Our kids looked adorable together, and someone said something about taking a photo. It was after the comment about how they’ll look nice together at prom someday that his eyes filled with embarrassed tears.  He buried his face in his mom’s hip and wiped them away on the hem of her shirt.  The moment got me thinking about our hidden pain in life. I understood the little guy’s struggle. I hid my tears throughout most of my childhood too. No one ever made fun of me for crying.  I simply thought I needed to appear strong.  All the time. The Truth About Hidden Pain We all have struggles and weaknesses.…

Our daughter, Bekah, asks for a mother-daughter date, and I take her to the lake on a cloudless afternoon.  I’ve been feeling less than in pretty much every area of my life lately, and I slip my Bible into our bag with hopes for a few quiet moments to soak in some Bible verses about identity in Christ. Perhaps you need this, too. Maybe you’ve been feeling wounded by the world, and you need God to remind you of your unchanging identity in Christ. Today, I invite you to join us at the lake.  I’ll share my heartwarming conversation with Bekah, and then we will dig into 10 empowering Bible…

I open the refrigerator in search of milk, but the sticker on the door catches my eye. It reads, “Star Student Award.”  The white paper is creased and is very well-loved.  The little girl who earned this sticker was feeling left out until the day the teacher handed her the sticker. She wore it for two days. The day she earned the sticker, she bounced off the school bus in the blazing heat with a fleece jacket over her shirt. She said she wanted to surprise me. She ripped the coat wide open to unveil the prize she’d been longing for all year: the principal’s star student award.  My sweet…