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…

Throughout the year, our thirteen-year-old granddaughter, Eva, often says, “I love the fall most of all. The scents, the beautiful leaves, the weather, the way…

A friend showed me what walking by faith looks like when your heart is broken. Unless God gave me grace, I couldn't do what she did.

I try hard to be a mother-in-law our children enjoy having around.  I thought I had a pretty good handle on my role but a very godly, wise woman farther along in life's journey recently showed me the meaning of sacrificing self in respect of a deeper…

I found an old journal with this entry: Proverbs 15 – shares so much about words and the power of words for good or evil. Lord, change my heart so my words heal rather than crush; bring wisdom rather than foolishness; speak truth softly with the gentle kiss of a butterfly rather…

Every time my mind fights sleep and I start to get angry and frustrated, I remember a devotional I heard Elisabeth Elliot's daughter, Valerie Elliot Shepherd, give at a women's retreat. We were in a conference center located in a beautiful, desert like setting in California…

I couldn't sleep at all last Saturday night. Sleeplessness for me is unusual. After tossing and turning, I finally gave up and tried the ultimate sleeping pill: Prayer. Saturday night and into early Sunday morning I again listed for my God who knows everything…

God sent me a treasure of encouragement this morning, a gift designed to turn my heart toward Him and I am still stunned by its simplicity and potential for transforming this day from the mundane into the majestic…