A Journey to Stillness

31. December 2012 · Write a comment · Categories: God's still working on me · Tags:

My “one word” for 2012 was still, based on the verse, “Be still and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10) I chose this verse with the hope that my life would slow down so I could actually sit still in God’s presence. But as the saying goes, don’t pray for more patience because then you will be tested in patience. I guess the same could be said for stillness: don’t ask for a slow life because it will only get busier.

I say that because my life last year was more chaotic than ever…To read the rest of this post, visit Must Love God, my writing home today.

 

Counting All Joy

07. November 2012 · Write a comment · Categories: Anxiety, Spiritual Growth · Tags:

It started with the dryer breaking, then the car, then the pool pump, then the well, and ended with the garage door. One after another, all in the space of a few weeks. They say that bad things come in three’s. What does it mean if it’s more than three?

James says to “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds.” (James 1:2) It was a trial when everything broke at our house, but count it as joy? How? How do we count the trials in life as joy and as Paul admonished, rejoice in all things? Even when a job is lost, there’s a scary diagnosis, and a child runs away?

To read the rest of this post, visit Must Love God, my writing home today.

 

Be Weak so He Can be Strong

03. October 2012 · 2 comments · Categories: God's still working on me, Spiritual Growth · Tags:

He was only four-years-old. Already a veteran of numerous tests and procedures, the doctor finally had to recommend sinus surgery. We drove over two hours to the university hospital. The waiting room was full of patients waiting for their own surgeries. We joined them and sat down on the ragged, stained, institutional upholstered chairs. My stomach tight with fear, I stared at the grey, sterile, hospital walls. The sound of doctors and nurses speaking in medical jargon became like white noise to my ears.

I’m over at Must Love God today. I hope you’ll stop by to read the rest of this post on strength through weakness.

When You Don’t Want the Vacation to End

30. July 2012 · 4 comments · Categories: Spiritual Growth · Tags:

photo courtesy Christina Fox

photo courtesy Christina Fox

photo courtesy Christina Fox

There is something about a vacation that makes the heavy burdens of life fall off our backs. Everything seems brighter and clearer. The senses are heightened as we take in the beauty of God’s creation. Getting away is often restorative not only physically but spiritually as well.

God somehow seems closer the farther from home I get.

I was gone for three weeks this summer. To be honest, I didn’t want to return home (and I live in the land of vacations!). I didn’t want to lose the closeness to God I had experienced while away. I didn’t want the burdens of life to creep back on my shoulders. I didn’t want the peace in my heart to fade.

But does it really have to?

To read the rest of this post, visit Must Love God, my writing home today.

 

Set Free

04. July 2012 · Write a comment · Categories: Spiritual Growth · Tags:

Freedom: liberation from slavery or restraint or from the power of another

Flags are waving. Firecrackers are sounding. Grills are smoking. Our nation’s freedom is celebrated with family and friends, each July 4th. Amid the sounds, sights, and smells of celebration is the underlying reason for this holiday: our freedom from tyranny and oppression.

We have another reason to celebrate, not once a year but each and every day. We have been freed from another oppression-sin. This oppression is more sinister and deadly than even political oppression. It has eternal consequences for our very heart and soul.

To read the rest of this post, visit Must Love God, my writing home today.

 

Jumping in to Summer

01. June 2012 · Write a comment · Categories: Spiritual Growth · Tags:

Finally, summer is here! Time to relax, change the routine, and maybe even sleep in a little later.

As a homeschooling family, slowing down for the summer months is a nice change in pace for us. However, even though it is summer break, we don’t stop learning at our house. In fact, we continue doing school for about an hour a day.

The simple fact is that if we stopped completely, it would be that much harder to get back into the school routine come fall. The kids would probably lose momentum and we’d have to relearn some things before we can move into the next year’s curriculum.

To read the rest of this post, visit Must Love God, my writing home today.

 

When the Flowers Bloom

09. May 2012 · 2 comments · Categories: Spiritual Growth · Tags:

Source: Christina Fox

We recently spent the day at a botanical garden. Though the last of winter’s chill lingered in the air, the flowers were in full bloom. I breathed in their heavy scent and marveled at the variegated colors. I was mesmerized by all the different kinds of plants and flowers, snapping pictures at nearly every step I took. I could have stayed there for days, soaking in the aromas and enjoying the beauty around me.

To read the rest of this post, visit Must Love God, my writing home today.

Storm Preparations

26. March 2012 · Write a comment · Categories: Depression, Spiritual Growth · Tags:

I know a few things about storms.

It was late summer of 2004. My husband had gone to join the mob at the gas station. I was home packing boxes with photo albums, important papers and a few childhood mementos. I stood in front of the china cabinet, staring and considering. If we lost everything, what would I wish I had saved? There was the vintage snack plates that were my great-grandmother’s, my white milk glass collection, a Depression era cut glass candy dish that was my grandmother’s, a full china set-but there wasn’t room for it all. I chose a teacup and saucer, inherited from Grandmother’s collection, carefully wrapped it and placed in the box.

To read the rest of this post, visit Must Love God, my writing home today.

You Can’t Run Alone

22. February 2012 · 6 comments · Categories: Depression, friendship, God's still working on me, Spiritual Growth · Tags:

It’s hard to run this race all alone.

I hear the buzzing of my phone in my room, indicating I’ve received a text. I walk over to the antique desk where my phone continues to pulsate against the wood. The distinct golden grain of the oak secretary begins to blur in my vision as I look down at the phone. Picking it up, I read, “You doing okay?” The tears have begun their descent, quick and hard.

Source

The text was from a dear friend, a sister in Christ. She knows the days have been hard. She knows of the internal battle I regularly fight against the lies in my mind and the tears I try so hard to contain.

The phone buzzes again. “What can I do? How can I pray?”

To read the rest of this post, visit Must Love God, my writing home for today.