My husband, Rich, lost his dad unexpectedly when he was eight. When father and son functions happened through the years, men from church and his friends’ dads always included him. Perhaps that’s why my husband has such a heart for Little League baseball and is known throughout our community as a caring coach. When our next door neighbor and…
Dance Stand Run: Let’s Go Back
It’s okay if we’ve had some misconceptions about grace, holiness, and mission. But it’s time for us to go back to the beginning of our faith and sort them out. ✦ Suggested Reading in Dance, Stand, Run: Intro, Chapter 1 (To be read by facilitator) Intro Ladies, friends, sisters: are you ready? This week, we’re…
Depression: The Lord is Close to the Brokenhearted
by Barbara Hunsaker, excerpted from Hopelifter: Creative Ways to Spread Hope When Life Hurts by Kathe Wunnenberg As a principal of a small Christian school, one phenomenon I saw from time to time was “cutting.” Students would cut themselves, not deeply enough to do permanent damage but enough to inflict pain and leave scars. I wondered why…
Jesus’ Tears Give You Permission to Shed Your Own
Martha sat in a damp world, cloudy, tearful. And Jesus sat in it with her. I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in Me, even though they die like everyone else, will live again. — John 11:25 NLT Hear those words in a Superman tone, if you like. Clark Kent descending from…
Life Is Short: Enjoy It!
How do we enjoy life? Each Day Totally We do not know how long we have to live, so we should live every day with gusto. Oh, how sweet the light of day, And how wonderful to live in the sunshine! Even if you live a long time, don’t take a single day for granted. Take delight…
All Things New: The Hope of Renewal
Picture a treasure chest. Not a small box that might hold jewelry on a girl’s nightstand — a large treasure chest, larger than any suitcase you own, larger than any suitcase you’ve ever seen. Picture a massive oak treasure chest, like pirates might have used, with large iron hinges and a huge clasp. The size…
Believing in Hope
Editor’s Note: It’s Sit & Listen Saturday at Devotionals Daily. Enjoy reading as well as listening to this devotion from Streams in the Desert by L. B. E. Cowman. Listen on the blog below or on your Alexa device by enabling the skill and then prompting, “Alexa, ask devotionals to read today’s devotion.” Whatever you…
Show Me the Way, God!
I’m the answer to your prayer. That’s why I was sent down here. — Clarence the Angel, after George tells him “I got a bust in the jaw in answer to a prayer.” When George Bailey sidles up to Martini’s Bar on Christmas Eve, he’s at the lowest point of his life. In the span of only a few hours,…
Overcoming Hopelessness
Overcoming Hopelessness The Bible emphasizes faith, hope, and love as our three essentials. Each is necessary for a vibrant faith, they are different from each other but are related. They are like three sisters. Hope says “I know things will work out, I just don’t know how or when!” Her sister Faith says, “Things have…
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…