Category Archives: Trust

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Faith chooses to obey God when it absolutely makes no sense

Sometimes God speaks to us when we are simply minding our own business.  I was driving east on Interstate 20 in Columbia, SC last May when I began to see signs.  Literally!  There were multiple billboards rising like mountains above the highway, advertising going “back to school.” Some of them advertised online degrees and others advertised graduate school.

Many exit signs pointed the way to local colleges and universities.

obey GodI saw so many of them in just a few miles of travel that I began to wonder if God was speaking to me through the signs.

obey God

At one point I looked at an electronic billboard to the left of the highway, and, no joke, it changed before my eyes to a sign advertising going back to school.  Talk about surreal.

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Florence musings….There is a mountain behind that cloud

Its 7:30 in the morning. I am doing what I love to do when out of town…I am enjoying my coffee and a beautiful view of nature. Our family is staying with my mom and stepdad in West Jefferson, NC. They live in a two story condominium in a on a lovely golf course in the mountains.  My family of four and our day are occupying their basement.

Life is idyllic here in this moment, but let me share with you the unhappy circumstances that brought us here. We live in Wilmington, NC, which seems to be a magnet for hurricanes. I don’t understand the meteorology behind it, but suffice it to say, when Brian and I hunted for apartments there in 1996, the city was preparing for a hurricane. That should have alerted us to what would come.

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How to be a trustworthy and loyal friend

“If you tell Lisa something, are you sure that she will not tell others?” the pastor asked his wife.  They were dealing with a tricky church situation that could turn into a huge mess.  Gossip needed to be minimized so that the situation could be dealt with privately.  “Oh yes, Lisa is a vault.”   This pastor’s wife trusted me with her secrets.  I was her friend.  She knew that I would pray for her and not gossip about her.

I can’t imagine what it is like to be a pastor’s wife.  Your husband has a job in full-time ministry and is putting in more than a 40 hour workweek.  Yet somehow the wife must also meet the many expectations of the church. She should lead the ladies ministry, graciously entertain church members at home, never show anger or weakness, and serve tirelessly.  I’ve heard that is a lonely position, as the wife has few trusted friends in whom to confide when she is struggling.

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How to rest when your life feels out of control

I live my life by a spreadsheet that tells me what to do each day. It tells me my chores, the phone calls I need to make, what time I need to leave to make it to the doctors office on time, what errands to run, what friends I need to text, and when to rest. Every night I make my schedule for the following day, and the next day I just follow the plan.

My life has been much the same way. I graduated from high school and went off to college. Then I graduated from college and got a job. Next I got engaged, then married and had 2.0 children. I became a stay at home mom and homeschooled them. Then they went to college and left me…with an empty nest.

And with absolutely no plan for what to do next.

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Have the storms of life left you dismayed?

I quietly rolled over in bed, trying not to wake up my husband. We were on vacation, and I was doing my darnedest to let him sleep until 7 am. So I did what I usually do when I awake early: think and pray. I prayed for friends who were struggling, friends who were sick, and for family members who needed help.

Then I began to pray for my fledgling speaking ministry. As I prayed, I felt a familiar knot in the pit of my stomach. All of my hopes and aspirations were rolled up in that pang of uncertainty about my future.

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Does your life demand more than you can possibly give?

I walked around my house chanting, “I am braver than I think.  I am braver than I think.”  I didn’t feel brave, but I was trying to convince myself that I was.  My heart was in my throat, and I felt sure that I was going to have a panic attack. My 18 year old son wanted to drive to a friend’s house for the first time.  The friend’s house was on a busy city street that was near “the projects” on the other side of the railroad tracks. And it was dark outside.  I was desperately trying to be brave, but all I could envision was him being lost in the city in the dark in the projects.  I was an emotional mess.

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