Ordinary-ish Thoughts

Faith Over Feelings

🎵There is hope in every trial,For I can trust the Lord.He will turn my heart towards Him,And help me bear the thorn.So IN FAITH, I follow Jesus,On the road NOT UNDERSTOOD.For I KNOW that He is workingFor HIS GLORY and my GOOD!🎵 Faith over feelings. He has proven His love for us, His faithfulness to […]

Our Worth

Our worth is not defined by our possessions, our accomplishments, our strengths, or even our weaknesses or failures. Our worth is not defined by what others think of us or how they treat us. Our worth is defined by our Creator. Our worth is found in the cross of Jesus Christ. This doesn’t mean that […]

He Saves His Enemies!

I update and repost this every year on this day. I am so grateful for the work of Christ in my life and I want to glorify Him and to make much of Him every chance I get! 26 years ago today the Lord, in His sovereign love, grace, and mercy, changed my heart and […]

Sober Minded

As a recovering alcoholic I tell people all the time, when they offer me a drink, that if I were to take them up on that drink, they wouldn’t see me for weeks. That usually gets some laughs or confused looks. But I don’t say that as a joke or for shock value. It’s the […]

Where Else Would I Go?

Yes I will, lift You high in the lowest valley. Yes I will, bless Your name. Yes I will, sing for joy when my heart is heavy; all my days, yes I will… Not because I am strong. I am not! Not because I am good or awesome. I am not! Not because I am […]

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A Blink in Eternity

I saw a quote the other day that helped refocus and shift my perspective. Too quickly I can allow the cares and concerns of this world overwhelm me; not just the difficulties, good things can overwhelm as well. “When we take our first steps on the ground of the New Earth, we will realize that […]

You Are Mine

One of my favorite songs is a beautiful, encouraging song based on Isaiah 43. It’s such a great reminder that the Lord is with us, He will always be with us, He will never let us go, we belong to Him. He is the One in control… But He may not (at least not on […]

Humility

Humility is beneficial in every area and every relationship of our life; the most important of which being our relationship with our Father. But even if that were not the case, this warning from Scripture is more than enough reason to pursue humility. “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” (James 4:6) […]

Words Matter

You never know what someone else is going through. You never know what pain or struggle they may be hiding behind that smile (or even a scowl). It may be taking every ounce of strength they have left just to make it through the day. Are we going to be kind, show the love of […]

He Cares!

“casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” How wonderful and comforting it is to have a God who cares. He doesn’t look down on us and belittle our insecurities and fears. He doesn’t turn His back on us over our worries and anxieties. He doesn’t tell us “That’s dumb” or to […]

Who Do You Say I Am?

At some point, everyone who hears about Jesus, must answer the question of who or what they believe Him to be. We all have to answer the exact same question Jesus posed to His disciples… “I know what others say about me, but who do YOU say that I am?” (Mt. 16:13-16; Mk. 8:27-29; Lk. […]

All We Need To Do Is Repent

The other day I heard a Christian brother, a Bible teacher and apologist, make a statement about the 12 steps that I disagree with. I have been following him for years. While I trust this brother and have benefited and will continue to benefit from his ministry and teaching; I believe his statement was just […]

I Have To Deal With This Again? Really?

It’s one of the things I’ve written about before because, evidently, it’s something that I struggle with a good bit. And one reason I write is that writing send to help me work through things… so, welcome to the process, I guess? Often I feel inadequate, like I’m not enough (I’ve done the best I […]

I’m Still The Problem

I am my biggest problem. Forgiveness, grace, mercy, a new heart with new desires and the strength to live a life of selfless love toward others is the answer… His name is Jesus. “In some way, we all give daily proof to the truth that sin still lives inside us. None of us is yet […]

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Inadequate

During those times when life starts to get the best of me; situations and circumstances are working against me; my own mind begins to work against me, and it feels like my own heart is condemning me… thoughts of “I’m not enough” begin to beat down on me. I know if I don’t get out […]

His Gospel is Peace

In Christ my weaknesses, struggles, failures, and insecurities don’t define me; troubles and circumstances do not determine my destiny. They may overwhelm ME, at times even overcome ME, but they cannot and will NOT overcome Christ. He is the One who controls all things. He determines my destiny. He is why I have peace in […]

Joy and Sadness

The holidays are a wonderful, fun time of year. And for many of us, in the middle of the joy, there can be deep heartache and sadness. It is a mixed bag. As humans, we are capable of experiencing multiple emotions simultaneously. We take the bad with the good and trust the Lord with it […]

It’s All Grace

Grace = undeserved, unearned, unmerited favor. By grace He chooses and calls us to salvation. By grace He awakens us, gives us a new heart, and fills us with His Spirit. By grace He rescues us from judgement. By grace He adopts us into His family. He graciously gives us the desire for obedience and […]

One Morning At A Time

In taking things one day at a time, I tend to do better if I start my day focusing on the One who gives me the strength to make it through the day. So I thought I would share a few brief, simple prayers that I start every morning with. My hope is that this […]

I Am an Alcoholic

This post has been on my heart for a while now, but I didn’t want to do it while my sobriety was fresh and new. Because, well honestly, it’s difficult to take someone seriously who only has a few weeks or months of sobriety talking about how different they are now. They may actually be […]

Misuse: I Know the Plans I Have for You

This one is everywhere. When I say everywhere, I mean I see and hear it quoted and misused by people from every denomination and background. It’s on coffee cups, it’s on t-shirts, bumper stickers, billboards, everywhere. We all want to believe that God has nothing but blessing for us, all the time. It seems harmless […]

Misuse: I Can Do All Things Through Christ

I won’t quibble with this one too much. It’s more of a frustration and personal pet peeve than it is dangerous. Obviously anytime we misuse God’s Word is dangerous, but unlike a previous post, this one doesn’t deal with salvation or the gospel. This is one of those coffee cup, t-shirt verses people quote with […]

Misuse: Fallen From Grace

One common misinterpretation I hear a good bit is when people say that someone has “fallen from grace”. I hear it in songs. I hear it on TV and in movies. I hear people using it in public conversation. They use it meaning that someone has gone too far or sinned too much. They have […]

Misusing Scripture

There are several common biblical misinterpretations/misuses that I hear on a regular basis. All of them frustrate me, but some are more dangerous or more harmful than others. So I wanted to write a series of posts about the most common ones I hear so we can see how dangerous it is to misuse the […]

Broken Vessels

We all have choices and decisions in our past that we regret. There are things that we would have done differently (or not done at all), and consequences we wish we could change. In some way, we have hurt the people we love. It is God’s grace that we remember those failures and sin. We […]

Suffering Brings Hope?

My life doesn’t look the way I thought it would 10, 5, or even 2 years ago. Things haven’t gone according to MY PLANS. Yet things are not out of control. I have learned (well, still learning) what it means to trust the One who is in control and sovereign over all things. Admittedly, some […]

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Joy Thief

The Bible is full of commands to “fear not” and “do not be afraid”. Why is that? Several reasons I think. First, I think that God truly wants us to not be afraid; to trust Him with all of our life, with our whole heart. Second, we are weak, feeble creatures, prone to fear. It’s […]

Faith Over Fear

I’m afraid. There, I said it. It’s really not that difficult… now. There was a time in my life not too long ago when I was afraid to admit I was afraid. I thought it displayed weakness or lack of faith. And I needed to be strong; for my family, for others. I was a […]

Peace Through Humility

I’m not an angry person. I usually just let things roll off my back. But the past couple of weeks I have noticed myself being frustrated and agitated in situations that normally don’t bother me. It didn’t take much introspection to find out why. I’m not getting something I want. God has either said “No” […]

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Vertical Peace

Whether we have realized it or not, what we’re really searching for is joy, peace, and life; we want life—life to the fullest, life abundant. God has blessed us with instincts, desires, and so many gifts (marriage, sex, kids, friendships, community, food, drink, homes, hard work, jobs, ministry, sunrises/sunsets, mountains/beaches, etc.). All of which are […]

Where Is Your Hope?

Hope is inevitable for our human experience. We are hopeful creatures. We are all looking for someone or something to place our hope in. That is the way God has created and wired us. Or lives are fueled and directed by hope. The question is will the object of our hope let us down? Paul […]

Enjoying One Moment at a Time

Something I’ve been working hard on lately. And it does take work; for me at least. Enjoying one moment at a time, or just being present in that moment, is difficult for me. Here is some of what I’ve wrestled with and what I try to remember to help me push through, focus on the […]

I Am My Problem

There are so many things I’ve learned and continue to learn on this journey; most of it through experience and finding out the hard way. If I can help others in any way by sharing my experience, strength, and hope, I want to do so as much as possible. One of the most helpful things […]

The Delusion of Control

Why do we seek control? We are all looking for peace and joy. Our problem is that we think peace will come if situations work out the way we want them to, or people respond the way we think they should. True peace and serenity are directly tied to our level of acceptance of this […]

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Progress Over Perfection

A lot of times when I write a blog post, it’s not me speaking from 100% completed experience. It’s not even mainly to give advice to others. It’s usually me in the midst of something, reminding myself of truths that I already know, but have to constantly keep in mind and constantly try to walk […]

Humble Perseverance

Sometimes in life we find ourselves lost in dense, overgrown, spiritual valleys. Some are smaller, still difficult and sorrowful, but easier to find a way out. Others are huge, dark, and oppressive. The kind where the pain is so deep and so intense that it literally cripples you emotionally and mentally. You get frightened and […]

The Hope of Healing

I hate when my weaknesses, fears, insecurities, and character defects are exposed. It’s painful. It’s ugly. It’s embarrassing. But they are always there, all that brokenness, lurking in the shadows, wreaking havoc on our lives, whether they have been revealed to us or not. Sometimes that brokenness comes from our own sinful desires and wicked […]

… Accepting Hardships as the Pathway to Peace…

The road to peace may sometimes be walked with much pain and many tears. But it also comes with much grace from the One who paved it for us and walks it with us. It’s never easy when the Lord rips our idols away from us. It’s always painful for Him to expose our character […]

I Am His & He is Mine

🎵Come rejoice now, oh my soul. For His love is my reward! Fear is gone and hope is sure. Christ is mine forevermore!🎵 Sometimes life is great. Sometimes life is hard… very hard. Either way, If we are in Christ, we are His and He is ours forever! His perfect love casts out our fears. […]

He Hears

Praise our strong, compassionate God. We keep praying, keep crying out. Sometimes words aren’t enough to express our needs. Sometimes we don’t know what to pray for, our how to even begin. We just know we need Him! Sometimes all we have to bring Him are tear-stained pillows. And yet He hears. Not only that, […]

The Wonderful Mercy Tree

I love this song! It brings tears to my eyes every time. It’s such a powerful reminder that He cares for us. Knowing Lacey’s story of overcoming addiction and attempted suicide just overwhelms me with gratitude for the grace, mercy, and love of God in the gospel of Jesus Christ our Lord! Mercy Tree Lacey’s […]

The Seeker

A lot of modern, evangelical churches have lost their way by trying to be “seeker friendly”. Their whole premise is based on a false assumption. The assumption is that there are lost people who are seeking Jesus and they (the church) are just providing a welcoming environment, a place for seekers to find Him. So […]

The Man on the Middle Cross Said I Could Come!

Thank God our salvation doesn’t depend on our works. Thank God our salvation doesn’t depend on our subjective feeling of assurance. Thank God our salvation doesn’t even depend on our fluctuating, waivering faith. Praise our omniscient Father, our salvation and adoption into His family is based solely on the objective reality of His Son, Jesus […]

The Okay Prison

The grace of Christ means we don’t have to fake it… With Him, with others and even with ourselves. It’s ok to not be ok. AND it’s ok if others know we aren’t ok and don’t have it all together. Faking it is hard work… Exhausting. Putting on fronts. Always being “on”. Lies to cover […]

Bone Breaker. Joy Giver.

Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have broken rejoice. Ps. 51:8 David’s prayer after the Lord disciplined him for his adultery and murder. God let David’s infant son die in order to draw his heart back to the Lord. David begged the Lord to let his son live. He wept […]

We Need Community

Life in this fallen world is hard. That’s why you need a community of love. One of the themes that courses through the New Testament and is a repeated theme of this devotional is that your walk with God is designed by God to be a community project. Anonymous, consumerist, isolated, independent, self-sufficient, “Jesus and […]

Lay Down Your Shame!

“Lay down your burdens. Lay down your shame.All who are broken, lift up your face.Wanderer, come home; you’re not too far.Lay down your hurts, lay down your heart.Come as you are.” We’re all broken. Sin has broken us… our own sin… other’s sin against us. If we allow it to, the burden of shame, regret, […]

The Prodigal Remembers

Luke 15:17-18 But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. In utter despair, the […]

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Stand

When the enemy bombards your mind with confusion, questions and doubts… When your emotions try to overwhelm you and drag you to the pit… When weakness tempts you to an “easier softer way”… Stand. Stand firm in His grace, His mercy, His power & strength. He fights for us. He has the victory. Just stand […]

Wisdom from the Dread Pirate Roberts

“Life is pain… Anyone who says differently is selling something.” – Dread Pirate Roberts The masked Wesley bringing the truth! Life happens. And because we live in a fallen, broken world, sin happens with it. Because of sin, there is pain. A lot of it. Even for Christians; especially the pain of persecution for Christians […]