In this walk with God, ultimately, we desire to be a reflection of His character.  In doing so, there are aspects of His character that we need to know and allow to pour into us at such a degree that His very nature rests in us and moves mightily through us. Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. Ephesians 5:1 God is always more concerned with our hearts. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. 1 Samuel 16:7 All throughout scripture it is stated. However, with that said, God is the designer of your outer. He ministers to our physical bodies as well as our souls and spirits, so we would be incorrect to ...

Twelve years ago I received the beautiful and transforming deliverance from my eating disorder. It’s been twelve years now of discovering exactly who I am. That’s right. I’m forty-years-old and have really only had an authentic identity for a little more than a quarter of that. So I’m twelve, technically. Prior to that, I had no idea who I was. I knew I wanted to be thin and that I would do absolutely anything to make that happen. Everything else took a backseat to that. The woman who writes and speaks and mothers and teaches and loves is twelve, or at least that’s how long I’ve known her. I’m just a pup, technically speaking. I can say that because the person I was ...

There aren’t many things cuter than three- or four-year-olds in their ballet attire. Chubby little legs with pink tights hugging each little roll; the waist band not entirely able to make it to the nonexistent waist, but resting underneath that sweet little belly: heart melting, indeed. Big enough to take a class, but still in so many ways, in my eyes, babies. Baby faces, expressions of innocence, and more than they are learning ballet, they are learning that it can be safe to be away from Mom and Dad for an hour. They are learning that there are others in the world that God will put in their lives to be an expression of His love to them. That’s probably what I savored most in my ...

“Sit still.  Don’t fidget.  Don’t spill.  Sit up straight.  Stop slouching.  Be quiet.  Listen.” How do you tell a duck not to quack, a tail not to wag, or a flower not to bloom? You can’t.  It’s just part of God’s design. I find it so interesting that as adults, young and old alike, identity crisis runs rampant.  So many of us, truly don’t know who we are, or who God created us to be.  Could this be a result of starting out with instructions to be many things … other than exactly who we are: children. We tell little babes not to be themselves and to ignore who God has called them to be.  “Conform to our comfort level.  Look the way we look.  Talk ...

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like the shifting shadows. James 1:17 He leans in. He’s looking at me, I’m looking at Him and I’m not even sure where we are. The atmosphere isn’t my focus because we are each sitting in our chairs looking face to face into one another’s eyes. No one else is around. Not a soul. It’s just me and Him. He’s humongous and His chair is monstrous compared to mine. Although He towers over me, we are still, somehow, each leaning in eye to eye. Of course, I don’t question it. It feels more right than anything I’ve ever felt or known. He knows me. I mean ...

I’m a lake girl. Growing up I spent much time on, in and around Bair Lake and West Lake; just two of the many, many lakes located in southwest Michigan. I skipped rocks and hunted frogs and turtles. I baited my own hook and could even filet a fish with the best of 'em. I bet I still could; however, it’s been a couple of decades. Bair Lake is where I spent many a summer as a young girl. My parents owned a campground on this somewhat secluded lake. So if it was summer, this lake is where I was. It was a serious fishing lake, and I mean serious. It was known for the massive amounts of bass, perch and blue gill, which brought devout fisherman from all over the area. I learned to ...

“If God has called you to be really like Jesus in all your spirit, He will draw you into a life of crucifixion and humility, and put on you such demands of obedience, that He will not allow you to follow other Christians, and in many ways, He will seem to let other good people do things which He will not let you do.”  The High Calling, author unknown That can be quite a pickle for us. Sometimes, like above, we know we shouldn’t be following others, yet we also don’t see a crowd of others following us. Sound lonely? Several years ago I went through a painful time of rejection. It was such a dreadful time; it literally made me sick. Yet, in the midst of that hurt, I sat with my ...

Don’t do it. Don’t do it. Don’t do it. I felt the conviction of the Holy Spirit making it very clear for me not to partake in this conversation. It was gossip. Clearly I was to have no part of it. Walk away. Just walk away. But, oh, what is this? Someone I respect as having greater Christian wisdom than I, jumping right in? She jumped into the conversation, into the gossip. If she didn’t hesitate to jump in, well, I guess it’s not so bad for me? Right? Surely I can’t expect myself to walk a tighter rope than her? Can I? How often that exact scenario has played out in my life. Comparison leads to permission. Isn’t it crazy how so many of us are looking for ...

I was sick. There were days I had the strength to get up, and there were days I just couldn’t. There were times I could open my eyes, or speak, or lift my head and other times I just wasn’t able. In those moments when I could, there would be a glimmer of hope, not only in my mind, but in the hearts of my four boys and husband as well. I would get up and feel a fraction of myself, only to have that fraction of life and strength stripped from me again as I’d be forced to submit to my lifeless existence on the couch. Sick … wanting healing, needing healing, and loving my Healer, but I just wasn’t healed. Healing was something I believed in and had studied quite extensively; as ...