This made me wonder, whose voice am I listening to today?Here’s a truth: The voice we listen to will determine the path we take and the decisions we make.The Bible says that we are in a spiritual battle with the world, the flesh, and the devil (Ephesians 2:2-3). All three are whispering to lead us in the opposite direction of where God wants us to go. When I say whispering, I’m not talking about an audible voice, but an inner inkling.How do we tell if the voice we’re hearing is the world’s, the flesh (the way we’ve been programed to get our needs met apart from Christ), the devil’s, or God’s?By knowing the Truth of Scripture.

Steve and I were headed to the coast and stopped for our usual lunch break—Chick-fil-A—Just twenty minutes from our destination, it was one last time to fill up on sweet tea. While Steve purchased our nuggets, I took our Bernedoodle, Molly, for a walk in the grassy area between Chick-fil-A and Dunkin’.

Yard sales. I’ve never really liked them. But when we were preparing to move from our home of twenty years, we decided it was the best way to clean out the clutter and make a little money.

I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a little boy so excited! Steven was seven years old, and we were headed to Disney World! It was his first time on an airplane, his first time sleeping in a hotel, and his first time seeing Mickey Mouse in person. My video camera was fully charged and poised to capture those precious memories.

A sign was posted on a telephone pole by the grocery store: “LOST DOG with three legs, blind in left eye, missing right ear, tail broken, and recently castrated. Answers to the name of Lucky!” Perhaps you feel just about as “lucky” as that lost dog. Hobbling along. Impaired vision. Broken tail. Well, you get the picture. There was a woman in the Bible who also felt like she was out of luck and had nothing to give. Read more...

I had been praying for a family member for my entire adult life, but it seemed nothing was happening. Nothing. Perhaps you’ve felt that way about a prayer before.

I’ve discovered it’s not enough to know the promises of God in my head. I’ve got to take hold of them with all the firmness of the trapeze artist grasping that second bar. At the same time, I’ve let go of anything that holds me back. That is the greatest show on earth. That is how the greatest faith on earth becomes a reality.God’s promises are not automatic. We must move from knowing the promise, to believing the promise, to taking hold of the promise through obedient action in order to make them a reality in our lives. Let me say that again: know the truth, believe the truth, act on the truth.

The fog was thick. I was late. My husband was tense. It was a Friday morning, and my husband, Steve, was driving me to the airport for a speaking engagement in Kentucky. We were one of a parade of cars inching our way down the highway, feeling our way through the curtain of grey. With squinted eyes, white knuckles, Read more...

From my earliest years as a Christian, I experienced the power of prayer to change a man’s life—to strengthen a man’s resolve, to protect a man’s heart, and to mature a man’s faith. My first hand encounter with God’s faithfulness to hear our pleas for the men in our lives began with my father and continues with my husband and son. As a wife, you have the power to open the floodgates of heaven through prayer on your husband’s behalf. As a mother, you have the privilege to stand in the gap to bring God’s will to earth as it is in heaven on your child’s behalf. As a friend, you have the position to intercede for and link arms with someone you love on their behalf.

Every year, I search for Christmas poems, stories, and traditions that stir my soul and keep my focus on Jesus. Perhaps none has tugged on my heartstrings like the treasure I am sharing with you today. It is a letter that could have been written by Mary. Join me now and let’s peek over Joseph’s shoulder as he reads this letter from his beloved.

I was so disappointed. I had worked really hard on a project, and to be honest, it was a flop. It seemed that not as many people loved it as much as I did. And it made me just want to pitch a tent in the land of disappointment and quit!

I set out to tackle a task I had put off for many years. I didn’t really want to do it at all. It was the job of cleaning out my ministry storage closet. A closet filled with boxes of memories collected over twenty years.

Let’s face it. People let us down. They disappoint us. And sometimes it seems God does too. Often our experiences fall short of our expectations for God to meet all our needs the way we think He should, and like a lover who has been wronged, we tend to guard our hearts against future disappointment by lowering our expectations and trust. But make no mistake about it, God sees. God understands. He is not aloof.

Our attitudes are contagious whether grumpy or grateful. Whether we complain or give thanks, others around us will tend to do the same.

For almost forty years, Margaret lived with word-inflicted wounds that nearly destroyed her life. From the first day she attended her one room schoolhouse, she and her teacher, Ms. Garner, didn’t get along. Ms. Garner was harsh, bitter, and cruel, and could not tolerate Margaret’s childish idiosyncrasies.

I'm writing over at Proverbs 31 Ministries today and thought you might enjoy the post as well. “I remember the days of long ago; I meditate on all your works and consider what your hands have done.” (Psalm 143:5 NIV)

I had been praying for a family member for over four decades, yet I’d seen little or no progress. I’m wondering if you have anyone in your life like that. Part of me wanted to give up. Another part of me knew to press on. If you’ve been praying about something for years and have not seen any hint of an answer, Read more...

Three weeks ago, I wrote about forgiveness. Let’s go there one more time and see how we’re doing.One day I received an e-mail from a woman who was still bitter over a statement her husband made to her cousin ten years ago. She and her husband were preparing to celebrate their fiftieth wedding anniversary, and she was dreading it because of his careless words a decade before. She wrote, “Please pray that God mends this title [sic] piece of my heart that has fallen to the ground.”

I walked to the mailbox and then to the recycler. Don’t need this one, or this one, or this one I whispered as I dropped the shiny flyers in the red box.I don’t know about you, but I get tired of slick ads for things I don’t need and junk mail from services I don’t want. I especially dislike the credit card applications that say I’ve been “pre-approved” for a line of credit.

Have you ever felt like you just wanted to quit this thing called the “great race” of life? That’s your spiritual legs ache and you would much rather sit on the side of the road and have a good pity party than take one more step? I certainly have. And then I think of my nephew Stu and his mom, Read more...

My mom wore a two-carat diamond necklace that hung from a gold chain around her neck. My dad had given it to her for an anniversary. Before you say, “Good for her,” keep reading. One day, when she was shopping in my little hometown, she walked through an alley separating two buildings. This spunky seventy-something year old held several packages and her purse looped over her wrist.

She was at it again. Mrs. Barnett was getting out the scorecards and tallying up the points.I sat with an older woman as she began enumerating her family’s shortcomings. “Callie never comes to see me,” she began to complain about her granddaughter. “And she never calls me either. I saw her sitting on the other side of the church last week and she didn’t even come over and give me a hug.”

Pretend with me for a moment. Let’s say you are on an island in the Pacific. Pick an island, any island, but make it a tropical, lush, and beautiful one. You walk out onto the porch and see some equipment laid out just for you. You know what it is, and you know what it’s for. You’re excited! You’ve always wanted to do this, but never had the right gear.

I sat by her bed. Her hand swollen…full…unmoving. Feet that danced just a few weeks ago now stilled. Arms that lifted just a short time ago now limp. Words that spilled easily just a moment ago now halted. How could life seep away so quickly, right before my eyes? Mom was ready. But I wasn’t. Read more...

I sat on the floor playing a card game with my young son. It was shaping up to be one of the best summers ever. Steven was savoring every minute of the long hot days, our Golden Retriever, Ginger, had delivered seven adorable puppies, and after years of negative pregnancy tests and doctor visits, I had a new life growing in my womb.

Did you know the devil wants to sneak up on you? He prowls around like a lion just looking for the right opportunity.If Satan came to you in a little red suit with a pitchfork and announced himself as the devil, you wouldn’t believe a word he said. I wish he would, but he is cunning and disguises himself as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14). When he deceived Eve, he even quoted Scripture—albeit twisted and distorted.He has a collection of old tapes from your past, and he pushes rewind and play, rewind and play. Oh yes, he knows which buttons to push. He also uses personal pronouns like “I” instead of “you.” The thoughts sound something like this: I am a failure. I am a loser. I can’t do anything right. I’m ugly. The thoughts sound like you, feel like you, and before you know it, you think they are you. That’s the reason it’s so difficult to detect the lies. They sound just like us.

Have you ever prayed about something, but didn’t really expect God to answer…I mean really expect it? I’ll admit I have. Sometimes I’ve prayed because I knew I should, but doubted God would truly answer.

“Blondin” was the stage name for Frenchman Jean-Francois Gravelet. He was a young man who migrated to the United States with a troupe of acrobats employed by Master Showman P.T. Barnum. In 1858, the thirty-five-year-old Blondin visited Niagara Falls as a tourist and there conceived the preposterous idea of walking across it. In his mind’s eye, he saw himself walking between the two countries, the United States and Canada over the great gorge on nothing more than a rope pathway taut between the two.

When people ask me how I got started in ministry, I tell them I started by writing for free publications for free for 10 years. This is not what most people want to hear.When I tell them I started by folding newsletters in the den of my home for several years, they seem crestfallen.When I tell them I started out by cleaning the bathrooms in our first little ministry office, they seem confused.

When my husband, Steve, was in high school, he worked various jobs and was notoriously frugal. His twin brother, Dan, and their best friend, Mike, were not quite as thrifty. Dan and Mike had odd jobs from time to time—flipping hamburgers at the Wild Pig being the most infamous. But their funds disappeared as quickly as they got them. Steve, on the other hand, was a saver. And they knew it.

Have you ever felt the sting of rejection? That’s a silly question. I don’t know anyone who hasn’t. When I first started writing, I sent off sample chapters to various publishers. Shortly after, rejection letters came creeping into my mailbox. “Thanks, but no thanks. “Nobody knows you.” “Your manuscript does not meet our needs at this time.” “Blah, blah, blah.” You get the picture. At that point, I had two choices: quit or keep pressing on. I’ll admit, quitting seemed mighty good about then. But after I moped around for a while, I decided to keep pressing on.

For years we were joined at the hip. Not a day went by when we didn’t talk on the phone at least once. But sometimes friendships come unhinged. People change. Perspectives change. Purposes change. Passions change. While nothing went terribly wrong, and no hurtful words were exchanged, the void was vast beyond bridging. I felt tossed away. Discarded. Read more...

Today’s blog post is a guest post from my friend Sharon Jaynes. Sharon’s new book When You Don’t Like Your Story: What if Your Worst Chapters Could Become Your Greatest […]

From my earliest years as a Christian, I experienced the power of prayer to change a man’s life—to strengthen a man’s resolve, to protect a man’s heart, and to mature a man’s faith. My first hand encounter with God’s faithfulness to hear our pleas for the men in our lives began with my father and continues with my husband and son. As a wife, you have the power to open the floodgates of heaven through prayer on your husband’s behalf. As a mother, you have the privilege to stand in the gap to bring God’s will to earth as it is in heaven on your child’s behalf. As a friend, you have the position to intercede for and link arms with someone you love on their behalf.

I am beyond thrilled (even though a little late for the official release party) to host my sweet friend Sharon Jaynes on my blog today. her message is timeless and honestly–the KEY to real freedom in Christ. I know you will enjoy her thoughts and hope you will BUY THE BOOK! Enough! As a little girl, I …

“One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, 'Lord, teach us to pray …'” Luke 11:1 (NIV)

One night I was in the restroom touching up my makeup before speaking to several hundred women. I was having one of those moments when I looked in the mirror and thoughts began to swirl in my mind. What am I doing here? What do I possibly have to say to these women that could make any difference in their lives? Read more...

I had braces on my upper teeth three times. Count them. One. Two. Three. As the orthodontist explained, “Teeth have a memory. They always want to go back to the way they were. ”As soon as he said those words, I felt convicted. I have a tendency to go back to the way I was. We all do.

My best-selling book and Bible study guide, The Power of a Woman’s Words: How the Words You Speak Shape the Lives of Others is perfect for your 2024 Bible study with a group or on your own.Words are one of the most powerful forces in the universe, and God has entrusted them to you! They echo in hearts and minds long after they are spoken. How will we use this gift? Your words can change the course of someone’s day…even someone’s life. Learn how to:exchange careless words that hurt for intentional words that help others succeed

I believe one of the greatest inventions of the twentieth century was the Post-It Note. First there was yellow. Then came fuchsia, turquoise, buttercup, and magenta. From full-page mega notes to tiny little strips, sticky notes have kept me organized, tasks prioritized, and Scripture memorized. Mostly, they have served as visual reminders of information, events, and appointments not to forget.

When my brother was a teenager, my mother used to threaten him when he hunched over at the dinner table. “If you don’t sit up,” she would say, “I’m going to buy you a back brace from Sears.” I don’t even know if Sears made back braces then, but it sounded like a pretty good threat to me. Then I had a son who seemingly grew to six feet overnight. Read more...