The Key to a Clean Heart is a Genuine Confession

Relationships make up the fabric of our lives. We are called to live in community with God and love others. Early church fathers defined true spirituality as loving well. Yet, our relationships are so often broken. Fractured by hurt feelings, disappointments, and angry words, we often dig in our heels, become defensive, and point the…

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Renewable Energy for a Resilient Life

Renewable energy is all the buzz right now. Renewable energy creates and sustains electricity – which keeps the lights on – with less environmental impact. In the spiritual realm, what keeps the lights on in our relationship with Christ? What gives us sustaining energy for the long haul of serving Christ? The key is to…

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This Week, Hold a Self-Management Meeting

I learned a long time ago the value of a good self-management meeting, especially when I’m feeling overwhelmed or fearful. The only attendee (other than God) at my self-management meeting is me! In our times, there are lots of reasons to feel overwhelmed and fearful. We’ve had our fair share of natural disasters. We see…

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Indispensable Uzzah

30,000 of Israel’s finest were singing and cheering loudly as they escorted the Ark of the Covenant down the hill from Abinadab’s house. “Yay God! The Ark of the Covenant is coming home to Jerusalem!  The Ark was on a cart. The cart was towed by an ox. Abinadab’s boys, Uzzah and Ahio, guided the…

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Is It Okay to Pray That God Blesses You?

I have struggled from time to time with whether or not it’s right to pray, “Lord, bless me.” I mean, He has already blessed me with every spiritual blessing (Ephesians 1:3), right? But recently I’ve been struck with the times in Scripture where people dared to pray “Lord, bless me,” and God honored their prayer.…

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3 Invitations from God for You

One of my favorite things is a beautiful invitation. Right? It’s so exciting to be invited to a special event. I remember when Steve and I were living in Sudan receiving an invitation to the US Ambassador’s house for Thanksgiving dinner! What an amazing event that was. Psalm 95 offers us 3 beautiful invitations from…

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4 Questions You Can Ask to Perk up Your Time with Jesus

Years ago, I was taught to spend intentional time with Jesus every morning. So, from the time I was about 12, I spent time with Jesus. That practice was called “quiet time.” Now, I like to call that my “facetime” with Jesus because it reminds me to meet with Him face to face. During my…

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When You Need Wisdom

“Oh Lord, I don’t know what to do!” Ever prayed that prayer? Yup. I’m betting you, like me, have prayed that very same prayer thousands of times. Whether you have job-related decisions, financial decisions, parenting decisions, or health decisions, uncertainty abounds. The more complicated life gets, the more we feel a desperate need for wisdom.…

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Praying for Boldness Not Protection

My husband, Steve, sat in a room speaking to a group of Pastors. When he asked these Pastors how many of them had been persecuted for their faith, laughter started around the room and every hand went up. While ministering in a part of the world where Christ is not known, suffering for Jesus to…

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Be a Channel of Living Water

Where Steve and I used to live up near Denver, there was a park that I often visited to spend time in prayer. Through the park ran a beautiful river. The river was always moving and rushing over the rocks. I used to love to walk along the river and spend time with Jesus.  Jesus…

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