Welcome! Welcome to Session 1 of It’s Not Supposed to Be This Way. Opening Discussion How would you define disappointment? Watch Session One: The Birthplace of Disappointment The Birthplace of Disappointment (28 minutes) This Week’s Statement to Hold Onto: What would happen in our lives if we really lived in the absolute assurance of God’s love…
Find Delight in What Is Right
Paintings and People It was July 21. My forty-eighth birthday. I was in one of the hardest parts of this season of suffering. The season of dust. I wasn’t able to do the typical “Hey, since this is my birthday, let me just do a little planning… a little dreaming” thing. Nope. The future felt…
When God Gives You More Than You Can Handle
There’s no easy way to attach the word cancer to your world and not make all who love you cry. I kept thinking about that statement everyone loves to throw out in times like these: “God won’t give you more than you can handle.” But that’s not actually in the Bible. God does say He…
Unanswered Prayers
It’s easy to slip into the mentality that we somehow fell through the cracks of God’s good plans. Things are too final. The ink is too dry. The page has been turned. Their heart is too hard. Your heart is too hurt. The doctors have said impossible. The account is too bankrupt. The biological clock…
It’s Not Supposed to Be This Way: Dust
I grabbed my chest while tears slipped down my cheeks in an unending stream. The pain in my heart wasn’t physical. But the stabbing emotional hurt was so intense I could hardly breathe. My hands were shaking. My eyes were wide with fear. My mouth felt paralyzed. My life had gone from feeling full and…
Yesterday’s Hurts in Today’s Relationships
My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry. — James 1:19 “We don’t need you there.” A simple sentence. Five words. Five syllables. However, in my brain the interpretation of this sentence was anything but simple. It unleashed a flood…
I’m Scared to Pray Boldly
The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. — James 5:16 Sometimes I’m scared to pray boldly. It’s not at all that I don’t believe God can do anything. I absolutely do. I’m a wild-about-Jesus girl. Wild in my willingness. Wild in my obedience. Wild in my adventures with God. So my hesitation…
Is God Good to Me?
Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. — Romans…
But, Lord, I Can’t Do That!
But, Lord, I Can’t Do That! Moses said to the Lord, “Pardon your servant, Lord. I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.” — Exodus 4:10 Insecurities. We all have them. These qualities about ourselves that make us lack…
Upside Down
Just so you know, I wish I could take away every disappointment that nips at the edges of your happiness and sits heavy in your heart. Big and small. A past hurt or a present heartbreak. I wish we could get together in the comforts of my white kitchen with dishes in the sink and…