I love the Lord with all my heart, but I often find the Praise and Adoration part of my prayer life lacking. Thanking God for His faithfulness is a natural part of my prayers, but that first part of the A.C.T.S. prayer pattern is a toughie for me. A. – Adoration C. – Confession T. – Thanksgiving S. – Supplication …
A Different Kind of Beautiful
I’ve always thought my mom was beautiful. Graceful. She was trained in opera when she was young. I remember going with her to weddings, hearing her sing the Lord’s prayer. The whole sanctuary full of guests would fall silent on her last, drawn-out note of, “Ahhhhh-mennnn.” Ooooooh. Still gives me goose bumps to think of it. Gorgeous! A few weeks …
How to Pray When Life is Hard
If you haven’t yet heard, let me tell you here—the release of my next book, Isaiah’s Daughter, must be delayed from October 2017 to January 2018. Why? Well, because life got hard—but God remained good. Wanna read a little about what I learned through the process? The Journey ‘Til Now When I signed the contract for Isaiah’s Daughter in May …
What Does the Bible Say About Eating?
One of our pastors recently preached on the topic of food. The Bible has lots to say about it. Can you believe it? What to eat. What not to eat. Feasting and fasting. Let me confess up front: I’m a reformed food-a-holic. I come from a long line of southern-cooking, buffet-going, stuff-your-face kinda folks. When my dad had a heart …
Hypocrite or Holy Roller?
Roy and I spent most of our lives in Indiana but lived for the last decade in the Pacific Northwest (PNW). The two cultures are about as opposite as a jalapeño and an egg white, a rhino and a wooly worm, a ballet dancer and a cowboy. I love them both for different reasons. The interesting thing is, both the …
The Christian Response to Chaos
For several years now, I’ve been getting my news from the little blurbs on my internet homepage or the scattered feeds on Facebook. I can’t stand watching any of the evening news—local or cable—because they’re either too slanted or too jaded. I admit, this has perhaps made me a little less “informed” than some of you. Let me assure you, …