Occasionally, someone will innocently ask me if I have a favorite child. Initially, I had a hard time understanding this question. For each of my children challenge me, bless me and fulfill me in various and different ways. Granted, sometimes, one is easier than the other to discipline, correct and/or instruct, but I honestly have …
Tag: struggle
Game On!
How do we respond when life knocks us down? As the fictional boxer, Rocky Balboa once said, "it's not how hard you hit, but how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward that counts". Sounds good, but admittedly, there are those times, we simply don't feel like we can move forward. For it …
Tough In The Rough
There will always be those times when things get rough - when we feel overwhelming conflict and stress. Clearly, we desire for challenges and confrontations to never come, or to depart quickly when they do, but the truth is they usually linger around longer than we want. So, what can we do when tough times …
Hard Made Humble
There's no doubt that the pains, problems and prickles of this world can cause us to be calloused if we allow them to overrule our Christian world view. However, as believers, we thankfully don't have to fall victim to this depressed state of being. Rather, we posses the power through our relationship with Christ to …
When Sharpening Stings
A powerful verse in the Bible declares, as iron sharpens iron so one person sharpens another (Proverbs 27:17). Although true, I admittedly once held a one-sided perspective to this proverb that assumed this "sharpening" process was primarily a pleasant and harmonious one. I now realize however that occasionally this refining can feel more arduous than …
Power Of Prayer
"To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing". These words express a deeply held belief by Martin Luther, and no doubt is shared by many believers today. Thus, should it be any surprise that a vibrant prayer life is also one of the primary targets Satan seeks …
“Fire” Safety
Many of us acquired basic fire safety skills during our grade school years. Obviously, the purpose of this teaching was to help empower our chances of survival if caught in a fire. Interestingly, many of these safety principals can be applied to protect our spiritual well-being as well. For example, we will no doubt find …
“Under Construction”
A couple driving past an area undergoing repairs read a posted sign stating, "End of construction - Thank you for your patience." Immediately the wife turned to her husband to inform him that was the exact engraving she one day wanted etched into her tombstone, for it perfectly described the spiritual process, she believed, each …
Blooming Where Planted – Again?
We all have them - those days when everything that can go wrong does. Even worse is when we face a string of bad days that roll into months. These hardships may include our work environments, job loss, health issues and/or relationships. We may even begin questioning God's ways and doubting His involvement. Thankfully, we …
“Hope Floats”
Our capacity to hope distinguishes us from all creation, but it also promotes our purpose in Christ. For without our hope in the gospel we are reduced to an anxious state of surviving, rather than raised to an abundant life that's thriving (John 10:10). As Martin Luther King, Jr. wisely stated, "We must accept finite …
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