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Love, Truth, Love
You are in for a treat! My friend and writer Ashley Jones of BigSisterKnows.com is my guest here today. She and her husband Robby demonstrate how differences can complement each other. Are you more like Ashley or Robby? Read on to learn how each personality type has its own strength and weakness … and how these blended styles help us make the most of our relationships. Guest blog by BigSisterKnows.com My husband Robby and I have been happily married for over six years now. One of the reasons we work so well together is that neither of us likes drama. We prefer the simple life. But, sometimes, stuff happens and you just…
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Adored: Book Giveaway & Review
Each year about this time, I start thinking about a daily devotional book to supplement my Scripture reading. Some of my favorites in the past have included Charles Stanley’s Every Day in His Presence and Oswald Chambers’ My Utmost for His Highest. When people ask me for recommendations, I sometimes hesitate because while I enjoy the ones I read, they might not be the best fit for everyone. That’s why I’m excited to introduce you to Lindsay A. Franklin’s Adored, a daily devotional intentionally designed for young women (middle or high school age). The short selections for each day touch on issues relevant to today’s teens and offer biblical perspective on…
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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,…
