Hard Things of Faith

I have been pretty quiet as the world has navigated some difficult things.  Mostly though I have been quiet because that is what I have felt the Lord tell me to do.  If you know me at all, you know that I was there before the Lord saying “ But Lord!  Hard Things of Faith!  We are living through some of the hardest things some people have ever seen and you want me to be quiet?!?”   When Coivid-19 broke out in the United States, a woman I know sent me a message.   She sent me a message and the gist if it was “Rest”.  She told me she was praying for me and then told me specifically what she was praying for me. That is the mark of someone who has really been praying for you, they tell you what they are praying for.  She gave me the scripture verse and then told me to rest.  As I have watched the world fall out over a virus and then my homeland fall out over racism, I have been socially quiet. I am grieved over everything we have seen since the beginning of Covid-19 through the

How many times have you heard it said that people like "that" are going to Hell as they point at you? Who has said that there is no place in the Kingdom of Heaven for a person like you?  This doesn't phase you because you are seemingly content with your position in Hell.  Somewhere along the line, someone told you that Hell is going to be a great big party of misfits where you will fit right in. They lied. You have no need to debate faith and religion because you live in darkness, far from anything heavenly or divine.  Most likely, you don’t care to think about such things.  You believe the lie that you are a horrible person or at the very least, beyond the reach of anything Holy. I can imagine how dark your thoughts are.  Your mind is Satan’s playground and you want to indulge yourself in fantasies only he can conjure. He can show you things that normal people would be disgusted by.  You’re not normal though; these things don’t disgust you, they intrigue and ent

I have a childhood friend who prayed his salvation prayer several years ago and today he has no more relationship with Christ than before he said his prayer.  I desperately want to believe that my friend knows Christ, but from his own lips, he does not.  He has been gracious in allowing me to share his story. He and I are part of a group of friends that have ebbed and flowed since we were kids.  A few years ago, our group of friends came back together and it quickly became evident that several of us had come to know Christ.  The natural thing was to share our faith with our friends. Our testimonies were well received. Our walk with Christ; well respected. After spending time with those of us walking with Christ this friend was hungry to know more of what we had found. He has known us for most of our lives and could see changes for the good and wanted to know more. We were happy to share all the Lord had done and was still doing in our lives.  We did all the things Christians do,

As a child, I loved Christmas. I believed in magical things like the North Pole, Santa Clause, flying reindeer, and elves. It was easy to imagine Santa flying all over the world. It was not just about the presents he was bringing but the fact that he would be visiting the home of every child in the world. We all were waiting for his arrival.   There was the great anticipation of Christmas Eve and the joy of Christmas morning.  Even in all of the excitement of the day, there was still a longing I couldn't quite grasp.  There was something about being united in something, but I didn't know what that was until I was older.  This longing still lives in my memory. The picture is of a community gathered around a giant Christmas tree in the city square, snow falling, lights twinkling, everyone singing Christmas carols.  The gift being, everyone knowing that they are where they belong, with friends, with family, with people they love.    In this idealistic fantasy there is no o

We are 1 in 4 women.  We are in your churches, we are in your bible studies and we are in your small groups.  There is nothing from the outside that would make you think abortion is our story.  That is… until it’s too late.  There are so many misconceptions about the woman who chose to terminate a pregnancy and why we have done it.  The things I have heard are horrendous.  Some people think that abortion is just a form of birth control, recently I heard it said that it is a matter of convenience. These are not even the most heinous things I have heard.  The name-calling and the judgment has been too much for me to sit with and not say anything about.  Some people are happy to lump us all into a stereotype that somehow makes us sound like we are less of a human being or unworthy of the love of Christ.   Every one of us has a story.  I wish I could share with you some of these horrific things I have heard, but these stories are not mine to tell.  Some of these women