Tag
February 10, 2022
Is God’s Presence Real When You Don’t Feel? What does experiencing the presence of God feel like? What feeling should we wait for that assures us of His presence? Is there an unusual warmth? A sensation? Is there a manifestation? We often rely too heavily on how we feel, or don’t feel, to gauge the realness of something. In determining God’s presence, we will likely feel nothing. God’s presence is not a feeling. But a truth. We don’t tangibly feel...
May 20, 2021
When God Doesn’t Make Sense We all face seasons when, from our limited, human perspective, what God allows in our life does not make sense. Last month, two weeks and two days after losing our son Tyler, we followed the ambulance transporting my father-in-law to the hospital. We had lived life and raised our family within ten minutes of him, so our years were filled with his supportive, loving presence. That evening, while we sat with him, pushing back the...
April 30, 2020
Though the world battles a shared dose of fear today, fear is not a new reaction to unknown or frightening circumstances. Fear entered our world when the first man and woman disobeyed God. Just a few sentences later, we witness Adam saying, “I was afraid”. (Genesis 3:10). Like other emotions, fear comes in many shapes and sizes and in varying degrees; some rational, some not so much; demonstrated in the statement, “I am afraid of wasps and a family member...
January 30, 2020
The unknown. At times, this weighs hard on everyone. For those prone to fear and anxiety, the concealed creates a vast depth of despair and dread. Worry mounts and distress moves in, crowding out peace and joy. A myriad of facts and certainties, from science and math to the details of our work and daily lives, establish a sense of security and build a false confidence that we are in control. But without warning, the “what if” flags start popping...
July 4, 2019
Stunned, the ambulance sped us along, transporting from a local hospital to a children’s hospital miles away. His little six-week old skull suffered a fracture from meeting pavement as we fell. Fresh memories of falling, our mad dash through red lights to the ER, mixed with the phrases “brain swelling”, “holes drilled”, “potential battle with children’s services” swirled in my head; all accompanied by the horrifying, never-to-be-forgotten sound of CRACK, like a wooden bat smacking a baseball, as his head...
April 11, 2019
Difficult transitions into new seasons can spark a hard. Taking a giant step from the comfortable, security of the known into the discomfort and shaky unknown pours fear, sorrow, and insecurity into our soul. Waiting in the family van to retrieve a son from a late-running ball practice, the reality of an upcoming change sunk in deep. Thankful for the darkness and storm smearing the windshield, obscuring the sorrow that rained down my face, a deep lamenting began. “Lord, this...
March 7, 2019
Doubt. To be uncertain. To distrust and be apprehensive. Doubt makes us hesitant and reluctant, freezing us in our tracks or sending us crawling back under the covers. Doubts threaten to keep us undecided and stagnant in belief. Faith and trust stand firm as the antitheses to doubt. Aiming this double-barrel shotgun at our doubts sends them scurrying. But sometimes, our weapons are misplaced and we stand unarmed, feeling confused, prone to uncertainty, skepticism and anxiety. We traipse through difficult...