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…

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 personal lives. Each o…

If we were watching Mary’s newsfeed in this day and age, we would see there was an utter blackout in information from the time Jesus was twelve to thirty years of age.  Suddenly, as she activates her page, we are invited…

Have you ever lost one of your children? I am the mother of four boys and I have had this experience numerous times. One such time was at Disney World…

We are all-too-familiar with the scene in the above Scripture, as it has been a major piece of the Christmas story.  However, two words jump right off the page that are often missed in the familiarity of the content—“flee” and…

Yesterday, we got to peer into the life of an ordinary young girl who willingly submitted to an angel’s extraordinary request. Her response: “Be it done…

I have always been fascinated with Mary the mother of Jesus. Not only because she is a notable figure in the Christmas story, but rather because I believe she is one of the most misunderstood and underestimated women in the Scriptures…

I am so eager to introduce you to Andrea Maher, author of Slammed, Overcoming Tragedy in the Wave of Grief. I met Andrea after…

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…