Posts by Elisa Pulliam
Today’s Truth
You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
(Ephesians 4:23-24, NIV)
Friend to Friend
Have you ever noticed how often we make such great plans, but then life gets in the way?
We start off determined to lose weight, get fit, overcome our character flaws, take new career risks, invest deeper in relationships, and get organized. But before we make enough strides for our vision to become our normal, we’re hit with reality.
We get sick.
Something breaks.
We run out of steam.
Hello, normal. Goodbye, vision.
So what should we do when our great big plans fizzle into little failures?
Well, it might sound cliché, but it’s at that very moment we need to not give up! Instead, we need to wipe our brow from the feeling of defeat and get our mind back into gear.
The change
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Today’s Truth
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.
Hebrews 12:1-2
Friend to Friend
Did you know that when you make a commitment to work at a boarding school, you’re inherently saying yes to wearing many hats? You might be hired to teach science, but before the ink is dried on the contract, you’ll discover you’re also doing things like coaching the hurdlers on girl’s varsity track. Yes, it was quite a feat my husband took it on without a complaint, even though he never ran track a day in his life.
I’m pretty sure Stephen didn’t let on to his athletes that they knew more than he did. Instead, he focused on putting in time behind the scenes, studying the sport of hurdling using the stack books and videos he checked
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Today’s Truth
God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.
1 John 4:9-10
Friend to Friend
Would you say you truly understand the real love of God?
When I gave my life to the Lord in that London dorm room 25 years ago, I wasn’t actually interested in being loved by God nor even loving Him in return. I was simply desperate for the promise of eternity. It was my escape route from a life of hurt filled with relationships marked by dysfunction, abuse, and betrayal.
The promise of heaven gave me hope that one day all would be well, so I chose to believe in Jesus as my Lord and Savior. It never dawned on me that love could be part of the equation – at least not the kind of love I could
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Today’s Truth
We can make our plans, but the LORD determines our steps.
Proverbs 16:9
Friend to Friend
When was the last time you had the perfect plan in place – the kind of plan that requires preparation and devotion of time – but regardless of your investment, the plan simply wouldn’t behave? Maybe there was an obstacle at every turn, a conflict with those you were counting on attending, an issue with the space, or a challenge in meeting the deadline.
Well, I understand! As one who likes to plan, I’ve experienced my fair share of divine re-routings. Like the time I was scheduled to speak at an event in the middle of February. All the pieces were in place. The invitations were sent out. I steeped myself in the study of Biblical mentoring once
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Today’s Truth
For in six days the LORD made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything in them; but on the seventh day He rested. That is why the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy.
Exodus 20:11
Friend to Friend
Do you ever feel tempted to skim familiar passages when you read your Bible? That’s what I was about to do as I came upon the passage in Exodus about the Sabbath.
“Yeah, yeah, Lord I know.”
But do I know? Do I really know why God intended the Sabbath for our good? Do I really believe that a day of rest is necessary for me, a happy-to-be-busy kind of girl? Am I willing to be stretched into stillness, as an act of surrender to my Sovereign God?
As I swiftly turned the page, I felt a prompting from the Holy Spirit to turn back . . . to slow down . . . and to read line-by-line with a
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Today’s Truth
Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank Him for all He has done.
Philippians 4:6
Friend to Friend
It’s amazing how hard we have to work at not letting our emotions trump the truth. It’s especially hard when you receive a phone call from the doctor’s office and the sweet voice on the other end of the line says, “Ma’am, we need you to come back in and have another scan done.”
I was ready to run straight to the office that moment. Unfortunately, their next appointment was a week and a half away, which left me with ten whole days of wondering what the results would be.
Did I have cancer?
Was this my turn?
I probably do, since it’s in my family.
I know this is going to be me.
Oh, God . . .
Our thoughts left unchecked
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Today’s Truth
The Lord will work out His plans for my life—for Your faithful love, O Lord, endures forever. Don’t abandon me, for You made me.
Psalm 138:8
Friend to Friend
If you would have told me twenty years ago that I would one day find myself in a weekly dance class again, I wouldn’t have believed you. Back then, I was still grieving and fussing over the way my knee injuries disrupted my dreams and stole my passions.
My mom enrolled me in my first dance class when I was three and by the time I was 10, I was fitted for my first pointe shoes. Although tap and jazz were more my thing, those pointe shoes represented so much potential until a series of knee dislocations and a failed surgery ended my dream of becoming a Rockette. I buried my sorrow as I went on living my
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