There are few things more painful than when Christian friendships go wrong. I have thought about this a lot over the years as I have had my share of friendships that have gone up in flames like they were doused with gasoline. Does this resonate with you? No matter how many times it has happened to me, the pain has …
Faith hope trials
God Creates Hope From Ruin
There are lessons that have substantially changed my thinking. Moments where the Lord has taught me important truths about Him and about redemption. One thing that I have learned over and over about the Lord’s design is that there is always hope in the most broken circumstances. Even sin and absolute ruin is redeemable by God. Not just redeemable though…made …
Faith Pain suffering trials
Does God Care about Our Pain and Suffering?
Everywhere we look there is chaos… Afghanistan… Haiti… COVID… I imagine as things seem to be falling apart around the world, people are wondering, “Where is God?” It is a reasonable question as it can appear that He is silent, permitting suffering to happen that by nature, we are told He has the power to prevent and control. Yet in …
Faith trials
It Was Always Faith
I had over 50 symptoms of damage relating to my brain injury and most of these symptoms were extremely distressing and disturbing. The damage caused me to live in utter confusion and in a very real way, lose sense of reality. I had cognitive loss resulting in problems with memory and time, physical damage resulting in pain and seizures, emotional …
Faith Pain suffering trials
When God Seems Scary
How do I trust God again? That’s the question I keep on asking myself. I keep on reading all these books on suffering from brilliant men and women whose greatest trials seem overwhelmingly insignificant. I don’t want to hear someone tell me to trust the Lord when their greatest difficulty still allows for breaks and downtime. I have no downtime …
Faith Pain suffering trials
The God Who Doesn’t Sleep
And He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “So, you men could not keep watch with Me for one hour?” Matthew 26:40 As I have reflected on Jesus and His suffering in the garden, I have thought about how the disciples fell asleep three times while Jesus was praying nearby. I have read the …
Faith Pain pysch drugs suffering trials Uncategorized
Jesus Knows My Suffering
The other day a friend came over and said four words to me “What happened to you?”. The question was humbling and clearly had to do with how undone this trial has made me. It was a hard question for me to receive as I am still wondering the same thing myself. What has happened to me? I can’t explain …
Faith suffering trials Uncategorized
The War that Rages Between Feelings and Truth
“Let God be true though every one were a liar, as it is written, “That you may be justified in your words, and prevail when you are judged.” Romans 3:4 I remember the first time I fell in love. I must have been 12 years old. My brother had a best friend named Corey and I really felt love for …
Faith Pain suffering trials
There is Another in the Fire
“Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished; and he rose in haste and spoke, saying to his counselors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?”…“Look!” he answered, “I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.” …
Faith Pain suffering trials Uncategorized
God’s Glory, My Good
Jesus is precious to me. I love Him with all my being. 17 years ago, He took this terrible sinner and gave me a new heart and eternal hope. He took my ashes and made them beautiful. He took my brokenness and made me whole again. He walked beside me through great storms and helped me overcome tremendous obstacles. And …