Speaking your truth

In my research into hypothyroidism, I came across the Hindu teachings about chakras. To be clear, I don't ascribe to Hinduism but my interest was piqued by their belief that thryoid issues were due in part to not using your voice. Acquiescing to others when you know you shouldn't; staying silent instead of speaking up;...

Renewed: Day 37, Having a Voice

"When we remain silent or refuse to use our gifts, we hamper the body of Christ from achieving its fullness. God places members in the body of Christ to bring it to health, and we are part of the body. Our voices and gifts matter." (Renewed, Leigh Powers, pg 155) I am passionate about people...

Renewed: Day 35/40, Angry Dragons / Wounded Sheep

"I'm not saying that we should put up with sheer meanness or verbal abuse. There are times when we need to lovingly confront others about their sin. Sometimes we need to draw boundaries such as refusing to remain in a disrespectful conversation." (Renewed, Leigh Powers, pg 146) After my last post, I'm relieved that Powers...

Renewed: Day 34, Honoring Others

"There are times when we must honor people who will never honor us back. Like David, we may be tempted to strike out and give as we have been given. We may even be surrounded by our own chorus of friends egging us on. But Christ gives us a higher calling. The people around us...

Renewed: Day 26, The God who Fights for Me

"The hardest part about this is having to remain silent. It's one of the unspoken rules of being a pastor's wife: You can't fight back. ....Hold your tongue and hope the truth will come out in the end." (Renewed, Leigh Powers, pg 106) Sigh. Why? Why do we have this unspoken rule? I guess it's...

Renewed, Day 20 (Half-way!), Lessons in Grace and Mercy

Do we see grace as something that needs to be balanced with justice? The desire to be right and vindicated can be so strong. To deserve something... I see that thought plastered all over my social media feed. Do we ever deserve grace? Is that even possible? Or do we confuse grace with mercy? Do...

Renewed, Day 19, Moving Forward

I am so glad that I've had these past few weeks of Christmas and all of the busy-ness that goes with the December seasonal activities. I had made it half-way through this day's devotional and just wasn't at the place to be able to process and write about it until now. We had been presented...

Renewed: Day 11, Loving Your Enemies

"Loving your enemies seems easy until you have one." (Renewed, pg 45, Leigh Powers) In theory, it is easy to forgive. It is especially easy if we no longer need to have a relationship with the person who wronged us. The depth of forgiveness is most severely tested when the relationship is continued. "Forgiveness doesn't...

Renewed: Day 4, Rejection

Just writing the word, "rejection", stirs up the events of the past few hours. I received a phone call from my mother, criticizing me (as lovingly and carefully as she could) for (private, custom-audience selected) social media posts I have been making from time to time over the past several weeks about our current challenges...

Getting through

Phew! I managed to get through our summer vacation and made some good memories along the way! Usually my partial, type-A personality takes over in about February, with booking hotels and campgrounds, and printing maps, and working up field trips along the way. Not this year.  I'm not sure what happened. I tried to book...