2 Corinthians 12:9-10

How is it possible to receive the grace we need to delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions? It seems like a tremendous contradiction and yet it is in so many ways the crux of our daily Christian faith.

I live in a messed up world. Still I find it ironic that my so called reality is not necessarily God's reality.

I wrestle with the fact that hardships are difficult, uncomfortable, challenging, awkward, inevitable, even painful. So I need to learn to better grasp God's grace in order to confidently quote Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:9-10:

"But he (Jesus) said to me 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."

Can you wrap your brain around that?

Psalm 46:10

Is quiet time a stranger in our lives? Are we constantly bombarded by media of some sort: music, phone, texting, t.v., Internet? Can we handle the silence when the only interruption is the sound of our own thoughts marching through our heads? And if we have a hard time being still in the silence, then how can we be still before God?

"Be still and know that I am God." -Psalm 46:10

1 John 4:19

What is love?

For some, love is a rug that constantly gets yanked out from underneath them. Love is a battlefield. For others, love is a language . . . it is a word of affirmation or a gift. Love is an experience. Love is romantic. Love is brotherly.

There are so many ways we package love in our lives. Like a stack of pictures, we store it in bins labeled with different categories-family, friends, spouse, children. We compartmentalize our love, sharing it with some, withholding it from others.

But what happens when we take our hands off love and experience it the way God wants us to? What if we stow away our own limited notions of love to receive God's love, and experience love supernaturally.

Then love becomes unconditional. Love becomes sacrificial. Love becomes eternal.

The Bible says "we love because he first loved us" (1 John 4:19).

What's your take on love?

Snicker doodles

There is a certain nostalgia that erupts in my life when I encounter little parts of my day that trigger sentimental memories. Last night I made snicker doodles with my children. Today, the cookbook still lays open, turned to the snicker doodle page. A smile stretches across my face as I fondly remember not just the fun I had last night, but also the fun I had baking cookies when I was a child.

What are some triggers that bring back nostalgic feelings and memories to your life?

2 Samuel 22:29

Songs of praise rise up like rays of light stealing the night away. And the darkness evaporates.

Hope rises to penetrate the heart, conquering despair, the way a soldier takes on his enemy. And the darkness evaporates.

God’s presence settles around us like a dense fog, so that no matter which way we turn, he is there. And the darkness evaporates.

“You are my lamp, O Lord; the Lord turns my darkness into light.” 2 Samuel 22:29 from David’s Song of Praise 22:1-51

Psalm 1

Some say a picture can paint 1,000 words, but is it possible for 1,000 words to paint a picture?

Psalm 1 is merely 121 words but it paints a very clear picture of two very different people. The first is "like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither." On the other end of the spectrum, the second person is "like chaff that the wind blows away." If you were to paint a picture of your life today, which portrait would you resemble?

I know I want to bloom where I am planted instead of being blown away by any breeze that comes my way.

Matthew 6:19-21

What defines us? Financial security? Having a significant other? A great career path? A lavish home or car? A sculpted physique? All of these things can be good as long as we own them and they don’t own us . . . as long as we give them over to the Lord and don’t keep them as idols . . . as long as they are not the sole prizes we seek to obtain.

In Matthew 6:19-21 Jesus says, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures I heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

I think the question worth asking is, what is our treasure, or perhaps more importantly, where are our hearts?