rebelling against low expectations
My child, there is a gift beyond worth. A gift that is given and renewed each day. It’s a gift to mend heart and heal hurt. A gift far deeper than the mere word we say. My child, there is a gift that helps us bare Anything that brings weeping and grief. It’s a gift to bind people and hold off despair, A gift far deeper than the mere word we speak. Like a healing balm and a bonding rope, Causing...
“I feel like a tornado just ripped through our lives. We all survived, but it still caused devastation. There are still piles of wreckage to be dealt with. Still evidence of the tornado’s presence. And it didn’t just cause new pain, it tore the doors off rooms where old pain lay dormant and scattered it everywhere.” I penned these words a few weeks after my momma came home from the hospital. On...
If you have been a Christian for a long time, I’m sure you have heard the Christmas Story a dozen times. We hear it so much that we’ve become blind to the goodness of it. We forget to take in what it really means. The Christmas story about God becoming man to build His kingdom here on Earth is very intriguing, but I think we miss the reason Christmas is such a sweet time. God was unable to be...
“It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas” once again. Toys are more abundant, Christmas music plays from every speaker and radio station, and Christmas lights twinkle as I drive home at night. I love to look around and take in the beauty of the Christmas season. I am so thankful for the decorations, the parties, the music, the treats, and the gathering of loved ones. But there is so often...
Unless you’re one of those early Christmas shoppers who have all their presents wrapped by Thanksgiving, Christmas gifts are probably on your mind right now. We all have special items we want to purchase for our family and friends and maybe a wish list of our own. If you’re stuck on what to give to the teens in your life, need some ideas on gifts that are both meaningful and fun, or want to give...
Christmas has always been the highest on my list of favorite holidays. It’s a magical time of year. The glowing lights, gift wrapping, shopping, classic movies, hot chocolate, cozy winter pajamas, family traditions, and special baking leave a sense of ready cheer and lightheartedness that is hard to “muster up” at other times of the year. These aspects of Christmas are nice; however, I began...
The holidays are approaching. There will be wonderful scents filling the kitchen as American families bake Thanksgiving meals. Casseroles cooking, turkey sizzling, and the sweet smell of pumpkin pie wafting through the air… can you smell it? After that, joyful music will be playing wherever you go, festive lights will brighten houses, and shopping centers will be decorated with wreaths. People...
Since I was small, I have loved poetry. The way it doesn’t just tell you something but helps you to see and feel it too. I’ve tried my hand at poetry many times, one such occasion was last Christmas. If there’s any time of year that lends itself to poetry, it’s Christmas. I sat on the sofa, staring at the tree, my pen poised above the paper. Half an hour later these stanzas looked at me from the...
All throughout the Bible, God appointed and chose people that were lowly in the eyes of the world to accomplish His will. One such example is Mary. Mary was just a normal girl, living in the city of Nazareth and betrothed to Joseph. Her age isn’t known, but it’s assumed that she was a teenager. I’m sure Mary had her own plans and expectations for how her life would go, until an angel appeared to...
Christmas is supposed to be a time of joy. It’s what all the Hallmark movies tell us, with their over-the-top decorations and picture-perfect events. It’s what all the songs talk about (It’s the most wonderful time of the year, right?) It’s advertised on every commercial and ad: if we just buy this or do that or decorate just so, we’ll be happy and we’ll have the best Christmas ever. Yet rather...
rebelling against low expectations
