A picture of Jesus holding a larger version of a gift as He asks for the smaller thing held in a child’s hands floats around social media consistently. This picture becomes the requests of our hearts: Lord, I will sacrifice my little earthly desire so that you can give me the better version of my …
Running Toward the Physician
Our newest, furry addition underwent surgery for several issues last week. We brought Kai home from the vet sporting his cone of shame and with a lot of pain medication. When the pain meds ran out, he was a wreck, finding ways to scrape his wounds and lick them, even while still sporting his cone. …
Casting Burdens
I am away from my computer this weekend, but this thought so encouraged me this week, I wanted to share it with you. I hope it encourages you as much as it did me. There are burdens in life that are so heavy, we must seek God’s help to carry them. The longer we attempt …
Radical Reconciliation Before Worship
Why do ye not rather take wrong? why do ye not rather suffer yourselves to be defrauded? 1 Corinthians 6:7b Joni Eareckson Tada, who has spent more than fifty years in a wheelchair after a diving accident, often reminds her listeners, “God allows what He hates to accomplish what He loves.” While she refers to …
Hope’s Song in Suffering Seasons
Here in northeast Ohio, fiery autumn leaves litter the ground, as if the earth exhaled a heavy sigh and released them from their seasonal labor. Soon, every deciduous tree will lift empty limbs toward the sky, awaiting the icy, cold shroud of winter. For months, the darkness of winter will fall early, and most …
Stewarding Well the Plan B Path
A Biblical Counseling Series #4 “It is not supposed to be this way.” Right now I see many believers walking difficult paths on my social media feed. A teenage Pastor’s daughter died in a random accident. A young girl is on her journey toward Heaven from a brain tumor. A family is dealing with the …
Grieve the Thorns
In my mind, I can still picture the room in the far corner of my heart stuffed to the brim with the pain and sorrow of undealt with hurts. Anytime a new grief would surface, it would be shoved back into that room, sometimes with great difficulty. Until the door just would not shut anymore, …
His Song in the Night 