They line up the streets as I enter my subdivision. A festival of white and pink bloom, cheerful reminders of warmer and brighter days to come. I utter a prayer of thanksgiving – even though the cold temperatures this week denied me of my morning walks along these streets, the dogwoods do not lie: Spring is around the corner! As I open the garage door, I gaze at the front yard, where our very own dogwood tree welcomes me home, its first blooms cheering my winter-struck flower bed. Spring Continue Reading
4 Reasons to Keep Going No Matter What {Recharge Wednesday LINKUP}
No matter what. I admit the phrase bothered me in the past. And it stirred questions in my soul. Such as “No matter what” means what exactly? Maybe to never back down. Or, never give up or give in. Perhaps, to keep going in the face of opposition or dire circumstances. And I assumed the subject and context both played into the meaning. Still, if you are anything like me, the phrase conjures up a lot of unknowns. And even a few knowns we’d rather not deal with. So I put together a Continue Reading
Blessed Are the Peacemakers – The Sermon of the Mount Series {The Atlanta Journal Constitution}
In their book – “Tell It To The Church,” authors Lynn R. Buzzard and Laurence Eck present a biblical approach to resolving conflict. In one of the chapters, they propose an amusing eight-step process on how to turn a disagreement into a major conflict: “How to turn a disagreement into a feud: Be sure to develop and maintain a healthy fear of conflict, letting your own feelings build up so you are in an explosive frame of mind. If you must state your concerns, be as vague and general Continue Reading
How to Refresh Your Time with God {Recharge Wednesday LINKUP}
“What did you want to be when you grew up?” our small group leader asked our group. Everyone offered sensible professions. I racked my brain and couldn’t recall one serious aspiration. I’d dreamed of flying to magical lands like Peter Pan or riding horses and nabbing bad guys like Annie Oakley. On my report card, my second-grade teacher wrote, “Debbie does good work, but daydreams too much.” Didn’t all children carry fairies to school? Little did I realize these were clues to my personality Continue Reading
Were It Not for the Rain…
The light, gelid rain started falling as I reached the bottom of the street. “I’m glad I decided to wear a hat,” I thought. “Oh, Spring, when will you arrive?” I looked up and around, thinking of how much I dislike rainy days. The trees, bare since the Fall, looked like props in an Alfred Hitchcock movie set. “All we lack is flocks of black birds descending upon me,” I said to myself. My family knows it. I’m fueled by sunshine. Give me the sun shining outside and I am a happy Continue Reading
Self-Condemnation – The Accuser’s Effective Tool {Recharge Wednesday LINKUP}
Through the years, I’ve met several people who claimed that they couldn’t stop thinking about their past sins - those decisions they made before accepting Christ as their Savior. One close friend suffered with self-depreciating thoughts for many years following her salvation. Although she believed God had cast her sins as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12), she could not stop thinking about them and, consequently, felt undeserving of God’s love. Many people can relate to this, Continue Reading
