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How to Fight Spiritual Attacks: 7 Ways
We lose a little more light every day now. I slip out for my evening walks beneath an underbelly of midnight blue. Not long ago, while walking beneath the canopy of darkness, I began thinking about how to fight spiritual attacks. I’ve been feeling discouraged in certain areas of my life lately. After weeks of restlessness, I finally recognized that the relentless stream of negative thoughts might be coming from somewhere other than my own mind. After telling a friend about the thoughts, she said, “Sounds like a spiritual attack to me.” How to Fight Spiritual Attacks Like me, you might be feeling discouraged today. Maybe you battle with worry,…
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15 Scriptures to Destroy the Works of the Enemy
Are you searching for powerful Scriptures to destroy the works of the enemy? Let’s dig into God’s Word for 15 powerful Bible verses to help you overcome spiritual attacks. Speak these verses out loud when you sense you are under attack. Satan cannot read our minds, but he submits to the authority of God’s Word. Scriptures to Destroy the Works of the Enemy The year I started writing words for the world to read, things began falling to pieces all around us. The kids were constantly rundown with various viruses. There were financial strains, serious health scares, and much more. We faced spiritual attacks without reprieve, and we were worn…
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Feeling Defeated? 5 Scriptures on Overcoming Discouragement
Outside the window, the goldenrod fields have shifted from emerald to buttery gold. Frost will come soon, and any hint of color will be swallowed up by the monochrome beige of winter. I open my Bible in search of Scriptures on overcoming discouragement because I sense I’ll need them throughout the long months ahead. Perhaps you need these words, too. Maybe you’re facing an uncertain future or feeling defeated in some area of your life today. Regardless of what your discouragement looks like, let’s soak in these truths together today. Scriptures on Overcoming Discouragement 1. “Behold, the Lord’s hand is not so short that it cannot save; nor is His ear…
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How to Have Compassion for Yourself
Do you want to know how to have compassion for yourself in trying times? I invite you to join me as I deal with my troubling emotions and we’ll talk about self-compassion and how to practice it. How to Have Compassion for Yourself Tufts of fog hover beneath an apricot sky as storm clouds roll eastward on the wings of dusk. I sit by the window and focus on breathing slowly. As my lungs expand and contract, my body relaxes. “Be kind to yourself,” I whisper for the thousandth time. I’ve spent most of my life being ridiculously hard on myself. When I was younger, I built my life around…
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Let God Set You Free: My New Online Devotional
Two months ago, 12-year-old Bekah and I took a leap of faith and published our coauthored mother-daughter devotional, Girl to Girl: 60 Devotions for a Closer Relationship and Deeper Faith. We’d like to thank you for all of your support. The book is doing better than we ever expected, and my daily prayer is that God uses it to bring mothers and daughters closer together and draws women of all ages deeper into his unconditional love. Thank you for helping us spread the word, writing Amazon reviews, and buying our book! I’m amazed by the outpouring of support from the writing community, our hometown, our church community, and the global…
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How to Put Your Hope in Jesus When Life Is Hard
The wind that ripped and tore all day finally calms, and I slip into the valley to walk in the silence. I’m here because I need to remind myself to put my hope in Jesus instead of putting my hope in climbing out of the valley of discomfort. Have you ever faced a valley so deep you wondered how you would possibly climb out of the darkness? Maybe the death of a precious loved one left you reeling with pain. Perhaps your marriage fell apart, your dream died, or you faced a devastating diagnosis. If you’re anything like me, you wanted to put your hope in Jesus, but, mostly, you…
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A Powerful Prayer for Healing Your Hardest Memories
Like a quiet sea at dawn, an orchid ocean of clouds hovers above the northern skyline. Even the oaks stand in awe—their lush summer canopies outstretched in reverence. I look to the heavens and utter a powerful prayer for healing as I think of a friend who’s been dealing with the sting of hard memories. Does any part of your past “sting” when it comes to mind? A stinging memory is sharp. It pricks you and deflates you—like a bee sting or a needle to a balloon. A stinging memory just might take the wind out of your sails or lead you into the pit for a few hours, a…
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God Loves You Even When You Don’t Feel Worthy
A few years ago, an epic parenting failure left me feeling like the worst mom in the world. I imagine you’ve had a few of your own failures—moments when it was hard to believe that God loves you in the middle of your messiest moments. The evening of my failure, the sun was sinking low. It was time to clean up the house and relax for a few minutes before going to bed. I’d put away the toys three times throughout the day, and I told five-year-old Bekah it was her turn. I was ready to crash onto the couch and clock out for the day. On cue, our sweet…
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Three Truths for the Trials and Tribulations of Life
The spring beauties are pushing white petals through the beige of last autumn’s fallen canopy, and I wonder if they’re some sort of sign. Would God really speak through the petals of a dime-sized white flower? In some quiet way, I wonder if he sent these little miracles to remind me that even amid the trials and tribulations of life, hope is still rising. Spring is still rising, even amid late March’s tormenting white flurries. Life is still rising, even when everything around you starts to feel like the worst kind of death. I read Peter’s words as I sit down amid the tiny flowers: “do not be surprised at…
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Six Encouraging Bible Verses About Overcoming Adversity
Are you facing a difficult time? Today, we’ll unpack six encouraging Bible verses about overcoming adversity. Let’s start with a conversation about what happens when we learn to push through pain and hardships. Bible Verses About Overcoming Adversity I take the boys to the woods on an almost spring morning. The skunk cabbage is rising through the muddied earth like a foretaste of the vibrant life soon to fill this wooded valley. Caleb’s seven-year-old legs have grown long and lean over the past year, and he hardly complains when we walk together now. I’m taken back to a season when every walk through this valley was a test in pushing…