Part of the power of pride’s duplicity is in its parasitic nature: it latches on to genuinely good things, gifts from God, and pride so maneuvers and blends into the surroundings that we are deceived into believing that confessing certain forms of pride would be to confess virtues and gifts and truth. And so we let the tape worm grow for fear of poisoning the body. We refuse to remove the leech out of a blind love for arms and... Read more
Do not allow your wife to swallow the lie that she is not beautiful. Ever. Use all your man-like warrior skills to combat Satan’s deceptive ploy to steal your wife’s beauty. She may never model for a glossy magazine but she is hand-crafted by God to mirror His beauty in a way that only she can. Your job is to show her. To tell her. To remind her. To insist that she see her own beauty the way you do.... Read more
It’s the middle of October now and I’ve only been tracking answered prayers since January, but here we are, with 12 clearly answered prayers – and these prayers aren’t even the little prayers: sickness, finances, dinner not being burnt, strength on difficult days, naps, sleep, inspiration. You know,”ordinary” mercies. When we really start looking for God in our lives, He never disappoints. Update on Prayer No. 7: One morning last month, I woke up and walked to the bathroom to... Read more
We enjoyed an incredible lunch of home-made onion soup with gruyère croutons a couple of days ago. It had been made by our favorite chef friends and it was such a delight to eat it with them. Wonderful fellowship with old friends and incredible food – it doesn’t get much better then that! We started talking about the best shops to buy cheese that has been aged “the right way” and eventually got around to the subject of food snobbery. My... Read more
I don’t believe in flukes. Everything happens for a reason. (You could disagree with me, but I’d just tell you there is a good reason for you disagreeing.) The last couple days have been rough. I had a writing deadline, my body is essentially glitching on me. I’m in pain, I’m exhausted and I feel gross. Small stuff in the shadow of the Ebola scare, but you know. I keep praying and reading my Bible, but it’s not making as... Read more
[O]ne of the things we are constantly practicing is either being governed and assessing our lives and this world by God’s word (no matter what anyone else thinks or how we feel at the moment) or we are practicing serving our own passions and pleasures or even fears. You are either practicing delighting in the law of the Lord and finding security in His Word or you are practicing delighting in your own law, the law of your flesh and... Read more
Our sons are 3 and 2, we are potty training, but it became clear on Monday night that our little men needed a dog. We picked up this Vizsla/Pitbull on Tuesday: So far, he is everything we could have wanted and more; Loyal, protective, tolerant, extremely playful, and beautiful! He has been really easy to train, too, which is crazy awesome because he is only 6 months old. God is so good and this is a wonderful adventure! Read more
Gossip is the opposite of how the Son speaks to the Father about you. The Trinity talks about you behind your back. And it would be really encouraging if you heard what they said. When they talk about your sin, there is hope and a plan (1 Corinthians 1:21; Philippians 1:6). When they talk about your suffering, there is help and a purpose (James 1:3). -Read the rest of this excellent post, What Gossip Says About God, over at Desiring... Read more
On this side of Glory, our bodies don’t always function the way they should. Health problems arise and send our chemical balances reeling. It’s days like this, when I feel sad for no reason, like the whole world is against me, when my heart is conflicted and my eyes can’t focus, when my body aches, days like this that it is most important to remember the truth. The Lord is on my side (Psalm 118:7). He is in control of... Read more
I was being careful, tending to my broken foot, my broken body. Hobbling around for weeks. But in a second, weeks of work, days of healing, in one clumsy motion – undone. Ouch! So here I am, laid up in the living-room, icing the fracture and timing when I can take the next dose of pain killers. My body is worn out, my face is puffy and eyes tired. I feel clumsy and foolish. I need rest. I need healing.... Read more
Mere Breath
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