building a house. It takes a plan, a whole lot of time and effort, the right tools and a master builder.
Now if there’s anything a perfectionist likes, it’s a good plan, right? We like the tools, and we are willing to put in the time and effort. As a matter of fact, we are driven in many ways (and not all of them are healthy ways). We want to be efficient, and we focus on that end result, often at the expense of the process it takes to get there. These are all things we need to keep an eye on in our day to day life situations.
But we also have to watch out for these things in our prayer lives, because if we are not careful, we’ll focus so much on the plan that we’ll forget who the builder is.
Join me today as we talk more about prayer and a common perfectionism pitfall.
In the Letting Go
*Published at (in)courage, May 20, 2017
I looked out the kitchen window and noticed how big the little oak tree had grown. It suddenly towered over the house, as if it had always been stretching its arms up that high. It had grown tall, like my son. It was a gift in honor of his birth, and it had been growing for nearly 16 years.
The little oak had been played under and climbed in, its branches shading our children as their little legs pumped the swings on the wooden play set that was built for them by their dad and grandfather. Those swings were long gone now, and I couldn’t even find the two dips in the ground where their precious little feet had pushed the dirt high in the air as they giggled and played and swung to their hearts’ content.
I sighed as I wondered where all the time had gone. It seemed just a few days ago that my toddler son was riding up and down the porch on his scooter, the little plastic tires clunking away on the wooden floorboards. It sounded like a distant rumble of thunder as I listened from the kitchen.
His older sister’s quiet ways echoed to me from a past that seemed so recent. She had filled her days with drawing and reading and painting outside on the easel. The days of play dough and peanut butter sandwiches had turned into a rush of classwork, recitals, scout trips, and college applications in just the blink of an eye. My heart felt wistful and sad.
Life was moving me into a new season. Today the letting go was hard and seemed to grow bigger.
Happy Easter!
What Does Perfect Really Mean According to the Bible?
Have you ever wondered about that verse in the Bible that asks us to be perfect just like God is perfect? It’s Matthew 5:48 and it is often misunderstood. Join me today as we discuss the intent and meaning behind the word “perfect” in this verse.
Top 12 Things I’ve Learned this Winter
I love lists. Most of my lists are To-Do lists. But recently I was inspired to write a different kind of list. Join me as we discuss creating a list that will help us reflect on the past, pull out the important parts, and keep going on to the next thing.