Ever run out of patience with God? Ever wonder if God is really listening and hearing your prayers?It can feel as if you are throwing words to the sky and all that is coming back is emptiness and a sense of being unfulfilled. It can be exhausting, stressful and often feels like God does not see you. We can feel paralyzed and even start comparing ourselves to others wondering, “When is it my time”?...

Not too long ago, I had a few weeks with limited exercise because of a host of commitments and a body that was a little out of sorts. I’m always amazed at how quickly I can get lulled into physical lethargy if I’m not paying attention....

Notes from Camp: Loving People Where They’re At“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat do...

We all have seasons that are bountiful and bear good, even great fruit. But we all have seasons that are equally dry, lonely and often feel empty. We all come to the “reality” of this world; that it’s very broken. We face a desert that seems never-ending and the idea of enduring it seems like an impossible task. It wears on us and the burden feels heavy. These burdens can be unfortunate news, stra...

Life can be full of struggles and up hill climbs. It often is. The circumstances that surround our everyday can be confusing, frustrating, and exhausting. And it’s easy to get distracted and pay more attention to our stormy circumstances than to the One who can calm the storm.I love the story of Jesus walking on the water. (See Matthew 14: 22-36) He was fully aware of the storm and walked a “consi...

I love all kinds of bags…handbags, tote bags, and travel bags to name a few. My eyes are attracted to different colors and designs and if I can find a bag that keeps everything organized…even better! I have been known to load them up with stuff and then wonder why they feel so heavy. It doesn’t take long when I’m carrying all that “stuff” before my shoulders and back start killing me. Which then ...

Many years ago, Bob and I took out a personal loan through his parents. We signed a contract and followed a loan repayment schedule. After several years of diligently paying on that loan each month, Bob’s dad handed him an envelope. He pulled out the contents and read the words that were hand written on the contract: “Debt canceled. April 18, 2000”. His parents’ names were signed beneath it. With ...

Isaiah 45:2  “I will go before you and will level the mountains.  I will break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron”. It is encouraging to know that we serve a God who will go before us and make crooked places straight and even level mountains in our life. Jesus tells us not to be anxious or worry about anything. Every night, I rest my head on Mathew 6:27; “Can any one of you by worry...

Ecclesiastes 3:1,4. 1:9For everything there is a season, a time for activity under the heaven.  A time to cry and a time to laugh. It’s all been done before. Nothing under the sun is truly new. My boast in the Lord is that He has been faithful throughout my life and He is still faithful today! I look back at my life and sometimes it feels like I have lived many lifetimes, with so many things learn...

God is my rock who provides Psalm 78:15-16 says, “He split rocks in the wilderness and gave them drink abundantly as from the deep. He made streams come out of the rock and caused waters to flow down like rivers.”He supplies my needs. He does this for me many times supernaturally.  Just like He provided for the Israelites in the Old Testament when they were thirsty; water gushed from the rocks for...

Proverbs 3:5-6“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean into your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will make straight your paths.” – ESV, Crossways, 2016God’s Provisions – Preparation for His Purpose  Where to start? Rather than listen to my favorite music on a solo, long drive several years ago, the thought of listening instead to Proverbs, from start to fi...

Psalms‬ 34:8‬ NIV‬‬“Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.”The Gift of Grief - Experiencing the Heart of God Grief has been a significant part of the past 12 years of my life. There have been some devastating personal losses: the hardest of them the sudden deaths of my beloved brother in 2011 and my beautiful friend-of-my-heart mom in 2019, as well as deal...

1 John 1:5-7This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.  If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.  But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. Grace Chapel has so ...

Deuteronomy 8:3Yes, He humbled you by letting you go hungry and then feeding you with manna, a food previously unknown to you and your ancestors. He did it to teach you that people do not live by bread alone; rather, we live by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD. Life is tough. The frustrations, anxieties, and roadblocks are always threatening to overwhelm. There have been many books...

Psalms 18:30“This God—His way is perfect; the word of the Lord proves true; He is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.” I had an entirely different verse, message, and prayer written for this at the end of November, and then my whole world shifted a few days later in early December, when my stepdad, Roger, went to be with the Lord with an abruptness that I still haven’t truly come to gri...

Luke 18:18-27 and 19:1-1018 A ruler questioned Him, saying, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 19 But Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone. 20 You know the commandments, ‘Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not give false testimony, Honor your father and mother.’” 21 And he said, “All these things I have kept since m...

Ecclesiastes 12:13“The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.” I have a self-confidence problem.I do.  I see every flaw and weakness I have magnified and highlighted in my memories.  A friend of mine recently commented that he hoped in heaven one day he would be able to see a “highlight reel” of all his great (high school) spo...

Psalm 46:10Be still and know that I am God… There was a deafening silence that pierced the room as the doctor poured over lab results, and I sat helplessly waiting for a response. I was 28 years old, and obsessed with the notion that in life, there was zero room for error. We had a six month old baby who never slept nor stopped crying because of colic, my wife had given up her job to stay at home ...

Isaiah 26:3-4“You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you! Trust in the Lord always, for the Lord God is the eternal Rock.” I am a “fixer”!  And the moments when I’ve recognized that my peace is shaken are when I am faced with a prolonged personal or family struggle and it feels like there is no solution in sight for me to give. Can anyone else relate t...

Romans 12:1-2“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your body as a Living Sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God- this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is- his good, pleasing and perfect will.” When I was in col...