A Life in Christ verses a Christian Experience
I was in New York recently on a publicity tour for my new release, Devotions for the Hungry Heart. It was incredibly interesting, and not just because I couldn't say the words New York without hearing the voice of that salsa commercial from years back saying, “New York City?!!!” Okay, there’s that, but my BFF and partner in pranks, Rhonda Perry, traveled with me and that
Ditch the Resolutions for Lasting Transformation
Heads-up, y’all. The new people we want to become are found in Christ Jesus, not in our resolutions, however sincere they may be. We can try to be more loving, more forgiving, and more patient. We can try to remember to pray more, read our Bibles more, and complain less, but we’ll be setting ourselves up to fail and frustrating the grace of Christ while
The After Christmas Staredown
Hello folks, let’s chat… The tree is bare, presents have been opened, and there’s a solid chance that large amounts of sugar have been consumed. Fa, la, la, la, la, and all that, but if you have little ones afoot, I hope you have a good stare down skill. You may find it helpful right about now. A good stare-down is hard to teach. Personally, I
Careful What You Wish For
And, it’s a wrap! Christmas 2017 is in the books. I hope it was all you dreamed it would be. Sometimes, the expectations can fall way short of the reality. I remember having my heart set on a certain game as a young child and being mighty happy when I found my heart's desire under the Christmas tree. Sadly, however, its plastic parts didn't even
Sea Salt and Caramel Fudgelicious
Happy New Year, y'all! I decided to stop on a dime and share this recipe during Christmas last week because I sorta, kinda, developed it accidentally and the beloved farmer and I think it is worthy of opening our own bakery. Yes, we're good at celebrating the small things. But, it occurred to me that y'all may have been looking for new goodies to wow
Choosing Christmas, Day Twenty-Three
Day Twenty-Three December 25 Merry Christmas, friends! It’s been an absolute pleasure to walk through these very special days with you. Christ has come. Our challenge in the coming days is to not put the baby away with the manger scene. Let’s allow Him to grow up in the Bethlehem of our hearts, for that baby became a man
Choosing Christmas, Day Twenty-Two
Day Twenty-Two December 24 Did you know commentaries are split on whether Mary stayed until Elizabeth actually gave birth, or if she left right before Baby John made his way into the world? It’s another one of those details the Father doesn’t believe we need to know. While Elizabeth would’ve come to full-term in her pregnancy while Mary was there as her houseguest, we can’t say definitely
Choosing Christmas, Day Twenty-One
Day Twenty-One December 23 Again, I wish I could read your answers from yesterday. I expect they are fascinating. I suspect that many of you touched on the possibility that God forever protected what was happening under that roof as Mary and Elizabeth feasted on the faith-fortifying similarities of their miraculous callings. I know, for me, I see a loving heavenly Father almost “incubating” Mary as she
Choosing Christmas, Day Twenty
Day Twenty December 22 While it was far from an exhaustive study, yesterday we looked at the last verses of Mary’s Magnificat. Today we’ll focus on the relationship between Elizabeth and Mary. Luke gives us one more piece of information on their visit, and its brevity is tantalizing: “Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home” (Luke 1:56). That’s all the information we’re privy
Choosing Christmas Day Nineteen
Day Nineteen December 21 A few days ago, we talked about Mary taking the long view on God’s work. We see this again in the last words of her song. “He has given help to Israel His servant, in remembrance of His mercy, as He spoke to our fathers, To Abraham and his descendants forever.” (verses 54–55) As Mary closes her song of praise, she traces her pregnancy to