Articles
A Man Named Nathanael
Someone recently sent me an article about a certain controversial government leader. As I read it, what came to mind was nothing directly related to that particular person. Instead, I thought of a man in the Bible named Nathanael. Nathanael's friend, Philip, came to...
The Subtleties of Taking Control
The Lord periodically reminds me that I need to beware of trying to take control when I shouldn't. It happens so subtly. Even though God has given me a helpful way to discern when I'm overstepping my bounds (see my article, "Communication: God's Role & My Role" in...
Helping Children Keep Commitments
When my husband and I were raising our children, we had to learn how to balance a respect for their feelings with the need to teach them the importance of keeping commitments. This was a learning process for us. Our children loved to sign up for extracurricular...
Focused Prayer
I don't know about you, but I have often found that distracting thoughts bombard my mind when I'm praying. I'm going to share some things I do that help me to stay focused. Perhaps some of these ideas will help you. I ask God to protect me from demonic influence and...
Devotional: Countless Blessings
I can really relate to John 21:25! "Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written." Journaling is like breathing to me. I love to write down as...
Share Honestly
Because of my people-pleasing personality, I struggle, at times, with sharing my feelings and view-points. But I know it's important to do so because, if I don't, then I may be faced with a situation where I'm going in a direction I'm not at peace about. Here's a...
Resource: Strong Families
I would like to recommend www.StrongFamilies.com (which has wonderful resources for improving relationships). In particular, the books: The Two Sides of Love by Dr. John Trent & Gary Smalley The Blessing by Dr. John Trent, Gary Smalley, & Kari Trent Stageberg...
A Matter of Perspective
I like to get up early for a time of prayer and Bible reading, while the world is quiet and still. This morning, I was enjoying that quiet until a group of crows started cawing loudly outside my window. My first response was to be annoyed, but then I decided they were...
Encourage One Another
"...encourage one another and build each other up..." 1 Th 5:11 If God puts it on your heart to encourage someone, do it. They may need a love touch at that moment, and you might be surprised to discover that you need one, too! I once wrote to one of our daughters...
When in Doubt, Pray
There are some lessons I need to be frequently reminded of. One of those is to take time to pray when I'm unsure about something. A typical example is that I'll be writing to someone and I'm about to say something, but then I wonder if I should. I may think I have...