I accidentally got caught up in a little condemnation this morning. Sneaks right up on us, doesn’t it? We’re processing, thoughts, prayers, people, you name it, and boom. For me anyway, I’m suddenly keenly aware of how I could “do better.” Be better. I prayed that out a bit, and Our Father reminded me that […]
“I am writing to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven for His name’s sake.” -1 John 2:12 We’re loved so much that our Father sacrificed His only Son, and His Son agreed we were worth the suffering. Out of this love Jesus didn’t come to condemn, but to cleanse us of every unrighteousness. […]
I was thinking about how to reframe my mistakes so they didn’t pack such a shameful punch. What did I come up with? My mistakes are learning certificates, not condemnations. And this life thing? I’m HIGHLY QUALIFIED. I have many learning experiences I want on one hand to forget and bury, and yet I also […]
I heard a woman I respect, and clearly on the conservative side say softly the other day, “Pain, it’s a very good teacher, you know.” She was speaking of children and their upbringing often being a battle of wills. Children need discipline and consequence in the home to mature. They need to be given a […]
I’ve admittedly wondered why God had allowed a raging, spirit-filled fire like mine to be quenched; even for a season. I thought I had been loving e-v-e-r-y-o-n-e well. I don’t claim perfection, but like Job, I’ve begged God to show me what I had done wrong, what I hadn’t done right, why He’d given me […]
We all worship something. It’s how we were made. Worship is a spiritual act, no doubt, although it’s made manifest in how we live our lives, so it’s often mis-perceived as something else. Some are more obvious than others (drug addiction, for example), but food addiction is the same hurting spirit made manifest in a […]
Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” -John 8:12 Christ is who and what He say He is. We, made in His image, lay the same claim. We are who and what He says we are, and […]
Believers are consistently called to exercise gratitude. We are made in the Likeness of Christ and therefore God. Does this mean that Jesus could be grateful when we see Him? When we desire to be in relationship with Him? When we return His infinite love the very best way these human vessels know how? When […]
We are light, because Jesus is light. We are made in His image and that of our Father. “You are the light of the world.” -Matthew 5:14 Christ literally says so. We are light and love because Jesus paid every price necessary to bring us back into the Holy Presence of our Father. His sacrifice […]
I sit here day’s end, crawling into bed and removing my socks for a hopefully restful slumber. It’s March in Northern Michigan. The weather can’t decide what it wants to do, and my well-cared for foot even so told me it would appreciate a good scratching. I’d only moments before been thanking Jesus for allowing me […]