Thoughts trapping you in a spiral? Look up and out.
Lessons from a da Vinci
One of the places we went last week was the Uffizi Gallery. If you’ve read Shadowed by Grace, you know that some pivotal scenes in that book happen at the Uffizi, so it was an absolute thrill to go there last year on a tour with the students. But when you tour with a group, you don’t get to savor and enjoy the art. It’s a rush to the five or so paintings that the art critics consider important, and then you move on to the next painting or place. This year we wanted to savor and soak in. I didn’t expect revelation as we did.
What a Mama Duck Reminded me of
The other day the kids and I were driving along and saw the above sight. It was absolutely priceless and felt like we had stepped into the book Make Way for Ducklings. When we first arrived the mother was in the road at the side with her 12 or 13 ducklings next to her. Cars slowed for her, but went …
I AM
What has resonated in my heart with startling clarity is the idea that God is I AM. Not I was (You’re too late. If you’d come earlier, I could have helped you, but it’s too late. You’ve missed your window. So sorry.). Not I will be (You’re too early. You’re not ready. You’re not good enough. You’re not clean enough. You have too much sin still coating your life). Instead, He is the I AM. I AM enough. I AM the perfect sacrifice. I AM the one who took care of it all. I AM the one with a plan. I AM the way. In this moment, I AM.
Your Word: Next Steps
Now that we’re two months into the year, the word makes a whole lot more sense and is shaking the foundations of my world. There was one last, big I’ll never on my list, and it looks like God is asking me to lay that one down. I kind of hoped He’d forgotten about it, but no such luck. So while I’m getting a sense of where God is going, I’m still not 100% certain, and that’s part of the fun on the journey.
10 Ways Your Word Guides Your Year
A few weeks ago, I wrote a post about how to find Your Word for 2017. A logical question several of you had was, “Now that I have my word, now what?”
That’s a great question, so today I wanted to share ten ways that a Word can help direct your year. You may find that some or none of these apply to you. If you’ve used the word in other ways, I would love to learn about those, so be sure to leave a comment.
A word can give you a prayer focus. If God has given you a word, a next step is to begin to ask God why. What does He want you to learn as you focus on the word?
2017 Word: How do you find yours?
The calendar has flipped to a new month and year. Ready or not, we are embarking on the new year, a chapter in the book of our lives. I’m trying to be intentional about how I embark on this new year. One way I do that is by asking God if there is a theme He wants to work …
Encouragement for Today: Images for You
I love creating images that point us to Jesus. In a world that so often distracts and creates division, my goal is to be a person who reminds you of our hope in Jesus. That in a world gone mad, He is our source and where we find our identities. So this week, I wanted to share a few more …
Some Reminders of Our Hope: Images for You
Some days I need more reminders of God’s goodness and faithfulness. Some weeks are just hard. We’ve certainly been put through the ringer as a country. So today I wanted to give you some of my favorite verses in a form you can put in front of you in case you need the reminders, too. Need hope? Some reminders of the …
The day after…There is peace
As I write this I am exhausted from watching election night returns into the wee hours of the morning Tuesday/Wednesday. My jaw was on the ground most of the night as the election returns rolled in from across the country. Our hope isn’t restrained by who won or lost the election. @Cara_Putman encourages #hope. Click To Tweet This morning there …