Tag Archives: Faith

5 Reasons it Is Wise to Pour Out Your Heart to God

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I taught last Sunday on Hannah and her prayer in 1 Samuel 1. It turns out that Hannah’s story is about far more than intensity in prayer.

It is about a woman who poured out her heart to everyone but God. And it is about the change God worked in her when she poured out her heart to Him.

As a cross reference, we looked at Psalm 142—another account of someone who poured out his heart to God. This time, it was David in a cave.

In the seven verse from Psalm 142, we drew five reasons it is wise to pour out our hearts to God.

1. Because God hears

I cried unto the LORD with my voice; with my voice unto the LORD did I make my supplication. I poured out my complaint before him; I shewed before him my trouble.—verses 1–2

Even when you pour out your heart to a friend, she may or may not accurately interpret the cry of your soul. God always hears, always understands, always listens with compassion. Continue reading →

5 Things You Never Have to Worry About

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peaceful

1. God’s love for you

The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.—Jeremiah 31:3

For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.—Romans 8:38-39

2. Christ’s presence in your life

And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.—Exodus 33:14

… for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.—Hebrews 13:5-6

3. God’s commitment to transforming you to the image of Christ

For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren….What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? —Romans 8:29, 31

4. Jesus’ return for you

Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.—John 14:1-3

5. Today, tomorrow…or the rest of your life.

Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.—Hebrews 13:8

Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.—1 Peter 5:7

Sometimes we just need to refocus on God’s eternal promises. What promises are your focus points?

Too Valuable to Waste

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Four years ago tonight I received a startling phone call from my grandma.

“Pray for Amanda,” she began. “I don’t have all of the details, but she was in a skiing accident—hit a tree, I think—and is being rushed to the hospital.”

Amanda (pictured above, left, with her sister Allison) is my cousin—my mom’s sister’s daughter. Sixteen years old at the time, she was with her high school ensemble on their way to sing at a youth conference. En route, the group stopped for a planned skiing activity.

A few minutes after that first call, Grandma called again. Before she could even say it, I knew. Through a tight throat and tears she said what none of us ever wanted to hear, “Our Amanda is in Heaven.”

That was four years ago, and I still miss Amanda. Just this past Christmas, as our extended family gathered, I thought of Amanda and her bubbly enthusiasm that would have been overflowing into every activity, every conversation, every event that she engaged in. Continue reading →

The Turn Key Word of the Christmas Story (and mine)

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It’s the fiction writer’s staple, but we seldom anticipate it to grace our own daily reality. In fact, our low expectations reveal how little we understand our God’s ways.

In truth, we serve a God of miracles (hello, just read Luke 2), but our tendency when peering into the future is to predict it based on the rate of past progress. We pray desperately for God to do what we can’t, then we rise from our knees, look at the date the prayer request was first entered, and sigh. “Not gonna happen, at least anytime soon,” we feel, even if we don’t say.

But some years ago, a friend pointed out a truth to me that pierces through hazy doubts. Her statement echoed so deeply in my heart, that I’ve been noticing it illustrated in Scripture ever since. Here it is:

God doesn’t usually move immediately; He moves suddenly.

I have a pretty good inner clock, so I easily think God’s late, behind time, letting “perfect” opportunities for action slip by. But just outside your and my line of sight, He is preparing in ways we can’t see. Continue reading →

You Can’t Climb That High

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It’s a real bummer to be very competitive and very afraid of heights—especially when you’re a kid and your older sister loves heights and thrill.

The competitive side of me would say, “If someone else can do it, there’s no reason why I can’t too.” The scared of heights side of me would argue, “Yes, but you are about to fall and die.” (I know, fear is irrational. Most people don’t die from climbing to the top of the swing set and jumping down.)

Sometimes the competitive side won, and I would will myself to climb in spite of my fears. And sometimes the scared of heights side won, and I would say I didn’t really want to climb that day. (Actually, the scared of heights side always won because even if I climbed up, I suffered escalating stages of terror before I made it back down to the ground!) Continue reading →

Closer than You Think

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Note: This blog is part of a Thanksgiving series of blogs highlighting attributes of God for which I am thankful.

Have you ever felt alone? Forsaken? Abandoned? Forgotten?

There’s a pathos in Psalm 142:4 that I think we can all identify with: “I looked on my right hand, and beheld, but there was no man that would know me: refuge failed me; no man cared for my soul.”

And perhaps you’ve felt a similar anguish to Job’s when he seemed to search for God’s presence in vain: “Behold, I go forward,” he cried out, “but he is not there; and backward, but I cannot perceive him: On the left hand, where he doth work, but I cannot behold him: he hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him” (Job 32:8–9)

If you’re there right now, could I tell you something? Continue reading →

You’re Not Alone

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Note: This blog is part of a Thanksgiving series of blogs highlighting attributes of God for which I am thankful.

Over ten years ago, my cousin Jonathan was rushed to the Children’s Hospital in Chicago where his life lay in the balance. Of course, his family as well as our entire extended family was deeply concerned. Even as the doctors studied to diagnose and treat the infection, they warned the family of the seriousness of his condition.

Meanwhile, my uncle and aunt were juggling time in the hospital, time at home with the other seven children (who were all too young to be allowed in the room), multiple jobs, and paper routes. For one week of this time, I was able to travel to their home and relieve my aunt and uncle of home duties as well as a precious few of the job duties. My cousins and I made lots of memories that week…most of which I sincerely hope they won’t share. (That includes the “gooky” cereal, Kirsten! :))

But one moment took place which I will never forget. Continue reading →

Ten Years Hindsight

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Ten years ago this weekend, I drove to our church’s youth conference with excited trepidation. In the back of the van were five hundred copies of the premiere issue of Stepping in the Light magazine.

Bound in each magazine copy was the compilation of four years of dreaming, much prayer, six weeks of intense labor (and sleepless, teary nights), and all the money I had been given for my high school graduation.

That night, we would be giving the magazine out—one per family—to the teen girls for whom I’d prepared it. I was thrilled with the way it had turned out…but I couldn’t help but wonder how it would be received.

This much I knew, we needed two hundred subscriptions just to pay for the printing and mailing of the next issue. I expected somewhere between two and three hundred, and I hoped for more. Continue reading →

The Best Part of the Trip

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If you like to make frequent stops, plan long sightseeing excursions, and visit area friends or friends of friends, please don’t travel with me.

If you would like a leisurely trip with a full scrapbook at the end, travel with my sister Michele. Health needs and back pain have made her a great scenic traveler…besides the fact that she’s just better at enjoying the journey than I am.

Ask Michele the best part of a trip, and she’ll answer “the journey.”

Ask me? “Destination, for sure!”

Sometimes Michele and I have traveled together. Often, in fact. Those were memorable trips. Continue reading →

When Safe Means Sorry

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My earliest cooking experience resulted in pancakes that were three and a half inches in diameter and as hard as a rock. I don’t want to tell you about that time.

My next cooking experience was bound to be better. At least I convinced my dad that it would be. It turned out to be one of the most memorable evenings our family talks about.

My mom was out (probably grocery shopping for supper), and my dad was working upstairs on the addition he was adding on to our home.

I climbed the wooden stairs and stuck my head through the opening. There was my dad, framing in the rooms with the two Bible college students he had hired to help him. Continue reading →