You may have some cute trick-or-treaters visiting you this week. While it’s fun to take on different personas with zany costumes, as COVID has shown, masks can be limiting and suffocating. Physical masks shield us from some airborne pollutants. But wearing figurative masks to protect our image or hide our insecurities creates distance and loneliness. Certain situations and people draw out our sense of inadequacy. When surrounded by more successful, better informed, or more polished Continue Reading
The Divine Dance Between God’s Sovereignty and My Responsibility {Recharge Wednesday LINKUP}
Jackie is a dog whisperer. She calls herself a dog trainer, but if you watch this four-foot, eleven-inch woman handle a 150-pound dog, you’d know what I mean. I wanted Jackie to help me train our five-month-old puppy, but I couldn’t find her. I’d searched my emails and phoned where she used to work before running out of leads. I do interior design work on the side. Every time I planned to visit the seamstress, something interfered. On a whim, I called another gal. On the way to her workroom, Continue Reading
How to Experience Peace in Spite of Unsafe People {Recharge Wednesday}
I couldn’t believe it. I’d crossed the Atlantic Ocean only to be stuck in a car with someone extolling the brilliance of my worst enemy an ocean away. My whirling thoughts obliterated the breathtaking beauty of the surrounding Alps. Unsafe people live, work, and worship among us. We think if we can escape their presence and any reminders of them, we’ll have peace. My experience in Switzerland reminded me peace doesn’t come from distance from them but from closeness with Jesus. Continue Reading
When Faith and Feelings Collide {Recharge Wednesday LINKUP}
A snub and a rejection on the same day sent me sprawling. I sat down with my journal and dumped my hurt feelings. Usually, the lies I’m believing quickly surface when I do this exercise. God provides relief when I ask for His perspective. But this time, my feelings didn’t budge. The evidence supporting my injured emotions felt more reliable than the truth I knew. That night as I slept God reminded me of a story concerning Elisha and his servant. The king of Aram was angry with Elisha and Continue Reading
How Do I Get Unshakable Faith? {Recharge Wednesday LINKUP
Have you ever promised yourself… When this storm passes—then I’ll rest in God. When I’m out of debt—then I’ll trust the Lord. When I have more experience—then I’ll live by faith. When/then faith is not faith at all. Putting conditions on trusting God keeps us living by sight. And faith “is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see” (Heb. 11:1 NIV). Living by sight deprives us of joy and peace. It’s unbelief. Continue Reading
Why Son-Bathing Is Good for You {Recharge Wednesday LINKUP}
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
