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Reformation Day: Celebrate the Light
Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the castle door in Wittenberg over 500 years ago. Happy Reformation Day! What’s the first word or image that comes to mind when someone says October 31? Maybe it’s a costume hanging in your closet or your favorite candy or the fall festival your church is hosting. Maybe it’s the pumpkin carving contest that didn’t quite go as planned. For me, I think of my college Bible professor dressed in a long robe and hammering parchment paper to his office door to reenact the start of the Protestant Reformation. Most people celebrate October 31 as Halloween, but few realize this day marks a milestone of Christianity. On…
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What Fire Won’t Destroy: 2 Tests to Discern Lasting Value
My friend and blogger Ashley Jones invited me to guest blog on her website BigSisterKnows.com, a place where we can find encouragement for our daily lives from a long-time big sis! Growing up with brothers (who are awesome, by the way), I’m blessed to know Ashley, who has become like a big sister to me in many ways. I hope this post encourages you today. Click over to her website to read it in full, and check out some of her other resources. Post excerpt If you’ve seen the news recently, your heart probably goes out to the people in California who have lost their homes—even their lives—to wildfires. I…
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3 Pitfalls of People Pleasing
Does anyone else out there struggle with the problem of people pleasing? What are some core values we can keep in mind to help us be honest with others and ourselves? I’m excited to share this post with you, which published today on DailyPS.com, and welcome your comments. Post excerpt As a youth leader for six years, I often challenged teens not to conform to peer pressure but to let God’s Word transform their thoughts and actions (Romans 12:2). Recently, I realized we adults suffer from a subtler form of this problem called people pleasing. Those of us who dislike conflict and change (or is that all of us?) find…
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Run to the Word
Teach me, O Lord, the way of Your statues, And I shall keep it to the end. (Psalm 119:33 NKJV) My half marathon is just over a month away. One. Month. Away. Last week, I ran 7.3 miles and was feeling pretty good about my mileage, until I did the math. 13.1 – 7.3 = 5.8 Did I mention I never liked math? (Hence, I teach English.) The good news is I’m over half way there. The bad news is that I almost need to double last week’s distance to reach the finish line. *Groans* Don’t worry. I’m not quitting. I will cross that finish line. There just might be…
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The Season of Change
The fact Florida doesn’t experience foliage proves to be a sore spot for many residents. Personally, I’m happy to live with the trade-off of year-round sunshine since driving north a state or two lets me visit fall in all its glory. However, I may be the exception. The other day, a friend shared a graphic of the current fall foliage, which met with nearly unanimous groans. The focus was my home state, Florida, and the key read something like this: With some, I’ll never win the sunshine over foliage argument. However, there’s one season that proximity to the equator doesn’t determine. The season of change doesn’t discriminate like fall colors…
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Faith That’s Not Fake
Recently, I attended the Florida Blog Convention in Orlando with my friend and fellow writer Ashley Jones. We figured we might be the only Christian bloggers there but wanted to go and learn what we could. Turns out, there was only one other “faith” blogger in attendance, but everyone we met was friendly and welcoming to us. We befriended one blogger who seemed confused by what we write. Finally, she asked, “What is a fake blogger?” Ashley and I stared at each other. Fake? “Oh, faith-not fake,” we hurried to explain. She smiled. “Yeah, I was kind of wondering what a fake blogger would write about.” Truth be told, however,…
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2 Lies the Enemy Tells Us about Being Single
This week’s post talked about God’s timing, and I think it’s “timely” that my guest post for DailyPS.com on singleness also published the same week. In every season of life, most of us would probably admit we’re “waiting” for something … to get through that advanced math class, to hear back on college applications, or to receive that long-awaited promotion. Many people are also waiting and wondering when their relationship status might change. Though I don’t often blog about singleness, I think this topic is important, because it’s often misunderstood. If you’re single or know someone who is, I’d encourage you to click over to DailyPS.com to read the full post.…
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Our Maker’s Metronome
Click, click, click. Beep, beep, beep. That metronome used to drive me crazy as a beginning piano student. If you play piano (or some other instrument), maybe that little device was the bane of your early musical years, too. Of course, my teacher had my best interests at heart, and thanks to her persistence and the nagging of that metronome, my timing improved. All along, I knew its steady beat was right, but I still resented it. Am I that way with God’s timing? Are you? We might say we believe His ways are best, but truthfully, we’d rather speed up the tempo. However, when we rush ahead of God,…
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Dare to Know God’s Word
Know that God’s Word has to be front and center. We have to be thinking about it, be able to quote it. Refuse to let fear and discouragement hold us back; for wherever we go, God will be with us.- Lysa TerKeurst. Last week, I introduced you to TerKeurst’s book, The Best Yes, which challenged me in the area of priorities. My running friend gave me a daily calendar based on the book to help me focus daily on some key principles. The above quote reminded me that I not only need to train physically for this half marathon, but I also need to prepare mentally for the spiritual endurance…
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Cone of Uncertainty and Giving Up Control
Last week, I had a hard time focusing, and this week started much the same. If you live in Florida, you may have shared the same problem. When I stared at Hurricane Irma’s cone of uncertainty, I wondered how the storm’s path might impact me. Not having owned my home for even a year, I found myself wanting to hold tightly onto what I had little control to protect. Though I’m grateful the storm didn’t damage my home, the experience made me realize I need to hold more loosely, not only to the things of this life, but also to choices and circumstances whose results I can’t control. Because at…
