More Abundantly Than All That We Ask
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 terrified teenager. Each…
All I Want for Christmas
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…
Christmas Is Coming!
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…
The Treasures of Holiday Presence
On Christmas Eve and day, our first Christmas without Mark, I wrote in my journal: Well, Lord, here I am. Christmas Eve. Running until I drop. Trying not to think…
Christmas Relief Tips, Part 2 Preparing for the Holidays When Your Heart is Broken
"Your mother has six other children. Why is it so important for you and your family to go to her house for Thanksgiving? She might be…
Christmas Relief Tips, Part 1
Children in foster care and many adopted children deeply grieve during the holidays, even little ones. They may not understand why they are…
Leaning into the Pain
As I mentioned in Sunday’s devotional, about two weeks before Thanksgiving every year I begin to feel disorganized, disconnected…
The Train is Coming
No matter how much we plan and prepare for the holidays, I know we will all agree, especially those like me whose loss was…
You are Mine!
What gives us the strength to get through the holidays when our hearts want to give up? I never want to forget the anguish and tears…
When Christmas is Not the Most Wonderful Time of the Year
Dear Friends, It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year, It's the Hap-happiest season of all... except... when it's not.…
Running the Race
We have watched together as God, through faithful men and women, accomplished His own transcendent and eternal purposes…
Anticipating the Not Yet
In the darkness of our grief, we longed for heaven and often started the day thinking, “Lord Jesus, this would be a good day for…
That Great and Glorious Day
Years ago, Cal Ripken of the Baltimore Orioles was honored for breaking a record few imagined would ever be broken…
My Heart will Go On… Won’t It?
God has set eternity in every heart, a longing for the presence of God, and nothing else will truly satisfy (Ecclesiastes 3:11). Some people…
The Eternal City
Our lives on earth, the Bible tells us, are a mere wisp of breath on a cold winter day, as we just read in James 4:14. So much more awaits…
A Better Resurrection 2
Unfortunately, an uninspired chapter heading interrupts the flow of thought between chapters 11 and 12 in the book of…
A Better Resurrection
Remember the story I shared earlier? Because of a devastating fire that had swept through the area, our first visit to Yellowstone National…
Choosing to Live as God’s Child
Sandra’s story is like a modern-day Moses’ story of choosing obedience when obedience means great sacrifice: “My college boyfriend’s…
Faith in the Trenches: God versus the Gods
Hebrews 11 commends the faith Moses demonstrated through his celebration of the Passover. We cannot truly appreciate the powerful…
Journey Back to Egypt
Moses doubted. “What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, ‘The LORD did not appear to you’?” Moses probably remembered his…