Practicing Boundaries: Love vs Enabling We all want to care and help those in need. But how do you know when you are being loving with someone, or are actually enabling them? When you are faced with a request for your time, energy or money, how do you know if the right response is to…
Those You Love in Heaven
There is one question that all children of God have wondered about at one time or another. It’s an important and personal question. For some of us, it’s the biggest question we have about life after this one. The question is simply this: Who is going to be in heaven? This is a big question.…
When a Tsunami Hits the Heart
The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all. – Psalm 34:18-19 As I flipped through television channels this morning at breakfast, I stopped on a news story describing a car accident. A young woman…
In This Together
Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. — 1 Thessalonians 5:11 I have a friend who recently participated in a five-mile mud run. Now, this is not one of those “I have a friend who” stories that is meant to mask the fact that I’m secretly…
Special Delivery
Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. — Galatians 6:2 Some days, dinnertime is a breeze. There are no wrecks on the commute home, the kids don’t have any homework, and you are right on track with your meal plans for the week. You walk in the…
Women Supporting Women: When Burdens Are Too Heavy
Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. — Galatians 6:2 Some plants — like tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, hollyhocks, delphiniums, gladiolus — need extra support in order to thrive. Their flowers or fruits are usually too heavy for the plant to support, and sometimes that fruit could rot if it touches the soil…
Spring Craft For Kids: Be The Hands Of God
It’s been a LONG winter here in Upstate, New York. The kids and I have experienced our share of stir crazy moments, but this spring craft brought a little sunshine to our day. My children are at a “hands on” age, and they love hearing me say, “Let’s make a craft!” But as a busy mom, I’m…
A Burden Shared Is a Burden Lifted
Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. — Galatians 6:2 As a mother, my desire has always been that my children would grow into competent, independent adults, but not at the expense of developing compassionate, caring hearts for others. In a world that often promotes individual rights over those of the community,…
What Did Jesus Write on the Ground?
[The teachers of the law and the Pharisees] were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing [Jesus]. But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with His finger. When they kept on questioning Him, He straightened up and said to them, “If any one of you is…