Have you ever thought about where the idea of gift-giving originated?
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Thanksgiving is for everyday
If we take the time to reflect a bit, we can always find something to be thankful for and pass it forward to others.
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Well-watered
Why does it seem so hard to have a steady middle-ground no matter the emotional forecast?
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The healing
Deep down everyone really does know that something just isn’t right within. We can feel it—our discontentment, our fears, our anger, our distrust, our resentments, our insecurities, they are all so obvious.
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The shattering
Can you remember what shattered you? Do you know what I mean? That moment in childhood when you intuitively knew you weren’t in Eden anymore?
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El-roi
As I flip through the pages, year after year, chapter after chapter, of my life, this name for God, El-Roi (the God who sees me), becomes more obvious and demonstrable.
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The risk of remedy
She knows about the remedy but she’s been numb so long that she fears the pain of feeling, so afraid to take the risk.
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Back to the garden
It’s one new birth at a time in this Garden. It’s not a lifestyle; it’s a heart change.
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Vessels of glory
What are they saying in their beautiful language of song? Do they have some knowledge that cannot help but pour forth at the break of a new day?
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Breathe
It is so refreshing to breathe in deeply from this sacred breath of his. So, calming. So, reorienting. So, needed.
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Faaamily →
I love this relatable image God gives us through adoption— of how we come to be a part of his family.
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Divine intrusions
Far too often I need these divine intrusions to remind me who he is, that this life is not just about me and the mundane temporal moments of my days.
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The key
Life is full of choices. We make them every day. Some are minor and of no consequence, but some are major and affect not only us but those we love.
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I Remember
In my humanity, it can sometimes be hard to trust that a God I cannot see will oversee all my concerns. I wish I could look into His eyes. I wish I could feel the comfort of His physical presence and hear His voice.
Read MoreThe avengers
You are precious to God. The cries of your heart are precious to God. Be encouraged. Be strong. Battles are being won, and your answers are coming around the corner.
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The hope of Light
There is so much to be thankful for and a thankful heart can turn the sunless grey into a warm amber ray of hope.
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A black hole
Cody knew about the light. He even stepped into it, felt the warmth upon his face and the peace that passes understanding. He just didn’t stay there long enough to bind up those wounds and release the shame. So, he suffered. He didn’t think he was worthy. But who is?
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A place of feral glory
I bow in holy fear—loved yet understanding yours is an undomesticated power—a feral glory that humbles me with a submissive awe.
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Looking Up
How has original sin distorted me? And how does indwelling sin manipulate me?
Original sin causes me to forget about God. The distortion of my mind and heart causes me to look first on the lateral level. I take in my immediate surroundings and strategize my navigation. It’s all self-directed. Without the distortion of original sin my first impulse would be to look up. I would seek the eyes of my Lord. I would instinctively know that in his eyes I would find wisdom. Looking into his eyes would settle me, give me perspective —set my course.
But I have indwelling sin and it daily seeks to manipulate me. No sooner do my feet hit the ground and my thoughts are way out in front of me. My sinful distortion often plays out in the form of worry. I can start out with the personal, familial ones that begin to radiate out into the cosmos. The weight of a broken world can sit on top of my shoulders.
I am so thankful that God’s grace permeated my heart —filling it with his Holy Spirit. This is my redeemed side. This is the side that takes captive those runaway thoughts and reminds me to look up. Those eyes are so comforting. They bid me to speak. They ask me to unburden my heart and they assure me that I am heard. Those eyes are strong, clear, wise and tenderly affective. They offer me peace in the midst of uncertainty, confidence that they know all things and trust that they are at the helm. Original sin’s manipulations are not working today. I am looking up!
“But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.” Philippians 3:20-21 ESV
Living art
The mind is an astounding piece of art. It’s living art. It’s always in a state of flux being influenced by its experiences both past and present.
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