Simplifying… me

“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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“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13
Everyone’s looking for a little more joy and a little more peace.
There is a running joke in our family. The kids will ask [...]

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Peter walked on water.
I see this story as a vivid depiction of the realities of walking by faith.
Think about it.
Peter wanted to be where Jesus was, and so he climbed out of the security of the boat and took his first step onto the water. And then, when the wind began to pick up speed, [...]

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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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The days is yours, and yours also the night; you established the sun and the moon. It was you who set all the boundaries of the earth; you made both summer and winter.” Psalm 74:16,17
He is sovereign over all; all that we face today and all that we face tomorrow.
Be encouraged.
Find peace in his promise.
Jesus [...]

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“Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory. Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my [...]

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“He who sacrifices thank offerings honors me, and he prepares the way so that I may show him the salvation of God.” Psalm 50:23
I love November.
This is the season of thankfulness. This is the time of year when we set our hearts on remembering the goodness in our lives; a time of recalling God’s faithfulness [...]

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“Every beginning is a consequence. Every beginning ends something.” Paul Valery, French Poet
We are officially in the “in-between”.
I wrote a little on transitions here and here back in January. Today I am revisiting this topic as we are a year into our journey towards career missionary work and almost five months deep into the complete [...]

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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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“Too much” goes two ways.
There is the too much over-working, too much over-doing, taking too much on, too much killing ourselves for more, too much self-reliance, living in a hyperactive, micro-managing mindset that the world depends on us doing too much. And then there is the other “too much”. The too much hiding, too much [...]

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