“St. Patrick’s Breastplate,” a powerful prayer attributed to Saint Patrick of Ireland, begins in this way: I arise today Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity, Through belief in the Threeness, Through confession of the Oneness of the Creator of creation.1 “I arise today through a mighty strength.” Oh, wouldn’t that be nice…
Every Word Matters: Love
We named our daughter Love because I firmly believe that there is nothing on earth that is more powerful than love. Love is powerful because of its strength to bind us together, and it is just as powerful because of its vulnerability as it guides us to be more open and honest with one another…
Real Over Pretty
Their joy will be in doing what’s right and being themselves, and not in being affirmed by. — Galatians 6:4 TPT JESUS WASN’T PRETTY I didn’t know until I was older that Jesus wasn’t a mirror image of that tall, dark, and handsome man with the well-groomed facial hair who hung on our family room…
The Giving Keys: Hope, Love, Dream, Fight, Believe
My whole life, I’ve prayed, God, I want to feel what You feel for people. Break my heart so I feel for people exactly what You feel for them. Little did I know where that would lead me. A few years later, I was touring around the country for my music album. One week, I…
Warrior Princesses
“Me, a princess?” “You are the legal heir.” “I never lead anyone.” “We will help you to be a princess, to rule. If you refuse to accept the throne then the kingdom will cease to exist as we know it.” — The Princess Diaries In God’s name, we must fight them! — Joan of Arc Women are…
Strong: Embracing a Woman’s Nature
Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. — Ephesians 4:15 As women, our very nature and physical design are set up with nurture and tenderness in mind. We are not constructed with hard edges but gentle curves.…
Every Man Questions “Do I Have The Strength It Takes?”
Why don’t men play the man? Why don’t they offer their strength to a world desperately in need of it? For two simple reasons: we doubt very much that we have any real strength to offer, and we’re pretty certain that if we did offer what we have it wouldn’t be enough. Something has gone wrong and we know…
Be Strong! The Right Kind of Strong
Editor’s Note: I’m excited to share this unique and bold book with you. As a Jesus-follower constantly facing my personal frailty and fierceness, strengths and needs and seeking God’s divine interference in my life to find the sweet spot of graciousness and yet dauntlessness, I believe Mary speaks straight to the heart of issues women…
Fight Like a Man
If it’s used to love and to protect, it’s good. Unfortunately, it can also be used to inflict harm, and that’s not consistent with what we see of God’s character in the Bible. He calls us to fight for what’s right. And a warrior is only as worthy as his cause. A man without a…
The Hope of Jesus
Hope We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf. — Hebrews 6:19–20 The first-century symbol of Christianity was an anchor, not a cross. Pictured on the epitaphs of first-, second-, and third-century believers,…