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God’s Power in Us: Power Perfected in Weakness
Thirteen years ago, I became a mom, and life as I had known it changed forever. Today, I invite you to join me in the hospital room at the beginning of my motherhood journey, and we’ll talk about experiencing God’s power in us when we feel weak. God’s Power in Us Outside the hospital window, an apricot glow arises from behind the unclothed tree line. Dawn is coming. Today is my first full day as a mother, and I’m weary. I slept less than an hour last night and cannot move after yesterday’s emergency C-section. Now, more than ever, I need God’s power to carry me in my weakness. If…
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7 Bible Verses About Being Stuck (and Tips for Breaking Free)
Somewhere along the thin line between night’s inky darkness and the hoary glow of daybreak, I place a flat palm on the frosted windowpane. It’s late winter in our world. I feel stuck inside and stuck in life today. Opening my Bible, I begin my search for Bible verses about being stuck in life. We all feel stuck at times. We feel stuck in habits we cannot break, jobs we don’t enjoy, and callings that suck the life from our bodies. During these times, God’s Word offers encouragement and inspiration. Today, we’ll explore seven Bible verses about being stuck. We’ll also look at five practical ways to get un-stuck! Let’s…
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7 Refreshing Bible Verses (and 11 Ways to Be Refreshed)
Yesterday morning, I awoke with a deep desire to go to the woods—to inhale the scent of the creek bottom, decomposing maple leaves, and pungent earth. As I sat with my Bible, I was reminded that God wanted to renew my mind with his written Word, and I let the following refreshing Bible verses wash over me. 7 Refreshing Bible Verses Do you long for the refreshment that comes from God alone? I invite you to soak in these words today as well. Refreshing Bible Verses for the Worn and Weary 1. Psalm 97:11-12 (NIV) “Light shines on the righteous, gladness on the upright in heart. Rejoice in the LORD,…
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Angry Cleaning: 3 Ways to Move Toward Peace and Joy
I recently went for a walk with a friend who confessed to Angry Cleaning. I didn’t have to ask her for an explanation because I’ve Angry Cleaned more times than I can count. Unlike “Rage Cleaning,” in which we intentionally pour our frustration into the cleaning process, using our anger for good, Angry Cleaning is act of cleaning angrily, often because others are not helping us. I invite you to join me as I walk through the woods with my friend, and we’ll learn how to move away from Angry Cleaning, Angry Cooking, Angry Working, and Angry Parenting. Angry Cleaning A thread of silver water twists its way through an…
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What If This Interruption Is a Divine Assignment?
First light pours through the curtain slow and thick, like buttermilk. Lost in the glory of dawn’s hazy glow, I read a few Psalms as I soak in God’s love. “God, help me embrace every divine assignment you send me today,” I pray. I then recall a moment from several days ago. Could This Interruption Be a Divine Assignment? A few days ago, I’d been sitting by the window for less than ten minutes when our little boy shuffled up beside me dragging a chair. After pushing his chair next to mine, he sat down and snuggled against me. The scene would have been cute if the little guy had…
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A Prayer for Strength and Healing When Life Hurts
The Queen Anne’s Lace stands in full bloom—sprinkling the fields with flourishes of ivory. Admiring it from the window, I utter a silent prayer for strength and healing. Not long ago, I slipped into the woods on a balmy evening. As I gazed into the murky creek water, I assessed the state of my soul and realized I was wrestling with uncertainty. The creek bottom exhaled the pungent scent of decaying earth, and I immediately sensed an invitation: Anyone can declare trust in God when life’s going well, but it takes faith to declare our trust when life feels uncertain. A Powerful Prayer for Strength and Healing: “Lord, I trust…
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God Is Sufficient When You’re Weak, Worn, and Weary
A skirmish of maple leaves flutters to the earth—the color of moonrise on a cloudless night. It’s early in the season for falling leaves, but perhaps these leaves have grown tired from holding on. I’m tired tonight, too. I could use a gentle reminder that God is sufficient to help me in my weak, worn, and weary seasons. I decide to sit beneath the maples with my Bible, and I stumble into these words: “Not that we are adequate in ourselves so as to consider anything as having come from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God” (1 Corinthians 3:5 NASB). Here in the silence of the words, I’m reminded that God wants me to…
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When I Am Weak, Then I Am Strong
“That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:10). The morning after our first child was born I stared at the ticking clock on the white-washed hospital wall and counted the minutes I had slept the previous night. The total came to 55 minutes, which didn’t feel like enough. My abdomen ached from an emergency C-section, I could barely stand up, and little Bekah was less than patient with my lack of breastfeeding experience. It felt like a lot. You’ve probably endured a few seasons when life felt like…
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5 Ways to Rest in God’s Presence: A Review of Just Rest
Snowflakes fall like a quiet benediction on a hushed spring morning. I awaken feeling groggy after another night of tending to coughing children. I’m desperate to rest in God’s presence this morning—to let his love wash over me and fill the empty places. Opening Melanie Redd’s new book, Just Rest: A 90 Day Devotional Journal, I read the following words: “True rest for the soul, however, comes from one place only—and that involves walking in the good way. This is the path we choose when we walk close to Jesus. The pathway to rest is found in Him alone.” We live in a culture in which hurry and hustle are…
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8 Encouraging Bible Verses About Overcoming Adversity
Are you facing a difficult time or walking through a challenging season in your life? Today, we’ll explore eight Bible verses about overcoming adversity as we align ourselves with God’s perspective. Let’s start with a conversation about embracing adversity instead of running from it. 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. As we hike, I remember when…
