ENCOURAGE - EQUIP - EMPOWER
IT STARTS HERE.
After hearing me speak at the Christmas Tea this last year, a woman walked up to me and asked, “Will you be my new best friend?” While others might have recoiled at this bold question, the woman had totally endeared herself to me, and I wanted to reply, “Sure I will!” I am a serial friender, an instant connector. Now, you may not be wired like me, but the truth still stands: friends are essential, even if you’re intimidated by the thought of having to make new ones.
Driving to a soccer practice. Texting. Cooking. Cleaning. Reading. Chasing after my German shorthair pointer. As a working mother to two busy girls, I find myself pulled in a variety of directions. In the span of five minutes you can find me whipping something random together from my fridge for dinner to responding to an email from my boss that popped up on my phone. All the while my kids are vying for my attention. Do you ever struggle with simply being present?
Have you ever noticed that belief comes far more easily than trust?
I believe a lot of things about God. I know He created the world and sustains it. I believe in Jesus -- that He came to earth, died and rose from the dead so that I can have a relationship with Him. I do not doubt that these things are true. My problem is that, even amidst those strong beliefs, I don’t always trust Him.
I have always loved Easter. I mean, what's not to love? It's a holiday that heralds flowers and spring. When I was little, my sisters and I would anxiously wake up early Easter morning. We would compete to see who could find the most eggs and which one of us would discover our treat-filled baskets first. It was also a day to show off our new dresses or outfits; we loved the fashionable 70s clothes my mom made us each year. I even enjoyed going to church and hearing the Easter story.
I’ve become an early riser. Each morning, I get my coffee and then try—really try—to exercise by getting out on a long walk with my dog, followed by spending time reading the Bible. It’s a habit I’ve cultivated through the years with a friend: trying to make each other accountable to wake up each morning to Jesus. I usually have a passage I’m studying, which right now is the Beatitudes in Matthew 5:1-12, and a devotional from New Morning Mercies by Paul David Tripp.
Do you find that God uses just about anything to teach you something He wants you to know? That happened to me this week when I was reading an article about, of all things, Poland.
I was reading a rather alarming article in the news the other day. Poland recently passed a law saying that it is a crime to accuse that country of any involvement in the Holocaust.
