In late winter, I love browsing the floral department in my grocery store. There are the usual assortments of cacti, cut flowers flown in from the south, and stunning forced-bloom forsythias. The forsythias are noble—long, leggy branches with yellow buds exploding through a thin skin of bark. Eye-catching. Almost prideful. 

A lightbulb went on for me when I realized that if my thoughts got me into a depression, then it could be my thoughts that could get me out. In other words, God helped me to think my way out of the darkness, and He can do the same for you!

We all encounter an unending March on our journey to spring, don’t we? We all must face a time of waiting with no visible signs of encouragement.  We all choose how to deal with the March grayness of life. I believe that underneath every discouraging, dull March moment is hidden an indescribable glory reserved for those who choose to wait well.

Nothing is too difficult for our God, so you are going to make it after all! The power of God that is vibrantly and actively alive inside of you is by far greater than any problem that you face … than any circumstance that comes your way … or than any unkind person who torments you.

Women are afflicted with self-induced amnesia when it comes to remembering who God created us to be. God created you, my friend, with divine purpose and with miraculous destiny in His brilliant and eternal mind.  

From Laura Acuna: My shame story began when I was eleven. I entered seventh grade at five feet tall and weighed one hundred pounds, but by the time I left junior high, my weight doubled. Yes, you read that correctly. In the brief span of only a few years, I gained over one hundred pounds.

I have heard it said that there is only one thing that never changes in life …. and that is the undeniable certainty that something is about to change! There is a personal problem that is found in that certainty … I am a girl who doesn’t like change!

What does it mean to be a truly successful person? More importantly … what does success mean to you?

Contrary to what Hollywood and People magazine have tried to tell you … You are NOT too old!

God welcomes our questions. His Word can stand up to the strongest of scrutiny. But unresolved doubt can lead to the deconstruction of our faith.

My heart beats with a passion to tell people about Jesus … about His great love for us … about His amazing grace … and about the abundant life He is willing to give each one of us.

Gray skies … Dark days … Frigid temperatures … Barren trees. Large numbers on the bathroom scale … low numbers in my checking account … an empty house … a lonely heart. Such is the culture of January. If I am not careful, I can be swallowed alive by the cold and gloom … by the emptiness … of January.

The Father … when He created mankind thousands of years ago … put eternity in our hearts. Imagine that! You and I are made of the stuff of which eternity is made! It’s that slice of eternity in our hearts that causes us to be uncomfortable in the measuring cup of time.

As we bid adieu to 2022, social media is about to be flooded with New Year’s resolutions, color-coded planners, and every type of 2023 calendar imaginable. You can organize your life hourly, daily, weekly, monthly…even minute by minute, if you really want to.

The days of December are nearly over.  Christmas 2022 will soon become but a lovely memory packed away with the annual decorations.  However, I am determined this year, above every year, to hold the lessons of Christmas deeply within my heart and as stirring guideposts for living.