At the beginning of my motherhood journey, I was very much tangled up in fear and the desire to be perfect. I believed with Michael’s Master of Divinity and my degree in early childhood education, we would be able to be strong enough parents…

I trained for my first half marathon in 2014. I completed short runs throughout the week, and on Saturday mornings I would meet our church’s women’s running group for long runs out on the bike trail. One particular morning, we were meeting earlier because of the anticipated heat...

I have done many things in seasons of rebellion, but my most plaguing, ongoing sin is my desire to be perfect all of the time. At times, I am a slave to perfectionism. I let the unrealistic expectations I have for myself and others tangle up the way I see the world…

After the death of my mother, I became deeply wound up in shame. Through my tangled-up desire to appear tough and strong, I became rebellious. I struggled with addiction that helped me temporarily escape my pain. This did not make me very popular with the Christian kids in my high school…

My mother was diagnosed with breast cancer when I was seven years old.  When I was fourteen years old, that same cancer metastasized to her liver, then her brain. This major life event, which some would call childhood trauma, has shaped

Everyone has a story. We are all living products of the moments we have experienced in our past; how we interacted with these moments mentally, emotionally, and spiritually, shapes the way we live in the present day. In order to better understand how we see ourselves…

I first met Rachel Craddock through her book, Slowly Unraveled, Changed from the Inside Out. While most of us might believe becoming unraveled is a bad thing, Rachel’s eventual responses to the hard places in her life give us hope that maybe the unraveling can be good.

This week as we have considered the treasures of the gospel, have you noticed that they don’t stand in isolation? Fellowship with God is impossible without forgiveness of our sins, forgiveness is out of our reach without Christ’s propitiation…

Anyone who knows me knows that I love jigsaw puzzles. Gradually discovering a whole picture made up of a multitude of smaller pieces is fascinating to me. This week we have been walking through the treasures of the gospel: fellowship with God and with one another…

Yesterday we explored the treasure of propitiation. We are forgiven of our sins because our sinless Savior substituted himself for us when he died on the cross, thereby turning away God’s wrath and causing him to look upon us with favor.

Yesterday we rejoiced in the treasure of forgiveness: a gift of God’s grace. By this grace, our sins are cleansed by the blood of Christ so that we may walk in God’s light. I know this to be true and can quote the verses that declare it…

Have you felt the discouragement described by Jeremiah? I sure have, and so did my Lisa. The remembrance of my own sins bows my soul down when I consider the countless ways I have failed to love God with my whole heart and my neighbor as myself…

Daily Treasure; what a fitting description of the gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. For the gospel is not only a treasure on the day when a believer’s heart is opened by grace to receive the gift of faith, nor is it merely a treasure awaiting a believer on the final day of their earthly pilgrimage, but…

For many of my younger years, I was not interested in theology. Instead, I was drawn to Bible studies on personal application. However, each time life took a sudden turn into a place of fear or loss, I began to better understand the critical need for sound theology as the grid through which I viewed life.

Recently at a concert with our son, lyrics appeared on a big screen in the front of the auditorium.  The words grabbed my attention: “Somebody went to the throne of Heaven; Somebody lifted my name; Bringing me into His Holy Presence; Saying what needed said”

I wanted our children to stay children as long as possible.  Being a mom with young children was a role I enjoyed. But childhood is the very time we must prepare our children for adulthood.  We spend time encouraging them with schoolwork.

As you evaluate the values you want your child to have as an adult, is being respectful and showing mercy to those who are elderly on your list?  Do they see you value the skills of older people? Much of life is reactive, but why not be proactive? Be intentional about teaching this character trait.

I may never be called to give my life for a friend physically, but I am called to put my friend’s needs before my own needs at times. We can make our family a laboratory for learning and developing lots of things.   A significant character trait is a skill for interpersonal relationships.

Laughter is a gift that leads me to a grateful heart, a joyful heart.  Often laughter helps me see the fun in life or the silliness in our human condition.  Fun is not just something we do, it is an attitude. We can enjoy it with friends, but it should start with our family, the people God has given us directly in our circle of influence.