“I have screwed up big time. If you can do anything with my life, please do.” That was the eloquent prayer I prayed in the early months of 1989. I was 17 and pregnant. I had dropped out of regular high school. My boyfriend was out of the picture. My friends were going on with… [Continue Reading]
sin
When God Asks You to Return to Your Darkest Place
Do you have a dark place in your life? A place of heartache or even sin? Without a doubt my darkest place was when I walked away from God during my teen years. I became sexually active at a young age, and I chose to have an abortion at age 15. I found myself pregnant… [Continue Reading]
Planned Parenthood, Ashley Madison and Jesus
The world is falling apart, or at least it seems that way when my Facebook news feed is filled with stories on Planned Parenthood, Josh Duggar’s sexual sins, and the marital cheating website Ashley Madison. As a Christian there’s a lot to process, and we wonder what we should say and how to take a… [Continue Reading]
10 Ways to Help Others Find Healing in Christ: Hints for Unwinding Grave Clothes
On Tuesday I shared about a personal struggle, and how I became transparent and asked others to help me find healing. You can read: Being Transparent: 3 Ways To Invite Others Into Your Healing here. There are times when we need help healing. There are other times when Jesus is asking you to help someone… [Continue Reading]
Being Transparent: 3 Ways To Invite Others Into Your Healing
Years ago, in 2005, I faced one of the hardest struggles of my life. I thought I was doing so well—as a writer, as a mom, and as a wife. One November, I pondered my family, and my work, and I thought things couldn’t get any better. I even prayed Psalm 139:23-24: Search me, O… [Continue Reading]
I’m FOR the Duggars
I was lying on my bed, checking Facebook when I first heard the news about Josh Duggar inappropriately touching five young women when he was a young teenager. I was heartbroken by the news in so many ways. I was heartbroken because of the victims. I was heartbroken for the Duggar family. I was heartbroken for… [Continue Reading]
What’s So Good About Good Friday?
“I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you … that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, [and] that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.” 1 Corinthians 15:1,3-4 (NIV) Today, people all around the world are celebrating Good Friday. Businesses… [Continue Reading]
Fifty Shades of Brokenness | No Explanation Needed
50 Shades of Brokenness No Explanation Needed 1. There is a painful situation. You hurt me. 2. You have made me despairing and desperate. 3. You are making me weary and tired of said circumstance. 4. You are to blame and stand condemned. 5. You must not win, no matter the cost. 6. You… [Continue Reading]
In the World, Not of It: Protecting Innocence
In the World, Not of It: Protecting Innocence “I will refuse to look at anything vile and vulgar. I hate all who deal crookedly; I will have nothing to do with them.” Psalm 101:3 (NLT) I can remember the first horror film I watched was when I was in third or fourth grade. The… [Continue Reading]
The One Thing God Asks
The One Thing God Asks Sometimes being available to God means crossing an ocean to be a missionary or moving a thousand miles or starting a crisis pregnancy center. But sometimes, even harder, following God is in the small stuff. Sometimes following God is in the small stuff. @TriciaGoyer Click To Tweet Years ago, a… [Continue Reading]
Sometimes I’ve Felt Like My Heart Has Been Mangled With a Wire Brush.
Sometimes I’ve Felt Like My Heart Has Been Mangled With a Wire Brush. While most writers might want our books to sell more, many writers are surprised by the challenges that come with that kind of success. I’m not talking about fame, notoriety, and greater demands. (Although those are challenges, too.) I’m talking about God’s… [Continue Reading]
7-Day Writer’s Challenge