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
- trampled the waves of the sea
- A royal diadem in the hand of God?
- passing through walls like rocks pass through water
- Lean hard.
- twisted and stuck, or held and comforted?
- helping generations you might never see
- little starfish smiles
- knowledge too heavy
- the teaching of kindness is on her tongue
Tag Archives: salvation
the dazzling display of sovereignty in creation (meant as a primer)
“Why did God create?…God was not inwardly lonely or personally empty; He was entirely self-satisfied, self-content, and self-contained. So God did not create because of some limitation within Himself… He created everything out of nothing in order to put His … Continue reading
a man who waited in Jerusalem
Chosen by God to be part of His story: Zechariah, Elizabeth, Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, the Magi. And now Simeon. Simeon, not spoken to by God in a dream, as the Magi were. Not spoken to by angels as Zechariah, … Continue reading
You might be the person God would use in a pretender’s life
I watched the three of them. One with porcelain beauty, shy, reserved, made nervous by my boisterous veneer and hard-partying reputation. One a song-bird, singing and humming her way through Christian tunes I didn’t quite recognize. I remember thinking she seemed to … Continue reading
Posted in Christianity, Faith, God, Jesus
Tagged born again, depression, despair, emptiness, facade, fear, Matthew 5:14-16, pretending, salvation, testimony, veneer, witness
4 Comments
telling your testimony to your children
“Fathers and mothers are the most natural agents for God to use in the salvation of their children. I am sure that, in my early youth, no teaching ever had such an impression upon my mind as the instruction of … Continue reading
Posted in Christianity, Faith, God, Holy Spirit, Jesus
Tagged born again, children, Christian parenting, Christian testimony, Jesus Christ, salvation, Spurgeon, teaching children, telling children about God, witness
1 Comment
early in the morning
Misty morning sunlight, glistening on blankets of fresh spring blooms, lifts my thoughts to the Maker of dainty flowers. My heart sings words of praise from a precious old hymn: “Early in the morning, my song shall rise to Thee!” … Continue reading
Posted in Christianity, Faith, God
Tagged God's mercy, Psalm 40:1-5, salvation, song of praise
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He will hold them fast
Poor sinner, dejected with fear, unbosom thy mind to the Lamb; no wrath on His brow does He wear, nor will He poor mourners condemn; His arm of omnipotent grace is able and willing to save; a sweet and a … Continue reading
Engraved
Before the throne of God above I have a strong and perfect plea. A great High Priest whose name is Love, who ever lives and pleads for me. My name is graven on His hands. My name is written on His … Continue reading
Posted in Christianity, Faith, God, Jesus
Tagged Before the throne of God, Charitie Bancroft, Christ my Savior, Isaiah 49:16, J.I. Packer, knowing God, redemption, salvation, sin, the gospel
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Talking to myself vs. talking to God
Some years ago a friend moved to our town and brought with her a phrase I’d not heard before — she talked about “speaking the gospel” to herself. The phrase carried depth of meaning for her. For me, not having … Continue reading
Posted in Christianity, God
Tagged child of God, confession, despair, grace, mercy, Prayer, recriminations, salvation, self-talk, talk to God, talk to myself, the gospel, turning to God
4 Comments
Who’s in charge of life’s random circumstances?
Verses memorized by kids at our church’s Vacation Bible School keep running through my mind. They studied the passage in Acts 17 where Paul stands surrounded by statues to false gods and speaks life-changing truth to the gathered Athenians. He … Continue reading
still the same inside
It’s that time of year in my town. Co-eds choose the same dream I chased in the 80s. Of course, not all go as I did — some do go to see and savor and thank God for His amazing … Continue reading
Posted in Christianity, Faith, Jesus
Tagged college, despair, emptiness, fulfillment, Isaiah 52:7, Jesus' love, Oxford, performance, salvation, study abroad, travel
8 Comments
REDEEMED RANSOMED ADOPTED
Take a moment. Picture yourself as the central figure in a frightening scene. In this bleak setting, you find yourself huddled in a dark room. The stone of a cold wall cuts into your back, and sounds of moaning reach … Continue reading
Posted in Christianity, Faith, God, Jesus
Tagged adoption, child of God, Ephesians 1:4-8, God the Father, ransom, redeemed, redemption, salvation, servant, slave, the gospel
6 Comments
Nothing comes from nothing?
Because there weren’t many movies kid-friendly enough for our young children’s eyes to see (and because I’d always loved it myself), our family used to watch The Sound of Music at least once a year — and each time the … Continue reading
Near the heart of His love
A story to turn our eyes upon Jesus. A visual to soften our hearts and absorb our thoughts: “What though you are sometimes perplexed with doubts and fears? What though you find it hard to say whether your faith is … Continue reading
Posted in Christianity, Faith, God, Jesus
Tagged Christ's work, J.C. Ryle, Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ's supremacy, love for Christ, salvation, sin, steadfast love, the gospel
1 Comment
Even More Beautiful 