BLOG––Encouraged by Faith

“Everyone hold up your hands and say, ‘Weeee!!’” The allusion is to riding a roller coaster, and the saying was one of my mom’s favorites.  Her meaning: You can’t control life’s twists and turns, but you can decide whether to scream and throw up...

A friend told me about an experience she had recently of hearing the voice of God. Not through reading His Word. Not in reflection through prayer. Not through godly counsel or the wisdom of the church. Not through life’s circumstances. No, she was in a movie theatre lobby when God told...

Are you a catastrophic thinker? I am. Well, perhaps not in the clinical sense, but I certainly have the ability to ruminate endlessly about worst-case scenarios. For example, on the recent trip to Hawaii with my husband, I cleaned the house with extra care before we left “just in...

Prior to my mom’s death a few weeks ago, she had suffered for 10 years from the debilitating effects of Pick’s disease, a relatively rare form of dementia.  At the outset of the disorder, mom began jumbling “yes” and “no.”  A year or two later, she...

“What’s lost is nothing to what’s found, and all the death that ever was, would scarcely fill a cup.” –– Frederick Buechner “How long has it been since your son’s death?” I asked Jack Jacobs.  “One month and nineteen...

It’s a new decade.  It’s hard to believe.  It seemed so far away a few years ago. The New Year is prime time to make resolutions.  Most are the same year after year.  Lose weight, get in shape, be more organized, spend less and save more, get out of debt. The...

So, I have absolutely LOVED this idea that our church implemented a few weeks back called “Project GO."   For those that haven’t had a chance to follow along, about six or seven weeks ago here at North Central Church of Christ, the leadership and staff started this...

There is a funny commercial on TV right now for Progressive Insurance where the actor walks through a few scenarios on how NOT to become your parents.  Do you know which one I’m talking about?  In one scene, he says things like, “you woke up early today … nobody...

I see Jesus as the Ultimate Advocate. An advocate is defined as “one who pleads the cause of another specifically” or in another definition, “An advocate is someone that can help you speak up so that your needs are heard.” In short, an advocate stands up for...

I am, generally speaking, a positive person and am truly grateful to God for everything. But, there are times that I just simply get exhausted from the "messaging" that occupies my own mind and that is everywhere in the world. You know, the voices of others and your own sometimes doubting...