The Bible is filled with stories of forgiveness and grace. People who endured hardship at the hands of another, yet somehow found the strength to forgive them. Faithful servants who chose to let go and let God. Men and women who put their faith in the wisdom and the power of God. Others who prayed for their enemies. We read about Joseph and his brothers, David and Saul. And, let’s not forget about Jesus, and the tenderhearted way He forgave those who crucified Him. “Father, forgive them,” He said, “for they know not what they do.” How many of us are willing to do that? To forgive before the pain…

When times are tough, we hope for better days, we wait for things to fall into place, and we pray that God will change the trials and situations around us. At least I do, after all that would be the easy way out. But here’s the thing–perhaps the real transformation needs to come from within. Throughout scripture we see men and women, not evading their trials, but rising above them. We read about Noah faithfully building an ark, while the rest of the world stood by and laughed. Daniel in the lions den. Three men in the fiery furnace. We read about Joseph thrown into a pit, sold by his…

Drawn from my archives When we gave our lives over to Christ, we left sin behind. At least we should have, if we love God the way we say that we do. And yet I wonder, how many of those little sins are we still hanging onto? The ones we don’t see as destructive, the ones we’ve decided can stay. Maybe it’s a bad temper. Maybe it’s a habit of swearing. Maybe you’re getting drunk on Saturday nights. Maybe you know it’s there, but you’ve decided this sin is harmless enough to remain a part of your life. Maybe you’re not ready to let go just yet. As I got…

Note: I have a big announcement coming tomorrow about a marriage series I’ll be hosting on the blog in the month of February! It all started a month ago–when I opened my gift from Michael. After removing the wrap, I had to pause for a minute before looking inside. My eyes filled with tears, when I realized that I was about to embrace my first pair of roller skates, and I didn’t want that feeling to end. Sure, I had roller skates back in the 70s, but that was almost 50 years ago when all they had were adjustable metal contraptions that slipped over my shoes and came with a…

When I heard the knock on the door, there was only one thing on my mind: I was a mess. I was ten feet from the front door in a mismatched pair of PJs and a not-so-great messy bun. This wasn’t the cute kind of look you get when celebrities are caught without make-up. This was the real me, bed head and all. The me you don’t see on Facebook, on Instagram, or anywhere near the eye of the public for that matter. After running to the bedroom for a two-minute makeover, I returned to the door where Michael was chatting with an old friend of ours. This girl knows…