Anger is an emotion that we’ve all felt at one time or another. Sometimes our anger is justifiable. Other times it’s not. We can be senselessly angry when plans change at the last minute through no fault of our own. Anger wells us within us when we witness something unfair. Sometimes it confuses us when something we know shouldn’t affect …
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Shining in the Darkness: A Practical Guide in Troubled Times
In the midst of the world that seems to be falling part, we had our first full week of spring weather in Beaverton this past week. I don’t know about you, but the sunshine has really helped keep me hopeful. As humans, we find comfort in warmth and sunshine. Darkness breeds fear and anxiety. Light brings us hope and peace. …
How to Love Your Neighbor During Election Year: Tips for Grace-Filled Political Discourse
I was honored that a piece I submitted to The Joyful Life Magazine’s blog got accepted a few months ago. They posted it today on their site. I’ve included an excerpt below, but if you want the whole thing, you can find it here. Welcome to 2020, a year of stark political polarization! We thought 2016 was a divisive year, …
Bold Relationship Choices in 2020
I was honored to write a two complementary posts for Sheology.co on making bold relationship choices in 2020. One is on making bold dating choices and the other is on making bold choices in your marriage. Whatever your bold relationship choices are, grace is the key. I’ve got a short excerpt of each followed by a link to the full …
5 Things the Single Girl Shouldn’t Settle For
I know the single life is really tough. I still remember. I’ll be the first to admit that I didn’t do everything well when I was single. I fell into some traps that lead to heartbreak and mistakes. Many times, falling into a trap was caused by me deciding to settle. There are many ways that you can settle. Sometimes …
The Holidays: A Time to Reflect and Remember
This is probably the weirdest week in the year. It’s that awkward week between Christmas and New Year’s. People are still traveling and spending copious amounts of time with family. The business world is not quite back to normal. If your week is anything like mine, you’ve spent the last couple of days mostly lying around and eating as you …
Christmas Reminds Us God Enters Our Mess
The Christmas story and Jesus’ entrance into our world is wonderful on many levels. It reminds us that God keeps his promises. It’s a demonstration that God sees and responds to our unmet desires. However, I’m not sure that’s the best part of the story. The best part, in my humble opinion, is that the Christmas story shows us that …
Christmas Strengthens Our Hope
One of the best messages of the Christmas story is that we shouldn’t give up hope. Yes, there are things that we don’t yet have, things that we hope for, but Jesus’ coming reminds us that God keeps his promises and therefore we are justified in our hope. What Is Hope? But what is hope? In our own world and …
Christmas and Longing
My favorite Christmas carol is “O Come, O Come Emmanuel”. It’s my favorite because it captures the longing inherent in the celebration of Christmas. I remember several Christmases where I would sit at the piano and play that song over and over again. At the time, I had my own unmet longings and the words to the song resonated with …
Christmas Gift Guide for Booklovers
December is here my friends! Let the gift giving begin. I love trying to find the “perfect” gift for someone. However, I’m also realizing that people don’t need more stuff. That can make gift giving a little more difficult. That’s why I created this gift guide. The solution to this problem, in my humble opinion is to opt to give …