Grace flows through Tamar’s story. God includes Tamar, a Canaanite woman whose moral judgment appears deeply flawed, in the legal bloodline of…

After God killed Er and Onan, Judah feared giving his youngest son to Tamar. Instead of looking inward or recognizing God’s sovereignty over the deaths of his…

For years Tamar lived with the knowledge that Canaanite and Jewish law required Judah to care for her. When her mother-in-law died, Tamar concluded she had no hope…

Soap operas have nothing on Scripture and Tamar's story is no exception (Genesis 38). Through his father, Jacob, God promised Judah that the…

At the last minute, my friend couldn’t accompany me to the event where I was speaking but the two hours passed quickly as I drove and listened…

The pastor asked the elderly, childless widow, “What can I do for you?” Her simple response: “Don’t forget me.” I heard the same cry in…

This week Tamar joins us on our Journey to Christmas. Tamar’s story rivals any soap opera for drama and evokes emotional empathy for a sister who experiences…

What should we do while we are waiting for the Lord to “make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert?” Elisabeth Elliot, author, speaker and spiritual mother to…

“I was sitting behind you at the Thanksgiving Eve service and I am so glad I got to see how ornery your boys are! It gives me hope as I raise our sons!” I smiled weakly, remembering…

Throughout the Psalms, we read the lament, “How long, oh Lord, how long?” Many of you whisper or shout that question every day, numerous times a day. A prodigal child, an abusive husband, too many…

Our kids call Chuck’s mother, Situ, Lebanese for grandmother. Situ is with Jesus but laughter often fills the room when family gathers and we share Situ memories. Every Christmas, someone reminds…

Between now and Christmas, we are pulling back the curtains on the lives of five women: a wounded widow, a professional prostitute, an indomitable immigrant, a bathing beauty and a…

I was about fifteen years old when my very talented, artistic mother coached me to sing All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth for a holiday talent contest. Seconds before I was to perform, my…

So what is a “midwife of the Messiah”? The Apostle Paul challenged Pastor Titus to “teach the older women so that they could teach the younger women” how to walk by faith in their own…

To trust God in the midst of one major life-altering event can feel like leaping from stone to stone while crossing a swollen creek; to trust God in the midst of…

Tears began slipping out even as I left the doctor’s office. I let them flow fully once I was safely inside my car. Tears of sorrow for what I had not known was possible in the…

Is that really possible? To “give thanks in all circumstances”? As author Ann Voskamp asks, “How do I see grace, give thanks, find joy in this sin-stinking place…

Whenever our stories are shattered by crisis, a season of waiting will likely follow. Waiting can be irritating at a long pharmacy drive-thru line, but in the profound…

The tossing and turning of insomnia may insinuate itself along with crisis, leaving us longing for rest. My insomnia began when I was twelve and has never really given…

Ruth had no good reason to follow Naomi. When Naomi decided to return to Bethlehem from Moab, she released her two daughters-in-law, telling them she had no…