One Saturday, my husband and I picked up Thai takeout for dinner. I looked around the waiting area while we waited for our food and felt like an alien. Everyone wore facemasks and avoided eye contact. What happened to the friendly South? Riding home, I caught myself grumbling. We rounded the bend, and the bright moon interrupted my complaining. “Look how bright that small sliver of moon is!” The moon’s brightness stood in beautiful contrast to a day that had been gray, windy, and even Continue Reading
3 (Better) Forms of Comparison {Recharge Wednesday LINKUP}
Like it or not, life is made up of comparisons. We compare our food choices in order to make an informed decision about what we eat. Our employers compare our work to industry standards to help us succeed. God in His Word compares the things of the flesh with the things of the Spirit to teach us. Comparisons brew trouble, though, when we make them in order to evaluate something already decided. There is also no gain in comparing our situations with others’ to evaluate if we have Continue Reading
Summer Soul Care {Recharge Wednesday LINKUP}
Summer is just around the corner. It invites us to linger longer on the front porch or back deck. A glass of iced tea or lemonade and we’re all set. Summertime welcomes us to pause from the hectic pace. It beckons us to relax by the pool or in a cozy hammock. But are we practicing soul care? Because we are often intentional to care for our bodies in summer. And we participate in outdoor activities (even exercise), gather with friends and family, foster recreation, and plan time off work to Continue Reading
LINKUP! Times of Stress Expose our Weaknesses {The Atlanta Journal-Constitution}
I am not a fan of social media. This luring distraction has the power to suck me in, and I find myself wasting precious time looking at what other people are doing or reading articles often filled with fear-bearing news. But every so often, when I am at a doctor’s office or waiting to pick up my daughter from school, Twitter and Facebook keep me company. During the pandemic, I came across several posts about the fantastic things certain people were accomplishing. Someone on Twitter felt Continue Reading
How Do Two Porcupines Hug? {Recharge Wednesday LINKUP}
How do two porcupines hug? Very Carefully. How do we love our enemies? With divine grace and guidance. Jesus told His disciples to love their enemies. What did He mean? What does it look like to love your adversary? We associate love with warm feelings. I love beach sunsets, chocolate chip cookies, and my standard poodles. What do I mean when I toss love around these dissimilar objects? I love how sunsets look, cookies taste, and my dogs make me feel. Biblical love is not based on how Continue Reading
Are You Acting Like a Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing? {Recharge Wednesday}
One of the questions we often ask when reading Scripture is “how does this apply?” We’re usually thinking in terms of what the Word means for our lives or what promises it holds. Sometimes we ask how it might comfort or exhort us. Scripture can also warn us about our own nature. Do you know Acts 20:29-30? “Savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them.” We read Continue Reading
