It doesn’t take much to realize that God designed this world to be good. It also doesn’t take much to realize that the good design has been broken. If you have ever had high expectations for something and found them thwarted, you know the feeling.  If you ever found yourself assuming that the status quo would carry on forever, you have also found yourself disappointed. Change is upon us all the time, and unfortunately, we often find much more change for the worse than for the better. Why does this disappoint us so much? I think it is because there’s an expectation for good implanted deep ..read more

How important is your birthday?  I know, that’s a complicated question.  Birthdays are a big deal when we’re young, but as we age, we generally pay less attention unless the birthday is divisible by five.  Then, if we’re blessed with great longevity, they get more interesting.  I mean, how many 100-year-old birthday parties have you been to?  It’s something to celebrate! Our birthdays are important because they commemorate an amazing and beautiful event – new life.  It’s so easy to take life for granted.  We’re literally surrounded with people and other liv ..read more

“Keep going.”  I have to tell myself that every once in a while.  My profession allows me to do lots of good, meaningful, and sometimes difficult things.  It’s not unusual for a given day to be filled to the brim with any combination of them.  I’m often energized by it all in the moment, but after taking a break, sometimes I need my little pep talk to help me jump back into the fray.  “Keep going. It’s worth it.”   Don’t get me wrong.  I absolutely love what I do, but doing good is hard. It’s all the more difficult when doing good doesn’t show immediate res ..read more

Discontentment is powerful. It can transform any of us into bitter, angry people, all while masquerading as something beneficial and good. Let me explain.  I think we can all agree that the world isn’t as God intended it.  In fact, it’s not even close. Injustice reigns, greed is rampant, moral decay is accelerating and trust in institutions has eroded.  Want to complain about something? Easy pickings. We can go all day and whip ourselves into a frenzy over the sorry state of our world.   Discontentment doesn’t stop there. The brokenness of our relationships and our bodies ..read more

Service can  be hard and sometimes can come with an expensive price tag. Caring for my parents was difficult at times. It required time and energy I thought I didn’t have. And truth be told I didn’t but God did and He always provides. By serving my parents as the Lord had called my family to do , we were blessed by one of the greatest gifts ever. My father accepted Jesus as his Savior. Oh the joy we will have when we are in heaven and we will meet those who God has brought to faith through our obedience to serve others. Today marks the one year anniversary of my father entering his etern ..read more

Some thoughts from Kathy Wilharm for Red Letter Challenge Day 20 – "Because you say so I will" ********** I just love Peter’s response in today’s Bible verse, though it is a tough one for me to put into practice.  It is a sign of utter trust in the Messiah without needing to understand.  God calls and I do without figuring it all out? Whew! This story points back to a story in Exodus 19 with the children of Israel and also a favorite story of mine.  It is in the third month since God had rescued them from Egypt and they arrive at Sinai.  God calls Moses up the mountain: 3 ..read more

A letter of encouragement from Kathy Wilharm, **************** Here is some encouragement for those of us that are finding this week to be difficult week of challenges, and especially hard to pray for those who have hurt you.  It IS really hard.  Don't beat yourself up over that. Maybe some of the prayers below could be a place to start. Dear God, help me be willing to let go of my anger towards this person. Dear God, help transform my heart so that I can care about this person and pray for them. Dear God, help me want the best for this person and not the worst. Dear God, plea ..read more

What do you choose when your world is crumbling, and forgiveness is the only way to put it back together? What do you do when the world tells you an act is unforgivable, and your hurt says the same, but God tells us otherwise?  Several years back, I was in a deep valley. I knew God was there, He promised never to forsake me, but God felt a million miles away. I felt alone and unsure I could forgive what I thought was unforgivable.  At that time, I downloaded Matthew West's album, Into the Light. I don't remember how I stumbled upon it, but perhaps God was in that download. :) I ..read more

Holding grudges, planning revenge - sometimes these seem easier to do than forgiving someone who’s truly hurt us. Somehow we feel if we hold a grudge we still have power in the situation, still have some control, somehow are hurting them back. “Forgive them? But they don’t deserve it! They were so mean and isn’t forgiving them just letting them off the hook? It’s not fair…” Forgiveness is not fair. Judgement is fair. Jesus calls us to forgive, not judge. I heard the saying that not forgiving someone is like swallowing poison and expecting it to hurt them. Not following Jesus’ way, and not f ..read more

..read more