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Turn Failure into Something Delicious!
It was a colossal baking failure. “How did your muffins turn out?” hubby said. “Terrible!” “Then throw them out.” “Oh, no,” I said. “I can eat them.” Immediately I began thinking of ways to make them better. I’d made those muffins several times using raisins and dried apricots. But the raisins are high-calorie. Why not…
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Fear: Could This Be Our Dress Rehearsal?
Fear has overtaken us. And it’s legitimate. The threat of corona virus is real. The virus has interrupted our lives. Of course, we’re afraid. Life has changed. For how long? No one knows. For this period, we will avoid large gatherings and self-isolate as much as possible. Who would’ve thought our world would come to…
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Obedience–How Important Is It?
Every parent knows the challenge of teaching obedience. Children must learn to respect our authority and follow our instructions. Obedience is not optional. That’s also expected of life with our heavenly Father. We must respect his authority and follow his instructions. Looking back, we can attribute most mess-ups to failure in those two areas. We…
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After the Storm, then What?
A massive storm passed through early one morning. Pouring rain, boisterous thunder, and spears of lightning illuminating the darkness. Within half an hour it had moved on, leaving my community drenched but otherwise unscathed. We soon heard reports that a neighboring town didn’t fare so well. Residents were mourning more than property loss—injury and death.…
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Sufficient Grace for Today Includes Grace to Wait
There is absolutely no circumstance that can come into my life today for which there will not be sufficient grace. That truth brought assurance when I was in a barren place, crying out to God. What am I going to do? What are you going to do? He had given direction, but his intervention had…
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Praise and Trust Are Conjoined Twins
Praise the Lord! How often do we say those words? Usually they spill from a heart overflowing with gratitude because God has shown himself strong for us. He’s done something amazing. Something we begged him to do. And he answered with an overwhelming yes! Of course we respond with praise. In other circumstances, not so…
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The Princess and the Pea…a Life Illustration
“The Princess and the Pea” is one of my favorite children’s stories. Do you remember the Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale? A prince wants to marry a princess—but she must be a real princess. After traveling the world without finding a real princess, he returns to his palace home. One stormy night a stranger knocks…
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Sweat the Small Stuff…Really!
Sweat the small stuff. I know. We’ve been told, don’t sweat the small stuff. That may be the reason we’re in this mess today. We’ve been led to believe we should take care of the big stuff and not waste time on the small stuff. That’s a terrible strategy for the Christian life. The small…
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Have You Been to the Spacious Place?
A spacious place. I don’t know exactly what that means, but I love the sound of it. What pictures come to mind when you hear the word spacious? I’m thinking of a wide place. Abundance. Sunshine. Joy. A place where we enjoy God’s favor. When the Lord first appeared to Moses in that flaming bush,…
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What Can I Do to Impress Jesus?
Have you ever tried to impress Jesus? Maybe you’ve thought…He will really be pleased if I do this…He will really love me if I stop doing that. I’ve fallen into that trap—seeking approval based on my performance. That’s been a tendency in human relationships as well. If we want to impress people, we need to…