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Are You Resigned to God’s Will When You Pray?
Recently, I spent the day helping a young friend whom I mentor re-decorate a room in her house. One of the last tasks we had for the day was to hang something on the wall. She brought out a picture she had painted herself. It was perfect for the spot, but it had a minor imperfection that would almost certainly go unnoticed by anyone else. She balked at using it because she said she spends a lot of time in that room and the imperfect picture would bother her every time she was in the room.
After hanging it as a placeholder, she firmly declared that she would replace it later.
How do you react to continual annoyances? You may not be hanging barely flawed pictures on a wall, but you are probably familiar with minor imperfections in an otherwise satisfactory experience or environment.
Seeking After Treasure
I can’t believe I fell for it! I’m just like Eve! I think it all started innocently.
Authentically, Imperfectly Human
I’m going to let you in on a little secret: most days I’m a hot mess. And by hot mess, I mean I’m usually trying my best, while juggling all my imperfections and the ups and downs of parenting, homeschooling, being a wife and friend, working a few part-time jobs, and everything else in between.
While I love this little life I have, sometimes I wonder if I’m doing anything right. Do my kids feel loved, or am I ruining them? Is my faith strong enough? Did I turn in a winning work project, or did I miss the mark? Does anyone truly relate to me, or am I alone and crazy? It’s hard being a human!
Does God Really Know Best?
Many times, my prayers feel a lot more like pleas. They aren’t faith-filled requests respectfully submitted to God whom I trust. They were desperate desires that I begged all-powerful God to provide. Do you know what I mean? Whether it is a prayer for healing in my friend’s marriage, a job for one of my children, or faith for me to trust God in the love life of another child, I find myself behaving like a frustrated child, begging God to wield His power to my will instead of asking Him to provide and trusting Him to act wisely.
Deep down, I wasn’t trusting in God’s character to do what’s best. I wanted God to fix things. Do you feel the same way?
Why Can’t I Surrender?
I was on a conference call when it happened, but I could have easily been on the phone with one of my young adult kids, or in the kitchen when my husband came home, or having lunch with a good friend. Someone made a comment that shattered my peace and filled me with dismay and devastation. The rest of my world stopped while my thoughts started spinning. How can I solve this problem?
Who Am I Serving?
In the last two years, I’ve become so consumed with doing all the things for all the people (somewhat necessary as a mother) that I’ve failed to protect my private relationship with Jesus. I’ve slowly drowned out conversations with God with demands on myself. My quiet meditation of His truths and promises is now being used for list-making, task-mastering, and box checking. I’ve justified it all by insisting I’m serving our family, the school, the community, committees, etc.
Where is Your Promise, God?
I’m the queen of both romanticism and nostalgia. This means that my vision of an upcoming change in life doesn’t always match reality. If we decide to move across the country for my husband’s job, I tend to romanticize the change with cautious optimism while greatly minimizing its challenges. Or, if time ushers in a new life stage, such as the beginning of middle age, I go to the other extreme and embrace nostalgia while despairing that the future will never be as enjoyable and meaningful as the past. In either case, my tendency to imagine the future creates expectations that slam into reality and produce disappointment and discontentment once one chapter closes and another one opens. Can you relate to either of these? Whether we are optimistically romantic, or hopelessly nostalgic, our presumptive nature is a tactic to help us manage our expectations and quiet our fears.
If I Do It, What’s It Going To Hurt?
This one is for the girl that is one step away from making the decision to catapult her into the depths of sin that will forever change her life. To the one who is standing on the brink of that choice, that escape that seems so right, so intriguing, and satisfying; it will make you feel better if you do it, and you might even feel on top of the world.
For a moment.
Have You Forgotten My Request, God?
The other day I found myself wanting an explanation from God. I know this sounds ridiculous but let me explain.
Some of my prayer requests are several years old. Healing, salvation, relationship restoration, and other long-term desires take time. I understand God knows far better than I do the perfect outcome and the best time to respond. But I also know that His flawless will may fail to match the way that makes so much sense to me. In fact, His answer might be, “no”, and I may have refused to recognize or accept that.
When the pain of unanswered prayer enters my day, I find myself asking God,” Why are you silent and still when I know You could be powerful and present?” Do you wonder the same thing sometimes?
What’s With Obedience?
Several years ago I accidentally put a knife through my hand while cutting an avocado. It immediately began bleeding profusely and my husband quickly wanted to call 911. I told him not to because I was convinced it would eventually stop bleeding and I would be ok. Thankfully, he didn’t listen to me and called anyway. I stood over the sink with my hand clenched, not letting anyone examine it.
Does God Know What He’s Doing?
Have you ever experienced a moment that turned your life upside down and left you feeling disoriented and distraught? Maybe that describes your current reality and you’re wondering if the future will ever feel promising again. Whether we try harder or deny its existence or numb it or push through it, emotional pain isn’t healthy to ignore. It must be addressed, or it will start to control our actions.
Can I Stop Being a People-Pleaser?
I could spin around in circles trying to please the crowd but would still be left with feelings of emptiness inside. I cannot please everyone, and even if I could, the validation that might follow would be short-lived and fleeting. I will never be enough for this world, and this world will never be enough for me. My only hope is Jesus.
Perfect Peace
Someone(s) is perfect. There, I said it. Behind the door marked “do not enter,” in that wing of my brain where guests aren’t invited, locked inside a secret safe with my files of fears, diary of shame and private collection of insecurities was the belief that perfection might be possible.
From Resistance to Surrender
Hi, I’m Susan, and I struggle with trust and will issues. This is funny, because if you met me, you would find me to be very trusting and far more likely to empathize with you than to impose my solutions for your problems. My trust and resolve battle lies with God, not between you and me.
Is God Stingy?
Can I Love Like Jesus?
Today it seems we live in a world that is convinced we must take drastic measures about our views and beliefs. We are pressured into thinking that agreeing with one political party, means hating the other. We're told that we must view things in black or white. We're either left or we're right. If we're not a feminist, we must be a sexist. If we're not vaccinated, we’re murderers. The list goes on and on. One thing I think we can all agree on is that our world is completely divided and becoming more filled with hate by the moment. In the midst, I'm trying desperately to keep my eyes fixed on Jesus. I wonder what he thinks as he looks down on all of us modern-day extremists who seem to believe we have all the answers, especially since he is the only one who knows if we have been consulting him for these answers that we claim to have.