Sometimes in our lives we exhibit tough love to a friend or family member. Tough love is the moment you give another adult an ultimatum as a result of their bad actions. Tough love is a two-way street though. Your offer for help may be accepted or it may be rejected. If the person continues down the wrong road, you must rely on the power of prayer and seek understanding from God. Now that is truly tough love!
My friend is at this crossroad in her life. Her son was recently picked up for drug...
So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike...
We recently remodeled our master bathroom. One of the first steps in the project was the removal of a six-foot-wide mirror from the wall. It now leans against our bedroom wall, but it has been rotated. Instead of being six-foot-wide, it is now six-foot-tall which gives me a totally different perspective than before. We do not intend to leave it there permanently yet I have grown accustomed to the benefits of a tall mirror.
This mirror gives me the opportunity to reflect upon my physical...
Last night I read an article about the ten practices which should be eliminated from the church. The writer felt that sermons should be eliminated from the church service, which totally shocked me. They compared the length of the sermon to the attention span of people as a result of social media. They didn’t feel it was a valuable use of time and that there were more effective ways to teach in today’s society. So, for all of the social media people reading this book, here is your devotion for...
While Pastor Kathy was leading the Communion mediation, numerous times she asked the question, “Who are you?” The odd thing is, every time she asked the question, she was looking directly at me. I was starting to get a little paranoid and leaned toward my friend Angie and whispered, “Why does she keep looking at me?”
She replied, “I don’t know, but I was wondering the same thing?”
The first time Pastor Kathy asked the question I thought to myself, well I’m Joe Conklin’s daughter. A phrase I...
I have recently become friends with Leah as a result of my first book. We have never met in person. I’m in Ohio and she lives in New York. I love reading her blogs and seeing how her faith is strong through the many struggles in her life. In spite of these struggles she is always focused on Christ and His goodness.
Just so you understand the bigger picture, she is recuperating from some back problems. Her mom has cancer which has spread, and her son also has some special medical problems. You...