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I have been humbled by the thankfulness of my friends. I’ve shared in their Thanksgiving Day celebrations, sat as their tables and heard them express their appreciation. Even if someone has had a tough year, they have managed to find something to be thankful for. By listening to them and sharing one small thank you myself, I have found my spirit lifted and my attention has shifted from my needs to my riches. It’s good to cultivate contentment. It is beneficial to practice appreciation. Often, though, I find my prayers are made up more of gripes than gratitude. It’s not that I’m ungrateful; I’m justRead More →

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A bag of leftover Halloween candy sits in our pantry tempting me to slip in my hand and take one piece as I pass the doorway. I know it’s not good for me. I can fool myself, though. “One small piece does no harm at all,” I convince myself. After all, they are only bite-size. Pop it in the mouth, and it’s gone. But, then I lose control. Before I know it, I’ve consumed a bag of pretzel M&Ms, a Twix bar, and a Reese’s peanut butter cup. When I purchased the candy to give out to the trick or treaters visiting our apartment, IRead More →

God wants to celebrate the good with us as well as carry us through the bad. Let our problems and our praises keep us on our knees.

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  Sometimes I have to remind my children “don’t just text me when you’re having a problem. Get in touch when things are going well.” I am glad to help sort out the insurance claim when a driver failed to brake at a stop sign and crashed into the side of my daughter’s car. Well, actually, my husband was more help than me. Or I’m happy to proof read my son’s application for an industry placement next year. However, I’m also over the moon when everything is running smoothly with their college flat mates, when they have enough money for the semester, and they’re gettingRead More →

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Sometimes, I’d rather stay furious than take seriously the words: don’t go to bed angry. I find some satisfaction in being annoyed. If I back down too easily, it’s like I’m letting off the other person who has wronged me. I can think of at least one occasion when this has happened. Returning from a pediatrician’s appointment with my daughter, a driver suddenly cut in front of me from the right-hand lane of the highway. I jammed my foot on the brake, so as not to hit her. “You idiot,” I yelled while thumping my fist on the horn. However, this reaction did not placate me.Read More →

God sometimes feels far away when we are in a mess.

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Why is it God often seem distant in the middle of trouble? Often, when we’re struggling, he seems silent. I remember crying out to God when my six-week-old twins were diagnosed with meningitis, when I discovered a lump, when my son faced his second emergency surgery in two weeks, wondering if God was there with me. God hadn’t turned his back. He’s always close. Yet, it felt like he was a long way off. Fear, it seemed, kept me from knowing his presence. I pleaded for a good outcome, but I feared I hadn’t reached the bottom of the pit. I begged for relief, butRead More →

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Sometimes God seems no closer than the Milky Way. What is it that makes God seem distant? Is it because he is holy and majestic and needs to be detached from a far from perfect mortal like myself? Are my day-to-day activities too insignificant to receive his undivided attention? Does he withdraw because, well frankly, I miss the mark—too often—and could do better? How do we pray when God feels far away? To begin, we must understand God’s purpose is to be near us and with us. Always. God does not deliberately separate himself from us. From day one, God intended to be intimate with peopleRead More →

Dont feel guilty about struggling to accept God's purpose. Remember that he has good intent toward you.

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Last week, we started our Prayer 101 series by discovering how to pray “not what I want, but what you want”. We began with asking God to reveal his good and perfect will, and for his wisdom. Today we look at three more steps to backing down in prayer. I am well-acquainted with being at odds with God’s will.  It took me a long time to accept God’s intention was for me to live in the States. Silly really, because I had asked him to show me, and he did. For many years, I prayed to move back to England. You may wonder, if I wanted it so badly, why my husbandRead More →

How do we pray when we don't understand God's plan?

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My grandmother would often add a strange little phrase to the end of statements, especially if she talked about her plans. “We will come and visit you next month,” she would say to my mother, and then tag on: “DV.” I now know it stands for deo volente, which is Latin for “God being willing”. As a child, I would think it odd. Why did she need to add: “God willing” to everything she was going to do? My grandmother was the godliest woman I knew. She prayed regularly and read her Bible daily. It was clear to my young mind she would also aspire to doRead More →

"How do I pray when .... ??" Join me for my new Prayer 101 series.

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“Teach us to pray,” Jesus’ disciples asked him. This seems a strange request from men who were undoubtedly devout in their faith. They prayed and heard prayers being said at the temple. They listened to the prayers of their ancestors read from the scriptures. They had been following Jesus, for goodness sake, and observed him praying. Surely, they must have known how to pray. Yet, perhaps they wanted to learn to pray better. Sometimes you might feel like the disciples. You have been following Jesus for a long time. You have prayed in church. You’ve listened to other people pray. You know The Lord’s Prayer offRead More →