Hi, beloved! It’s been eons since we connected. We’ve been through some crazy battles since then. All of us. In the middle of the mess, God has continued to show up as only he can do. He graciously gave me an opportunity to write sixty devotionals for The Masterpiece Edition of The Passion Translation. This Bible is already on sale on Amazon, releasing this November in perfect time for Christmas. Combined with sixty breathtaking paintings by world-renown artist, Ron DiCianni, these devotionals help people feel loved by God in a whole new way. I asked the Lord what he wanted …
Unity
Unity is as important to God as ever, but often a downer when we stare at the church’s apparent lack of it. Even the word “unity” strikes a barrage of thoughts and questions. What does it mean? What does God want? After all, He made us all different, right? Let’s cut to the chase. He wants us all to seek His face. The more we spend time with Him, the more we become like Him. The more we become like Him, the more we become unified in our hearts. Dwight and I have matching wedding rings to signify this. The …
5 Heart-Softening Words
Little Josiah, from my recent book, Josiah’s Fire: Autism Stole His Words, God Gave Him a Voice, inspires thousands with his great wisdom. I especially love one of the things Josiah shared with his mom, my coauthor, Tahni: “If you love the child you have, you’ll have the child you love.” The more I considered it, the more I realized this same truth truth could also apply to marriage. If you love the spouse you have, you’ll have the spouse you love. Dwight and I recently had an opportunity to give marriage counseling to a guy on the phone who was at the …
The Freedom Challenge
What do wayward children, difficult coworkers, and emotionally distant relatives have in common? The true simple answer: Each one of these needs our prayers, understanding, and kindness. (But the true simple fact is: we can’t love one of them even one iota without God’s help.) Our freedom cost Christ His life. Doesn’t it make sense that we now follow the call and bring freedom to others? That’s why I invite you to join me in taking the freedom challenge. I promise it’s better than the coca-cola challenge and the ice bucket challenge, and you’ll feel a lot warmer. To be …
Don’t Go Green
Has it happened to you lately? The moment your joy meets another person’s envy? The time your happy heart collides with someone’s self-pity? A friend waxes green behind a tight-lipped smile and a reluctant shake of the head… “Must be nice…” She may even toss God into it. “Boy, I sure wish God would do that for me…” Self-pity, self-seeking, comparison-making, false-fronts. Yuck, yuck, double yuck. But who hasn’t tasted the sour-stomaching fruity effects of the flesh? So we ask God for more love! Indeed, our flesh screams in protest when we work to attain something, only to watch it …
Closer Than You Think
I’m as close as the mention of My name. Not even an inch can separate us. I blanket you with everything in Me and all I want is your love. You don’t have to jump high hoops to reach My approval. I approved you the moment I made you, and I don’t make mistakes. Here’s what I do with mistakes when you slip them in my hand: I turn them into dazzling diamonds—God-glorifying gems in the crown of your tested testimony. The more you see how much I treasure our closeness, the more you’ll treasure Me and rise to the …
Falling Down Safe
Sometimes in the pruning, little homes get toppled. Creature comforts get turned upside down. Fear. Sometimes warm hands reaching out feel cold and foreign. Sometimes they just want to love. Sometimes we need to climb higher. Have a holy huddle. Sometimes we need to see down times as opportunities for more closeness. Sometimes loving touches speak louder than words. Sometimes we’re blessed to make a new friend. We can taste and see the goodness of God. In everything. Everything can be a learning experience… When we’re open and brave… …
However, Whenever
However, Whenever You are My crystal pitcher, pure refreshment, poured out. Depleted, exhausted, spent? Let My Living Water fill your space, richly. Again and again, I satisfy. Making you satisfying to quench. See My sparkling face shining through you, never dulling? You know Me deeper daily, but I know you deeper still. You lived with Me from the beginning, a spirit-seed awaiting place and time. I waited with you before you even knew how to know. I waited to breathe in you and be your love-blood. I waited to get messy for you and raise you …
God’s Got You Covered
Reach God covered our sin-problem even before He spoke creation into existence and reached His perfect fingers into those dark layers of dirt to design us. Son Even before God shaped Adam and Eve, He fashioned our future with His own flesh and blood. He devised a plan involving His perfect Lamb who would rescue us from our dirty selves and every muddy place we’d ever tread. [box] The lamb who was slain from the creation of the world. Revelation 13:8[/box] Story The most powerful stories involve death, whether it’s the death of a person, the death of a reputation, …
Raging Seas
Shaken Heart Waves ride high, licking the sides of your boat, toppling inside. Water deepens, clawing tightness in your chest. Jesus had snatched this boat at the end of a long, crowd-saturated day, so he could reach the other side of the sea. With Jesus asleep now, you feel abandoned. Must you and your friends battle this storm by yourselves? In a howling gust, your boat couldn’t be more tossed and you know you’re going to drown. What in the world? Shouldn’t Jesus at least see this mess he threw you into? Winds roar so loud you can hardly hear …
Depositing in Dreamers
“You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden.” Matthew 5:14
“In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:16
Your Blooming Dreams
Dear God-Sized Dreamer, When fear screams as loud as your dreams, drink Him in. He will brighten you. Your Creator is a dreamer too. He “gets” you and He wants to work with you. The soil is tough, but the same Spirit who raised Christ from the dead, breathes in you. He is your whole reason to dream. The One who holds you will bring it to pass in due season. [box] “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” …
And The Lord Says…
I awaken in the middle of the night, fear-struck and wondering, “How will I finish this task when it’s so much bigger than I am?” And the Lord says, “Nothing is bigger than I AM.” Hovering close, His feathery Spirit slips truth into my worry-weighted one. In healing waves, He pours Himself, freely. So what can I do but freely receive… [box] My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness. 2 Corinthians 12:9[/box] Lord, it’s a battle, this worry habit. After so many years of practice, I wonder if I’m too good at it. “Practice letting …
Destiny Song
Hey friend! Every now and then I like to write a random song and pray it blesses you. This one flowed quickly and effortlessly. I simply sang it out and jotted it down. Maybe that’s why I’m a little nervous to share it here right now. When I’m tired. When I’ve already taken a lot of risks this week (already met my risk quota). But amidst the busyness of my new book project, I’ve missed you and I’ve wanted to share at least one new thing God slipped in my heart. So here goes… However this finds …
Happy Light Year!
My candles flicker bits of shadows on my husband and kids around the table. I burst with God-dreams for each of us, hoping our family will spill out and reach more people with the hope that once reached us. Sometimes I think time’s richer than money, and I grieve how it’s stolen and wasted on willy-nilly pursuits. Then I remember how each new year brims with fresh possibility. What will I do differently as I partner with Jesus? Wanting my dreams and passions to match His, I dwell on Matthew 5:14. [box] “You are the light of the world.” [/box] …
Good Words and Flying Balloons
It was a no good, really bad day, and I couldn’t hide my tears. To make matters worse, my son caught sight of me as he scuttled by. But he held his calm. He did a double take, and flashed a smile. “You’re God’s warrior,” he said. I blinked. Did that really come from his twelve year old mouth? His words found their place. They flickered some kind of light in me. You know how love plus truth equals hope, right? Well, I daydreamed as he skipped off to his room. Then he returned. “Remember, you’re God’s warrior!” he repeated …
My Big, Fat, Powerful Tongue!
My Bible Study leader looked at us. “Ok, so we’re going to share prayer requests and praises. Cheryl?” I began, “Hmm… Well, last week I had a mastectomy….” Everybody gasped. I gasped. Heat rushed to my face. “Ah – you meant to say ‘mammogram,’ right?” The leader glanced at my chest. “Yes, mammogram!” I said, whacking myself on the head. “Well, they both start with m.” I snorted, then everybody lost it. Only Two Kinds of Mistakes The incident reminded me how there are really only two kinds of slips or mistakes: Mistakes of human denseness (innocent blips like my …
No Shellfish Please
“Don’t be shellfish,” I tell my kids, hoping to sound light about something so heavy. Selfishness is THE battle, is it not? It is so multi-talented that it manages to hurt us, God, and others, all at the same time. [box] Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Philippians 2:3[/box] Hats off to our role model, Jesus. [box] Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave …
Balancing the Love Scales
Poor poor Leah. I know what it’s like to be picked last on a team, but I’ve never been my husband’s second choice for a wife. Jacob liked Leah’s sister, Rachel, the pretty-faced hottie with a body. Jacob thought he was working seven years for Rachel, but woke up the night after the wedding with a gasp of horror at his father-in-law’s switcheroo. Because Leah wasn’t what Jacob wanted, he kept working another seven years for the one he truly adored. Rachel. Our Compassionate God [box] But because Leah was unloved, the LORD let her have a child, while Rachel …
Scars of Trust
It felt like a punch in the gut. My husband and I wrote this for the classifieds: FREE older playground set, complete with swings, slide, and climbing fort. First person to pick it up, gets it! We fielded constant calls before a couple finally padded across our lawn, inspecting their potential treasure. “Oooh…” they gushed. “Our kids will looove it! But we can’t pick it up until Monday. Is that ok?” The couple won us over, so we deviated from our first-picker-upper-gets-it plan. We shook on it, and it was a done deal for Monday. We thought. Monday was family …