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When some of us think of the past, we remember the good old days when everything was better, simpler, cheaper and easier. Some people would like to erase their past while others long to revisit it.

If we want victory today and hope for tomorrow, we must learn how to deal with our past, because it is unchangeable. While we cannot go back and change our past, we can change our response to our past.

When our daughter, Danna, was a little girl, she was very much like me in many ways, particularly in her approach to morning. We both hated it! I was always coming up with some way to lure her out of bed each morning. One of

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Earlier this spring I realized that I had grown lazy: lazy physically and lazy spiritually. That’s why I decided to take a social media sabbatical. I know it sounds a little radical, but I needed to get my priorities back in check. Given how many hours I was giving to my online scrolling, I thought taking those hours back was a great place to start. Before I even logged offline, I made a list of the things that I had simply been too busy for:

Consistent prayer and Bible study
Daily exercise
Time with friends
Healthy meals

The list went on and on. Which is why I decided to make specific plans to be more consistent in the areas of my life I

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I once heard a preacher tell the story of three demons who were arguing over the best way to destroy the Christian movement.

The first demon had it all figured out. “Let’s tell all the Christians that there is no heaven. If we take away the reward incentive, their movement will collapse,” he said.

The second demon responded with, “No, I have a better idea. Let’s tell all the Christians that there really is no hell. If we take away their fear of punishment, their movement will collapse.”

The third demon offered, “Both of those are great ideas, but there is a better way. Let’s tell all the Christians that there is no hurry.” The other demons applauded in delight! “That’s

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When my husband was diagnosed with cancer, 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.

I can turn away from God because I don’t understand, or I can turn toward God trusting that His understanding is enough for the both of us – even if it hurts – even if fear lingers – even if doubt looms.

Have you been to these crossroads?

God shows us a powerful example of praise-over-pout behavior in chapter sixteen of the book of Acts.

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Have you ever felt like you just wanted to quit this thing called the “great race” of life? That’s your spiritual legs ache and you would much rather sit on the side of the road and have a good pity party than take one more step. I certainly have. And then I think of my nephew Stu and his mom, Pat.

Stu ran cross-country when he was in high school, but the most exciting parts of the races was his mother cheering. At one particular race, my family and I stood on the sidelines, watching legs stretch, backs bend, and arms swing in an effort to warm up. Seventy anxious young men clustered around the starting line in ready

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It’s early spring, and I’m preparing the repurposed wine barrels for planting.

All winter they sat neglected, left to their own devices. Some plants made it through the winter, and we are grateful that it looks like we’ll have an abundant crop of bright red raspberries this summer.

But our main crop coming out of the frost? A healthy yield of weeds.

For the Big Boy tomatoes and Pink Lemonade blueberries to live, other life-choking things have to die.

Thankfully, we can easily deal with infant weeds. After a few minutes on each wine barrel, our soil is ready for seedlings we’ve nurtured in the green house.

If I have learned anything living up here on the mountain, it’s this: take care of

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I half-ran, half-walked down the trail. My breath came in short spurts. My daily walk seemed like a lovely idea until the heavens opened, and rain poured. The rain wasn’t a big deal. I didn’t mind that I was soaked. It was the rolling dark clouds and flashing lightning that made me feel exposed.

Was I supposed to stay out in the open, or hide under the branches of one of the larger trees that surrounded me? Both seemed like a bad option, so I kept running until I finally made it to the safety of my home.

While I longed for a safe place in this storm, there have also been times I’ve felt unsafe in other ways. Illness

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I could hear the wailing from the driveway. It was 5:10 a.m. and nature soundly slept. All was quiet, except for the animal-like cries making their way out the back door and into the still dark dawn. My husband and his sister were giving their mom the news that her husband of sixty years had passed away. After three months in a rehab facility recovering from a fall, Bruce Jaynes quietly slipped away and took Jesus’ hand.

Jesus or no Jesus, Mary Ellen was devastated that her husband had left her.
“How could he leave me?” she cried through salty tears. “He said he wouldn’t leave me.”

My in-laws’ relationship reflected the Shulammite’s words in the Song of Solomon: “I am

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Years ago, I was in the elevator in a department store with two of my kids. A young employee stood sullenly inside the elevator. With a smile on my face, I nudged my oldest to ask the employee how his day was going. Without looking up, the employee mumbled, “This is my second job today.” I empathized and said something like, “It must be very tiring to have to work two shifts. But at least you have work.” The elevator doors opened and he shuffled out lazily, never making eye contact or smiling to us once.

I decided to take advantage of that moment to teach something to my young kids. “Boy, he seemed grumpy,” I whispered. I commented

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My husband is a wise man, and God has placed him as the head of our home, so I like to talk through difficult things with him. He gives me a perspective that’s often quite different from mine.

When I need to hash out confusion, I sometimes go to the small group of women I call my besties. They’re godly. They love me. They like me. They laugh at and with me. They pray for me. They mentor me and provide counsel.

Now, it’s true: God always needs to be our go-to guy when it comes to counsel. Our first call. But the Bible also gives us the directive to connect with other Christ followers for guidance: seek godly counsel.

“The

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