Thunder cracked the sky when a lightning bolt ripped through the roof of our home, igniting a fire that redefined our normal that Tuesday night in March 2017. The house snapped dark and shook. It was as if a bomb had gone off.

Nebuchadnezzar was spooked. His dreams were unsettling and he knew that they were not ordinary dreams. They meant something and it was keeping him up at night…

Have you ever considered how prominent food is in the Bible? Scripture, starting with the book of Genesis, speaks frequently of eating.  God allowed Adam and Eve to eat fruit from the trees in the garden, with only one exception.

“Remember your roots!” It’s what’s said when someone from humble beginnings makes it big. The sentiment is meant to remind that person of who they really are, lest they be forever changed by fame or fortune. Unfortunately, the person who stays true to their roots in such circumstances is more the exception than the rule.

We are not promised that we will be shielded from suffering, pain, and loss. Neither are we promised that every painful path will lead to victory in this life. However, we are promised that all evil will be undone and all that has been lost in this broken world will be redeemed to the glory of God and for the good of his people.

In the midst of a life defined by suffering and the penalty of rebellion, the pain of existence and separation from our Creator is palpable. Us humans think and do all kinds of things to keep the inevitable reality of death from confronting our souls. Whatever pleasures, evils, addictions, or past times we may use to distract us, we at one time or another all come to face the truth: we are going to die and end up in His eternal hands which hold the book of life.

God wants us to move forward. He doesn’t want us to stay where we are. He wants to help us strengthen our trust muscles and, like the Good Shepherd He is, He wants to lead us to graze in new, bountiful pastures!

The Bible is filled with admonitions to remember. Music is a great tool to aid in memorizing Scripture. When I came to the Lord 30 years ago, my first go-to favorite Christian musician was Keith Green. His songs were easy to sing, and more importantly, he bathed his lyrics in Scripture.

When you grow up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and summer yields to fall, you root for the Steelers. It’s not even an option. It’s culture. You bleed black and gold. The home team binds every borough, city and suburb into a greater community that rises in unison to wave Terrible Towels and high five complete strangers. In the stadium, in the grocery stores, in the workplace… anywhere.

Until then, I pray that I will not only worship our King with words of praise, but that my worship will be centered in the person and work of Jesus Christ as seen in the way I live my life. In my actions. In my priorities. In the use of my time, talents and treasures. What does it mean to live a God centered life?

Don’t settle for only half of God’s plan for dealing with guilt. He does not intend for you to bear the fact or the feeling and He is strong enough to carry both.

“The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’” (Ps 14:1a) Prior to 2018, I was an unbelieving atheist, wandering through this world with a self-centered agenda, no matter how well I hid it. Then I heard about God’s existence, creation, and Jesus’ loving death to pay my sin debt, and I repented. This began a spiritual battle against sin that continues to this day, knowing full well the error of my ways and from whence they came. 

I remember as a young girl, I wanted to grow up to be a cardiothoracic surgeon. However, as I got older and realized the reality of the time and energy requirements of med school for becoming that type of surgeon, I adjusted my career goal to be a flight nurse on life flight trauma missions. It perfectly combined my love of medicine and yearning to help others.

It was our anniversary. June 9, 2009. We were celebrating three years of marriage, and we were facing the biggest financial trial of our lives. The monetary security we had enjoyed prior to this time made us believe we were heading into a bright future. But it was now 2009, and the effects of the housing market crash mixed with job loss had emptied our pockets, our savings, and our 401k accounts.

The current events of the last several months have unveiled an almost unending barrage of human suffering. Uvalde, Ukraine, and scandal in a major church denomination have inundated the headline news. Well-meaning friends encourage us to ignore current events hoping to salvage our mental well-being. Turning off news reports may provide temporary relief, but our minds tend to veer back into the pit of despair. It’s easy to drift into neutral and waste precious time in sadness and anxiety.

When my husband was diagnosed with cancer back in 2014, our family got an up close and personal lesson on faith. Trials can lead us to a greater dependency on God and a deeper trust in His sovereignty if we let them. I’ve learned that in every situation I have a choice: I can pout, or I can praise.

Every believer is a living testimony of God's grace and a role model for the people around us. Let's start acting like one!

A wife who is loved well will pursue her husband, not to get him, because she already has him, but to get more of him. She already knows the joy of having her husband and his love. Yet, she knows that it can become something beyond what it is now, so she pursues the prize of having more of what she already has. In the same way, Paul is calling us, the bride of Christ, to strive for more of the joy we have in Christ while holding onto the hope of joy in the prize of being with him in fullness when our race is over.