While we are sheltering in a beautiful and quiet location, life with all of its challenges goes on, not just for us, but for those we love. Fear over…
Read More“Trust in God” is a platitude we offer to hurting people that can evoke hope or despair. If the person has a love affair with Jesus, then our reminder to trust God might help remind them of…
Read More“Grammy, who are you talking to?” Our little grandson, sitting in the back seat of the car while I drove to the store caught me. I talk to myself…
Read MoreThe word “steadfast”, interpreted “stayed” in the ESV version of Isaiah 26:3, is from a term that means “to lean, to rest, to support.” Someone who is steadfast is steady because she is leaning on something that is…
Read MoreOur world longs for peace, yet it alludes nations. Our hearts are restless and many people reveal how “peace-less” they are by their critical and…
Read MoreAllow the grief of David the father to capture your heart. This is the man who wrote Psalm 62, the Only Psalm, in response to this great betrayal and heartbreak…
Read MoreTradition tells us that David wrote Psalm 62 in the middle of devastating heartbreak. His son, Absalom, rebelled against his father, plotting to take his throne. When David turned to trusted friends for help, he learned…
Read MoreDavid understood the way the earth can shift unexpectedly, in ways he never imagined possible. David’s story helps encourage and enable us to walk a steady path in our own shifting worlds…
Read MoreSome people who love me questioned why I put myself through such an emotional ringer in order to write Treasures in Darkness. My theology compels me to lean into the pain in order to offer help and…
Read MoreMany times I had to force myself to stop crying so that I could keep writing, not just because of the memory of God’s sweet love but also as I stepped back into those early years of grief. I sometimes cried…
Read MoreSometimes all we can see is the crisis at hand. We pray for relief and often miss the treasures in the darkness God sends to help turn our hearts toward Him…
Read MoreJust when we thought it was safe to relax and revel in the birth of our little grandbabies, death knocked on our door. Late at night, Heidi called for us to come stay with their children while Greg and she rushed to the hospital…
Read MoreSome of the most tender and intimate moments Chuck and I have experienced happen when we are the most broken by life. Such times are opportunities to remove any pretense, tear off masks and…
Read MoreThe day I put my final manuscript for Treasures in Darkness in the mail, I reviewed the context of my life in which I wrote the book. I realized while the earth shifted beneath my feet, God held me steady through chaotic circumstances…
Read MoreI was 18-years-old and thought I was in love. My boyfriend was deployed to Germany and when he came home in December…
Read MoreThe first devotional in this series, A Steadfast Woman in a Shifting World, was introduced with the following words…
Read MoreI recently summarized on social media some of the choices I had to make to move forward in the aftermath of the earth shifting beneath my feet. As we end our time together in this Daily Treasure devotional, I’d like to share that post with you now as a means of grace…
Read MoreThe grace of God’s restoration and the wonder of God’s precise timing still boggles my mind. I hope it boggles your mind too. I hope it gives you hope and courage to hold on through your trauma and its aftermath…
Read MoreIn the midst of all these changes with men in my life, these gentle shifts that were gradually moving me away from my bitter response to trauma in my life, I came to know Jerry. He was a man I had met years before, a widower who had experienced his share of trauma in his own lif
Read MoreThat experience with my ex-fiancé started unraveling my complicated issues with men. Not long after my divorce, the second experience came as a result of a letter from my big brother—my only brother, with whom I had not shared a true relationship…
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