BLOG––Encouraged by Faith

Only the most determined effort of will seems able to protect us from a relentless assault––that is the war of political ideologies in this present age. A regular refreshing of our faith is available by a review of the armor of God in Ephesians 6:11-18. A frequent nourishing of the...

This is a sad story. I’m only sharing it because I hope it contains wisdom about how to deal with life and death. Not my wisdom, but the wisdom of a mother who lost her 15-year-old daughter. I met this grieving mom for the first time on a recent vacation. Kara described her daughter so...

I was in my early twenties when I finally realized I was introverted. I suppose I had not really thought much about it until then. There is something about being in a foreign country, however, struggling to speak to as many people in a day as possible, while working in missions, that smacks you...

You know that feeling when you are standing in a smelly room and you are basically holding your breath for fear of inhaling whatever it is. That awful choking feeling that overwhelms you as you wait to escape. Now step outside. Fresh air. Imagine that first deep breath, the clean, fresh air...

  I was worshipping with family friends one Sunday when the youngest of their five children asked to be baptized. Afterwards, his sister (the only girl in the family) hugged him and said, “Oh, boy, am I ever looking forward to that new man you’re going to be.” I laughed...

More often than now and then, I get defensive about what I imagine someone else thinks of me. Usually, it is what I’m afraid they may have good reason to think of me. This situation arises before I’m aware of it and feelings have already been hurt. It is insulting to assume that...

Ever since my boys have been little, my husband has regaled them with stories from his own childhood. The “Uncle Eric” stories about his younger brother have always been the most popular, and now the eight-year-old repeats them to us as if they are fresh tales yet unheard by our...

A friend told me about an experience she had recently of hearing the voice of God. Not through reading His Word. Not in reflection through prayer. Not through godly counsel or the wisdom of the church. Not through life’s circumstances. No, she was in a movie theatre lobby when God told...

Most of us have probably been around a toddler that was in need of some sleep. Their cute little cherub faces can suddenly morph, tired eyes and petulant lips turning them into diminutive monsters, whose vocabulary is limited to the word “NO!” And while I like to think that I am...

Once upon a time, I lived in a place where the skies were not cloudy all day, or all year, usually. And it was HOT. This was a legendary desert in the Middle East where whole armies have been known to disappear in a single day, overwhelmed by rolling dunes in a driving sandstorm. Maybe...