Faith

This is part two of how to reconcile well. In part one, I shared how the enemy uses our desire for reconciliation or our avoidance of it against us. Reconciliation is a gift we’ve been given to exercise. Because without it we’d either be handling conflict in our own strength or not handling it at all. Since all gifts are …

She sat there in her chair and motioned me over. She didn’t even know my name, but she didn’t have to. She held out her hands, and I knew I needed to grab on tight. I leaned in so I could hear her above the crowd. “He will do it. Turn it over,” she said simply, her eyes searching mine. …

God said to my heart, “You have the gift of reconciliation.” When that was spoken, I didn’t understand it. I knew that Jesus died to reconcile us to God, but what did that have to do with me? I’ve always been the kind of person who is distracted to the point of immobility when there is an unreconciled conflict. I …

For God so loved the world … –John 3:16 The problem with unconditional love is the tendency to take it for granted. If I have to behave a certain way or do certain things to deserve the love I receive, I will undoubtedly try harder to please the one who loves me. But the absence of such requirements seems to …

“If you love something, let it go. If it returns, it’s yours; if it doesn’t, it never was.” I memorized that quote from a poster that hung on my bedroom wall throughout high school. It displayed a hand from which a dove was being released to fly away. It reminded me of the temporary nature of most teenage romantic relationships. …

I love reading stories in the Bible about King David’s mighty men. They were strong, fearless and incredibly loyal. Within the army were two elite groups made up of Israel’s mightiest warriors — the Thirty and the Three (the three greatest warriors among the Thirty). My favorite of these mighty men is Benaiah. One of the Thirty, he is only …

I’m confident.  Or at least I thought I was … I’ve always prided myself as a confident person. But lately I’ve begun to question my long-held belief. The questioning began the day I picked up a pencil to write and found myself in a deep inner dialogue. It went something like this… Hello, pencil! My trusted friend.  Why do you …

It’s been raining a lot. The kind of rain that ruins plans and makes you want to drive immediately home. The kind that leaves you feeling vitamin D deficient and bummed. Also, I’ve been in a slump (just like the sky), which has completely sucked. I’ve been edging my way out of it. It’s been slow and painful. It’s mostly …

We face roadblocks in our single journeys that can keep us from getting what God has for us in life. One of those roadblocks can very well be tied to what goes on in our minds. Sure, we can blame other people, or we can blame our circumstances, but what about our mindsets? For as he thinks in his heart, …

Summertime is officially here. It’s time for lazy afternoons at the beach, sipping lemonade, taking random naps on the weekend and absorbing the sunshine before the winter sets in again. With this carefree attitude, why should one have goals and boundaries? Whenever I go on vacation, I set goals. For example, I want to take a nap every day, I …