It's a blessing to have friends to help out when your own load is a little too heavy. And it's an extra-special blessing when those friends are firmly planted in God's Word and able to share His timeless wisdom and life-giving encouragement. Barefoot Hippie Girl is one of those friends, and I'm honored to share her words with you once again. ******************************************** Last week, on Facebook, I kind of bragged that I had most of my own posts written already for the upcoming week. And Elizabeth asked me if I wanted to write a post for her. It took me all of about 2 seconds to say yes. Then I wondered just what I was going to write about. But, I prayed about it, and [...Read More]
Rejoicing in Misery?
February 19, 2013 By 3 Comments
When you feel lousy – you feel lousy. When your body feels sick and tired and blah – then your spirit feels miserable and cranky and, well, blah. Anyone who’s ever been sick can relate. You see, the body and spirit are so interconnected that when you fight a battle in one area, it gets fought in the other one too. When your energy is being spent fighting sickness of some sort, that’s energy that is not being spent fighting bad attitudes and low spirits. It’s hard to fight on both fronts at the same time. It’s challenging. Sometimes it feels impossible. But I don’t think it is impossible. Why? Because we have commands in Scripture, and we are expected to obey [...Read More]
His Strength is Enough
January 17, 2013 By 4 Comments
My grace is sufficient for you! For my power is made perfect in weakness... A lot of people quote it, but I’m not sure how many actually understand it. I didn't, until I actually lived it for myself. I didn't truly understand until I’d been diagnosed with a life-altering illness. Until I had absolutely no more spoons. Until I was called to spend more than I had – of energy, strength, life. We probably all know the back story: the great apostle Paul had been given some sort physical affliction, from which he desperately sought deliverance from God. Have you ever been there? Maybe it’s not a physical problem; maybe it’s the loss of a loved one, or loss in some other [...Read More]
It’s okay to grieve.
September 17, 2012 By 14 Comments
Before I start, can I just say a big thank you to all who responded to my posts last week? Both those who struggle with their own serious illness, and those who don't - all your notes and comments were such a blessing to me, and an encouraging reminder that we are never alone in our struggles! And I would love to keep hearing from more of you, so feel free to send me a message about your own story, if you'd like. As I was considering what to write about today, I kept thinking about the verses I'm memorizing in 1 Peter. In a way, it goes along with everything I wrote last week. But it's not just specific to chronic illness. It's for everybody. Because it's straight out of God's Word, and [...Read More]
How to help your friends through hard things.
July 30, 2012 By 8 Comments
Quick note: I've decided to pause the linkup feature for the time being. But I still welcome your comments and questions about your Bible reading! Life is messy. People are hurting - your friends, your family, your coworkers. Your neighbor down the street, or that person who sits in your pew at church. They may be fighting through depression, or anger. They may be fighting uncertainty about the future. One thing is certain: they're fighting with something. It could be an empty bank account. It could be a friend's betrayal. It could be a family torn apart by sinfulness, or a home broken by natural disaster. It could be health problems. It could be loss of work - or loss of [...Read More]
On struggling through the dark places.
July 26, 2012 By 8 Comments
Do you ever struggle with depression? That weighted feeling of emptiness, that dark despondency. That feeling of sinking into dark nothingness. Do you ever feel utterly alone in your depression? Do you ever feel less-than-Christian for struggling with those feelings? You shouldn't. Why do I say that? Because that's what I find in my Bible. In God's perfect and complete Word. In His words that are wholly profitable and always relevant. I read in there that David got depressed too. You know, the King David. The man after God's own heart. The one whose hundreds of poems are recorded for us in that holy and perfect Book. He struggled with the same things we do. Read what he [...Read More]
What Are You Learning?
April 28, 2012 By Leave a Comment
This is supposed to be my post where I share what I've learned from my Bible reading this week. From the TTB12 readings. But, although I've kept up with the schedule, what I've been learning hasn't really been in the daily readings. So what has God been teaching me? 1. Don't try to analyze the wind. In other words, don't try to figure everything out, because not everything in this life can be figured out. He has His own ways of working and leading, and those ways are far beyond our human comprehension. Simply trust, and rest, and let Him work in His own perfect way and time. 2. Don't wish away the difficult times. Who wouldn't agree that life is hard? But we can learn to rest in those [...Read More]
I Am Wonderfully Made!
April 19, 2012 By 2 Comments
Raise your hand if you ever feel like whining or complaining about being sick. *waves hand wildly* I've been dealing with a chronic illness (for which there is treatment but no cure) for about five years now. And lately I've had a whole laundry list of "nuisance" problems to deal with as well. And I haven't felt the slightest bit like being cheerful in the midst of it all. Just ask my husband - I've complained. I've whined. I've felt sorry for myself. Don't we all do that? Whether you're dealing with a long-term illness or something as simple as springtime allergies, isn't it so easy to complain about it? To wonder why God is allowing you to feel so lousy? To be preoccupied and miserably [...Read More]
Suffering in Silence {TTB12}
March 17, 2012 By Leave a Comment
"Oh, that I had one to hear me! (Here is my signature! Let the Almighty answer me!) Oh, that I had the indictment written by my adversary!" Job 31:35 This week covered the hardest portion of the book of Job: his friends' accusations and his God's silence. He didn't know why he was suffering so intensely; all he knew was that his heart was pure before God and his steps were right. His friends surmised that sin had caused his afflictions; they guessed that God was punishing Job for some unconfessed wickedness that he had in his life. But they could not see the scene in heaven, where God was faithfully watching Job in love, faithfully guiding himthrough all his trials. I saw a quote recently [...Read More]
Almighty Unchangeable God {TTB12}
March 10, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Do you ever think about reading the book of Job and then wonder what God will try to teach you through it? What trials you'll face if you read it? When I saw it coming up on my reading plan for this week, I admit, I was a little concerned. Life has been kind of crazy the past month with upheavals and uncertainties crashing over us in almost every area of our lives. I almost didn't want to read Job, because I didn't want anything else "going wrong" for us. Then I read the first two chapters. And I read how Job did nothing wrong to deserve all the trials he faced - and how God alone could grant permission for those things to happen. God alone has the authority to send trials (or blessings, for [...Read More]
