Recent Top Posts
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Recent Posts
- for now, over coffee
- church isn’t a class you go to
- the places doors take us
- though I oft left Thee
- I love teaching children
- Buckets that leak
- Who is the Holy Spirit?
- Are you walking at a distance from God?
- no matter when or where you’ve lived
- Why do we respond to beauty like we do?
- self-hate, or what God says about you
- if you haven’t read it…
- Depression: an embarrassment to be hidden, or a door for grace to enter through?
- when I need an attitude check
- Were you hired at the eleventh hour?
Top Posts & Pages
- for now, over coffee
- A royal diadem in the hand of God?
- trampled the waves of the sea
- Lean hard.
- twisted and stuck, or held and comforted?
- helping generations you might never see
- passing through walls like rocks pass through water
- knowledge too heavy
- the teaching of kindness is on her tongue
- little starfish smiles
Tag Archives: hope
Why does change in my child (for good) happen so slowly?
Lots of days I’ve felt lost as a parent. You’ve probably felt the same. Even on days when we feel confident that the guidance we’ve given our child is the kind that leads to healthy heart-change, we can still toss … Continue reading
Posted in Christianity
Tagged Christian parenting, hope, how do children change, I Timothy 1:15-16, motherhood, mothering, parenting, Paul Tripp, slow change
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God’s love rubbed into your grief
“The love and hope of God…has to be rubbed into our grief, the way you have to rub salt into meat in warm climates…Your grief is going to make you bleaker and weaker or it could make you far more … Continue reading
Posted in Christianity
Tagged 9/11, anger, grace, grief, hope, hope and love of God, how to deal with grief, John 11, love, made tender, tears, Tim Keller
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pursuing happiness and the worst thing that can ever happen
“Most people spend their lives trying to make their heart’s fondest dreams come true. Isn’t that what life is all about — ‘the pursuit of happiness’? We search endlessly for ways to acquire the things we desire, and we’re willing … Continue reading
Posted in Christianity
Tagged contentment, happiness, heart broken, hope, Keller, meaning, Psalm 51
1 Comment
suffering with hope and courage, not bitterness and despair
“Christianity does not provide the reason for each experience of pain, but it does provide deep resources for actually facing suffering with hope and courage rather than bitterness and despair.” (Tim Keller) Remember His words to you, dear Christian. Words … Continue reading
Posted in Christianity
Tagged bitterness, Christlike character, courage, despair, hope, pain, Romans 5, suffering, Tim Keller, unstoppable hope
2 Comments
strength for weary pilgrims
“Look at the starry sky—Jesus strewed it with its jewelry… Look at that enchanting landscape—Jesus enamelled it with its loveliness… Look at that cloud-capped mountain—Jesus reared it… Look at that beauteous lily—Jesus painted it… Look at that soaring bird—Jesus feeds … Continue reading
because we know the ending
“One of the wonderful things about the Bible is that it lets us know how the story ends. Right now, we are in the middle of the story. But it is also a story that in one sense has already … Continue reading
encourage one another with these words
And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve like people who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and was … Continue reading
Posted in Christianity, Faith, God, Jesus
Tagged Christianity, Christians who die, Corrie ten Boom, encouragement, grief, heaven, hope, I Thess. 4:13-18, Jesus' return, second coming of Christ
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a new morning’s mercy
He gives mercy for this morning. He’ll give strength for this day. And He promises hope, bright, for tomorrow. Child of God, as the golden glow brightens your new day’s horizon, believe. Believe His great faithfulness. Believe His promises. Believe … Continue reading
Posted in Christianity, Faith, God
Tagged believe, faithfulness, God's promises, great is thy faithfulness, hope, mercy, morning, promises, strength, sunrise, Thomas Chisholm
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forever changed by deep wounds
In the days since Patrick’s cancer was called cured, I’ve returned again and again in my mind to a word-picture I drew for us that day in the hospital garden. News of unexpected joy had just been shed upon us. … Continue reading
Posted in Christianity, Faith, God
Tagged cancer, cancer cured, childhood cancer, God cares, hope, loneliness, memories, purpose, recovery, WWII
8 Comments
When cancer is called cured
I realized on Day 3 that I was subconsciously, yet intentionally, hiding from the world. The news was too vast. Too joyous. If someone asked, how would I speak in such a way as to give God’s unexpected gift the … Continue reading
Posted in Christianity, Faith, God, Jesus
Tagged cancer, cancer cured, childhood cancer, cure, God's goodness, hope, joy, news
31 Comments
Don’t be an optimist
Optimism hopes for the best without any guarantee of its arriving and is often no more than whistling in the dark. Christian hope, by contrast, is faith looking ahead to the fulfillment of the promises of God … Optimism is … Continue reading
Posted in Christianity, Faith, God
Tagged best is yet to come, Christian hope, faith, Hebrews 11, hope, hope for the future, optimism, Packer, promises of God, real hope
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the hour before dawn
The story of Christian reformation, revival, and renaissance underscores that the darkest hour is often just before dawn, so we should always be people of hope and prayer, not gloom and defeatism. God the Holy Spirit can turn the situation … Continue reading
Posted in Christianity, Faith, God
Tagged Christian reformation, darkest hour, defeat, gloom, God the Holy Spirit, God's power, God's sovereignty, hope, hour before dawn, Os Guinness, Prayer, revival, trusting God
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Don’t waste your pain
In those early days, when our family was still reeling from our entry into the unknown world of childhood cancer (you can read more about those days here), my recurring prayer was that God would not allow us to dishonor … Continue reading
Posted in Christianity, Faith
Tagged adversity, cancer, CCEF, childhood cancer, David Powlison, Don't Waste Your Cancer, hope, John Piper, Luke 21:12-13, pain, purpose of trials, sickness, suffering
2 Comments
even to your old age
“Even to your old age I am He, and to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save.” (Isaiah 46: 4) “…when you were a strong young man, you … Continue reading
Posted in Christianity, Faith, God
Tagged aging, Albert Anker, Augustus Toplady, Charles Spurgeon, God's faithfulness, grace, Grandfather's prayer, hope, Isaiah 46:4, old age, Rock of Ages, trusting God, youth
3 Comments
Even More Beautiful 