There is nothing you can do - absolutely nothing - to make yourself cleaner, and holier, and more righteous before a holy God. Your good choices, though they make your life better, don’t make Him love you more. Your denial of self, though it builds strength of character, doesn’t invoke His approval. Your avoidance of… Continue reading As Loved as You Ever Will Be

Therefore the Lord longs to be gracious to you, And therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you. For the Lord is a God of justice; How blessed are all those who long for Him. How blessed indeed. Does your soul long for just Him this morning? What is that deep ache inside?… Continue reading Joy Comes in the Morning

The sweetest love there is... the love of Jesus... He is a soft place to land, a place of comfort, of peace... Just sitting quietly with him calms all fears, settles the heart, and makes me feel... safe. He lifts my head, wipes my tears, and says,  I know. I'm so sorry. I am here… Continue reading Hiding place

I typed in my question, hesitated, and then pressed, "Send." Nobody likes to be a Debbie-downer, but honestly, I had had enough of all this "hope" business. I was tired. And weary.  I could no longer handle hearing how God does wonderful things for others, while I remain stuck where I am, waiting for Him… Continue reading When Hope Becomes Denial

I stood staring at the two pink lines in stunned silence. Alone in the city, far from home, no husband. This wasn’t supposed to happen. I wasn’t supposed to have you. But there you were, a tiny heartbeat inside my body. I was thrilled…then terrified. I wasn’t married. My parents were going to be devastated.… Continue reading I Wasn’t Supposed to Have You

What does it mean to search for God with all your heart?   I have been told this means... I should rise early and give Him the first part of my day. I should lock myself in my closet and pray til an answer comes. I should pray with intensity so that He knows I… Continue reading A Quiet Walk – When We Finally Stop Trying So Hard

In the image of God He made them, male and female.  Genesis 1:27 I often have to help my children work through their emotions. When someone says something unkind, it is very natural to want to give an unkind response – because in that moment, your emotion is one of hurt, injustice, and the need… Continue reading Don’t Follow Your Heart… Lead it.

When you have wronged me, and you have deeply hurt me, or someone I love, and I still hug you, and I tell you I love you, it does not mean my heart is no longer hurting, nor does it mean I condone your actions past or present. It simply means that there isn’t anything… Continue reading When I Say I Love You

I wish the end-time dooms-day preachers would stop. It is 12:25 a.m., and I have just had to go in for the second time since I went to bed at 11:30, and assure my thirteen year-old terrified child that God is not going to obliterate the United States of America anytime soon as far as… Continue reading Please, stop scaring my kids

A poem I came across this morning. One day when walking down the street, On business bent, while thinking hard About the “hundred cares” which seemed Like thunder clouds about to break In torrents, Self-pity said to me: “You poor, poor thing, you have too much To do. Your life is far too hard. This… Continue reading On Self-pity