As the wife of a music pastor, the words “praise and worship” carry a lot of connotations and ideas with them that I don’t have time to go into here. But one of the things about being involved in leading church music is this: Sometimes I have to praise God when I don’t feel like it. And I have to do it in front of people. Now, I know that may sound like I’m saying that I sometimes I’m being fake and just putting on a show. But no. Actually, the truth is that when I get up to sing with…
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I have been contemplating the idea of comfort often of late. There are many ways we seek comfort in life: comfort food, comfy clothes, a cozy blanket on the couch, hot tea on a chilly morning. And those are just examples of physical comfort. As modern Americans, we do not like to be uncomfortable. We like to be happy and healthy. And when we are uncomfortable we want to fix it. I’m not saying being comfortable is all bad. We need some level of peace and rest in life to recover. But this life is not free of pain, discomfort…
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I took a little liberty with the timer on this one today because I wanted to try something different. It has been many years since I have tried writing any poetry, and this is a rather sorry attempt. But in the spirit of the “creativity” part of my theme this month, I decided to give it a shot anyway! Enjoy! When Hope Breaks Through When hope breaks through, The darkness flees. When hope breaks through, My heart soars free. Amidst the dark and stormy nights, I find a deep and lasting peace, When hope breaks through. When hope breaks through…
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When I first saw today’s prompt of “share” I thought I would go in the obvious direction of community, friendship, etc. Thus the photo I chose to today’s graphic. But this morning my devotional contemplations led me in a different vein of thought, so here goes nothing! Timer on… This morning my devotional meditation was about feeling pain but not acting out of pain. As I meditated on that idea, I was also thinking about why we are supposed to feel pain and suffering. The Bible says that we are to share Christ’s sufferings so that we may rejoice all…
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Something I’ve been contemplating lately is how I live out what I believe in specific areas of my life. I have particularly been considering how my identity in Christ shapes my behavior. If I believe, truly deep down, not just on a cerebral level, that I am a Daughter of the King of Kings, I will behave differently than if I believe I am still an orphan without a home. If I believe that I am redeemed and saved by grace, I will stop striving to achieve and earn God’s love, living instead in the rest and peace of being…