Real Women. Real Life. Real Faith.
Cast your burden on the Lord, [release it] and he will sustain and uphold you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken (slip, fall, or fail).
Psalm 55:22 AMP
A close friend once asked me how I can have peace over a hard situation because we share similar circumstances.
“I pray it away,” I told her, and then realized how trite that sounds to someone who is hurting.
[Read more…] about When Trouble Comes…“Both our van and our stove broke down this weekend, but God is still good.
My head hurts, but God is still good.
I spent the day in the emergency room, but God is still good.
I can’t breathe, but God is still good.“
As I write this on Sunday, Heather Hart has been in the hospital with covid for eighteen days. It’s been a rough time, full of joyful ups and terrifying downs, especially for Heather, but also for everyone who knows and loves her.
We thought she was getting better; we thought she’d be home in a few days, but Saturday night, the doctors said she has bacterial pneumonia. Breathing continues to be increasingly difficult and painful.
We don’t know what lies ahead, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned from Heather since I found Candidly Christian in 2017 it’s this:
[Read more…] about Life is Hard, But God is Still Good“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
Luke 4:18 ESV
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives
and recovering of sight to the blind,
to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
Do you feel like you’re in a constant state of overwhelm with all the things you think you should do? They say that just because it’s a good idea, doesn’t mean it’s a God idea, but how do you know what to focus on and when to let go?
I’ve been chasing disappearing shiny objects for years and getting nothing but a headache. But that’s changing since I read “The One Thing” by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan. In chapter two, they discussed the domino effect of focusing on one thing at a time, the one thing that will make everything else on your to-do list unnecessary. If you focus on that one thing, then everything else you need or desire most will fall into place, just like dominoes.
As I prayed over this, I remembered a mind map study I did on Luke 4:18-19 where Jesus announced that He is the long-awaited Savior – you know – right before the village tried to throw Him off a cliff.
As I studied Jesus’ own ministry mission statement, I learned that of all the reasons Jesus came to earth, the primary reason was to free us from the bondages of sin. His “one thing,” pointed to the cross. Everything else He accomplished was eternal, divine dominoes.
I’ve often written that Jesus is all things and can do all things, and this is true. But it all started with one thing: the cross.
Jesus is all things and can do all things, but it all started with one thing: the cross. Click To TweetAre you working on so many things that you’re finishing nothing? The Bible says that we were created for a purpose, not many purposes, but a purpose. I invite you to ask Jesus what your one thing is and what you should do first.
Jesus, thank you for your focus in fulfilling your purpose, to save me from my own sin. Please show me what my purpose is, how I may best serve the Father like You did. Please help me to focus and to follow You one step at a time. Amen.
I lost a piece of myself when my brain broke in 2014.
There I said it. And for the first time I can say it without shame. Without judgement. It’s not a curse, it’s just a fact of living with brain injury.
I’m not the same woman my husband married. I’m not the same person who gave birth to my daughter. I’m not the woman I’d always imagined I’d be.
And for the first time in 7 years, I’m okay with that.
[Read more…] about Brokenness, Grace & TruthIt seems that in America today; we talk about our stress level like a badge of honor, and we salute those who manage intense stress with apparent grace as battle-tested heroes.
In fact, I’d be willing to bet that over 3/4 of you reading this right now are living in a constant state of elevated stress. I say this knowing that most Grace & Truth readers are Christian authors and speakers, all working to spread the Gospel.
But here’s the thing about battle: it always leads to injury or death.
So why do we live this way, even as we serve Jesus?
[Read more…] about Grace & Truth To Cope With Daily StressPraise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.
2 Corinthians 1:3-4 NIV
May is mental health month, so over the past few weeks I’ve seen a lot of athletes talking about their mental health struggles as my husband watches boxing or mixed martial arts. Men who keep punching even when blood drips from their eyes are in tears, explaining why their life’s toughest battles are fought not in the ring, but in their mind.
[Read more…] about Sharing God’s Comfort, Grace & TruthI praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.
Psalm 139:14 ESV
When I first started reading the Bible, I gravitated to scriptures about my identity in Christ.
Looking back, I know my recovery from debilitating anxiety had to begin with learning who God says I am. But honestly, Psalm 139:14 didn’t really help, because all I heard was that I was scary. I’ve never understood how so many people could cling to a verse that said we were fearfully made, so I focused on the other, prettier verses.
[Read more…] about What It Means To Be Fearfully MadeA few years ago I went to a women’s retreat at church that talked about the masks we wear as we walk through life. We cover up how we really feel, and who we really are to put on the facade we think others want to see so we’ll be accepted. I had no idea how badly I needed this message until the end.
[Read more…] about Grace & Truth For What Never Defines YouSo from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view, though we once regarded Christ in this way we do so no longer. Therefore if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: the old is gone, the new is here!
2 Corinthians 5:15-17
Have you ever prayed with a stranger and then instantly felt a unique, lasting connection with that person, and wondered why you felt such fondness for someone you spent so little time with?
[Read more…] about The Power Of A Prayer PartnerIt’s Heather’s week to do Gace & truth today, but I’m stepping in because she’s swamped. And I’m able to step in because I took off work today. She’s swamped, and I took off for the same reason: to write a book.
[Read more…] about Prayer, Grace & Truth
