Imagine you’ve worked incredibly hard to get to where you are. You’ve written more than ten books. You’ve taken every class on speaking you could find, and you’ve taught for free wherever they’d have you. You’ve spent decades working on your artistic skills. You’ve served in every position you could find that would teach you [...]
I've been thinking about engagements and marriage lately, why people choose the ones they choose, and how all that played out in real life over the years once married. I have no regrets, but when I think of the standards I had for a future spouse back in my early 20s, I think they'd be [...]
I have a friend who did something that hurt me about ten years ago. She's not that close of a friend anymore, and it's not because of what she did; it's because she can't let it go. Every time she sees me, she brings up "the thing," as if her focus on it will somehow [...]
David's name means beloved. What if he didn't know he was loved? What if he'd decided he wasn't worth loving? What if his lack of self love in turn caused him to lack love for others? What if that lack of love made him not care if his people's enemies mocked his people and their [...]
Some random thoughts I've had: We each fit into a bigger picture somewhere, so never overestimate your own importance and, more importantly, never underestimate the significance of others. If you always talk about people and say, "He's/she's great BUT..." that habit needs to be loved out of you, and it starts with loving yourself. [...]
A collection of thoughts I've had: We've been religious for decades about the words that come out of our mouths, but it's not about the words, it's about the hearts behind the words. Once your heart is whole, you don't have to focus on what comes out of your mouth. You can just focus on [...]
Back in my teens, I often ran to the front just as quickly as the one beside me when there was an altar call. "Will you go to the nations?" "Will you change the world?" "Will you obey the call and sacrifice it all?" "Yes, yes, a thousand times yes." It was such a noble [...]
We all reflect something, but if the only time we sparkle is when we're reflecting other people's light, it begs the question: Why is your own light so dim? And if the only time you feel good about yourself is when other people give you attention, it begs the question: Why can't you give yourself [...]
God had the Israelites pile rocks from the river bed as a memorial to the power of God to deliver them, and to bring them to the other side of the impossible and into their amazing futures. We are all unique seeing, communicating, loving, resting, supporting, laughing, organizing, thinking, teaching, light-filled, visible beacons—living stones—living memorials [...]
What does it mean—to be a light in the darkness? What's a practical way to let the light in you shine? We have to shine brightly, because the less we shine, the lower the light, the longer the shadows. "If you spend yourselves on behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, [...]
