Simplifying… me

Transitioning from the familiar to the unfamiliar.
I have no idea what I’m doing.
I wake up in the morning and look around at suitcases and trunks, piles of clothes with no drawers, books with no shelves, and as I try to weave my way through the heavy fog of jet lag, I can’t figure out where [...]

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“Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.” John 15:4
Have you ever fought with God regarding the place where he has planted you?
Have you ever looked over at another garden and [...]

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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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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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“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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