living in the moment

The very thing we are afraid of, our brokenness,is the door to our Father's heart.Paul Miller
I sat there, near the back of the little chapel hearing the murmurings of His truth from the pulpit.  Good, solid, Godly words being spoken loud and clear, but they only came through to me as murmurings. I willed myself to listen, to hear the words of Truth.  I begged God for the healing of my shattered heart. Take this fear away, God! It does not come from You! My heart pounded inside my chest. My mind swimming. My lungs gasping for air. My ears filled with cotton.... 
Continue reading at Compassion That Compels, where I am a guest blogger today:

Compassion That Compels  provides HOPE to women battling cancer.  They are a resource to equip cancer warriors  spiritually, emotionally and in a tangible way, with Compassion Bags. 
Courageously yours,

I think we all go through times in life where we wonder, 'Why'?
Why are my children not following God?
Why did my marriage fail?
Why do I go through so much physical pain?
Why do I have to endure so much abuse?
Why do we struggle financially?
Why did my loved one die?
Why did I lose my job?
Why is cancer ravaging my body?
Why is everything in our home falling apart?
Why does my child suffer so much?
Why? Why? Why?

I have my own share of 'why' questions, and they all lead to the question of 'If God is able to change any situation for us, and I know that He can, with His mighty hand, then why doesn't He?'

I have learned that this line of thinking can lead to much toxicity in my mind and soul. The enemy loves weakening us through this line of thinking.

I think the biggest 'If You, God, were able, then why didn't you?" leads back to a cold winter day a few years ago when I sat beside the stiff, life-less, body of Mikail and begged God, 'If y…

This winter has been pretty dreary. We didn't have much snow to cover the brown dullness of the bare trees and frozen grass. Somehow a white blanket of snow over the brown world makes winter more bearable for me. So, a couple of weeks ago, in February, when I was looking out our bedroom window at the dull brown and grey world before me, I saw a little blanket of white in the brown grass and went out to investigate:


What I found was a little patch of these snowdrops coming out from the frozen ground. Did you know that snowdrops have a hardened stem that help them push buds and leaves up from the frozen ground in ice cold temperatures? God created these delicate little flowers with much strength. The drop-like flowers make me think of tears of sadness in the winter of our hearts, but the strength that they show make me think of the 'hope' we have in the winter of our hearts. Hope for new growth, new beginnings, and a bright future.

Spring is coming...

Courageously yours,

In my lifetime there have been few times where I've attended a church that does not follow the Liturgical or Church Calendar, but when I have, oh what a deep, deep hole I am left with. I believe the New Testament is quite clear that through the freedom we have in Christ, we are not required to observe the church seasons, but are free to do so if we wish.

What is the Liturgical Calendar? It is the calendar that some churches use throughout the church seasons to follow the life of Jesus. Churches such as the Catholic and Anglican observe more of these days than the Protestant church does. The seasons which have been observed in my experience, are represented in this beautiful diagram:
To me, the observance of the liturgical calendar represents a season of simplification, a time of  honouring the life of Jesus.  During Lent we are encouraged to look at the abundance in our lives and are invited to remove that which distracts us from living an abundant life--taking up our cross to de…