Simplifying… me

There is no distance we can run from which God’s gracious hand can not reach out and rescue.
We can never go too far where redemption can not pull us back.
And if we think that our current circumstances have hidden us too far out of sight, then we have forgotten just how great and mighty, mindful [...]

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We need hope.
Hope is what gets us up and out of bed in the morning when the impossible is staring at us in the face.
Hope is what energizes and empowers us to keep hanging on when the unthinkable has disrupted our lives.
Hope reminds us that while we may not see it right now, we can [...]

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I was in third grade. It was a Sunday morning, and I was sitting in our children’s church room at church when our children’s leaders were suddenly called away from the classroom. They left a boy and a girl in charge – no more than two years older than myself – who were instructed to [...]

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We bought Jasper a coloring book and a set of jumbo crayons to keep him entertained on our long road trips. He’s three, so for him the thrill of the activity is simply the fact that he can make marks on the paper and scribble to his heart’s delight and nobody is going to stop [...]

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Embrace the past
Embrace tomorrow
Embrace the joy
Embrace the sorrow
Embrace the simple
Embrace the uncertain
Embrace the weathered
Embrace the new again
All the days ahead
Are made what they will be
By all the days behind.
The gift of what seems too hard
Appreciated for what growth
Awaits on the other side.
The goodness of it all
The excitement, challenge, stretching, breathing in grace and peace
Found in [...]

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“But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.” Luke 2:19
As December draws to a close, and as we wrap up another year into a nice, neat bow – kind of like a present on Christmas morning – I think it would be advantageous to pause. Before we start making resolutions [...]

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“We praise you, God, we praise you, for your Name is near; people tell of your wonderful deeds.” Psalm 75:1
The nearness of His presence is as close as the mention of His name.
When we declare the goodness of God, when we tell others of his wonderful deeds – all that he has done – God [...]

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Life doesn’t pick and choose the who, the what or the when it will blow in and turn things upside down. Every person on this planet – young, old, rich and poor – will come face-to-face with the harsh reality of life at some point. None of us gets a pass. We are all affected, [...]

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In the cold, damp, dreary cell, after the dinner hour had passed and the quiet of evening slowly and silently settled in, I wonder – as Joseph processed the happenings of the day – what thoughts and feelings, emotions and curiosities wandered through his mind as the sun sank its way into the night. Once [...]

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“I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.” Psalm 27:13,14
Where is our confidence?
Is our confidence in a system? A government? A leader? A friend?
When our confidence hangs upon the shoulders [...]

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