Editor’s Note: It’s Fiction Friday! And Amy Clipston fans, Amish fiction fans, are going to rejoice! Here are some terrific reads for this month. What’s on your bedside table? The Beloved Hope Chest The final book in Amy Clipston’s acclaimed Amish Heirloom series — and both a Publishers Weekly and ECPA bestseller! “Clipston has woven…
Checkered Pasts Don’t Check You Off God’s List
The journey to become Missy’s mama started when I was seventeen years old, when Cindy Whelchel — my best friend in high school — and I led our youth group Bible study through the theme of adoption in Scripture. We made a pact to adopt babies that no one else wanted when we grew up. We were as sincere as…
Depression: Fighting Dragons
Being the Hunted What did Jesus call people who were attacked by dragons, regardless of the righteous way they were conducting their lives? Jesus called these people normal. Jesus made a few promises about what would happen to us, regardless of our faith. Here is what Jesus promised those who love Him the most: In…
Sleeping with the Enemy
Know When to Let Go An integral part of being angry and not sinning is knowing when to let go of your anger. Perpetuating anger perpetuates sin, which perpetuates unforgiveness, which intensifies the anger response. You no longer are dealing with each infraction of displeasure; you are dealing with an accumulation of many infractions against…
God Came Near: Women of Winter
Editor’s note: Max Lucado speaks straight to our hearts as he opens God’s Word in a story-telling, homespun, easy to understand, and heart-provoking way. Enjoy this excerpt of God Came Near which shares Jesus’ incredible love for women. * I The mourners didn’t cause Him to stop. Nor did the large crowd, or even the body of the dead…
The Opposite Life: Strong vs Weak
Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for…
Fighting for Healthy Friendship in the Social Media Age
Are you old enough to remember when “the Facebook” came out? I was a freshman in college when I received that initial email invite and quickly saw the appeal. Before Facebook, I would have had to make several phone calls or send dozens of texts to figure out what all my high school friends…
Know Your Name
In a large auditorium after a women’s conference, ladies were filing out as music pumped energetically through the building. The excitement in the air struck a stark contrast with the words coming from Brianna’s mouth. A new mother, she had stayed behind to talk to me, painfully unraveling the nightmare she was living. She was…
Hopelifters Need Hopelifters, Too!
Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. — 1 Thessalonians 5:11 “How do you fill your pitcher?” I’ll never forget hearing the speaker’s words as she finished pouring water into several glasses and held up an empty pitcher. I could relate to feeling empty after pouring…
Be Moved. Do Something.
Be Moved Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same. — Luke 3:11 NIV Human hurt is not easy on the eyes. Yet there is something fundamentally good about taking time to see a person. Simon the Pharisee once disdained Jesus’…