Maybe you’ve heard this before, but it’s worth repeating. The difference between happiness and joy is, happiness is based on happenings. Joy, on the other hand, is a resilient cheerfulness anchored in the goodness of God. Think about happiness. When a baby is born, when you finally close on your new house or get a promotion at work, these are ...

What is peace to you? Maybe you thought of a young mom when her babies are finally laid down for the night. Or the quiet after all the house guests have left. Or the sigh of relief when bills are paid and there’s still money in the account. Each of those are definitely aspects and benefits of peace. And like ...

Week One: I didn’t grow up celebrating Advent and if I’m honest, I only recently realized what it meant. I had heard the word before but assumed it was a denominational tradition. It’s actually a beautiful reminder of why we celebrate not only Christmas, but our Christian faith. For those that might be like me, let me start with an ...

For me, turning on Christmas music before Thanksgiving isn’t about the season as much as what it produces. My husband teasingly rolls his eyes, but I literally smile from ear to ear listening to the melodies of old and new songs of the season. So much so, that I recently put in my earphones and did my entire two hours ...

10,000 Reasons is the title of a song by Matt Redman. And I love it because in a world full of 10 million excuses, it’s good to be reminded that we have more than 10,000 reasons to praise and thank God. The Psalmist said: Bless the Lord, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, ...

There is no fear in love. This is what the Holy Spirit told John to write to believers. Yet we see fear running rampant everywhere — fear of death, fear of illness, fear of lack, fear of fear. My daughter struggled with fear of everything when she was a little girl. I was constantly trying to redirect her thoughts and ...

Christianity is meant to be lived out loud so when I learn something, I can’t help but want to share it with others. And my current lesson is this: be slow to emotion. James 1:19-20 says, “Let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of ...

“Righteousness exalts a nation; but sin is a reproach to any people” (Proverbs 14:34). The definition of righteousness in this passage describes blameless conduct and integrity. It insinuates that the justice, right actions, and right attitudes that God has and desires would be in His people also. God is our divine Creator and we are called to imitate Him in ...

I’ve been reading Ephesians 3 every day and this verse has caused me to pause every time: “[that I may] …know Christ’s love that surpasses knowledge, so that I may be filled with all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:19). To know the love of Jesus is to be filled with all the fullness of God Himself. I want to ...

When I say the word dimensions, what do you think of? Without looking it up, my first thought was a memory of my grandmother measuring out a pattern for a new sewing project. And then I thought about needing a new podcast desk in my office and how I had to measure the space to make sure I bought one ...

The most powerful two-word combination ever is the phrase: In Christ. When the word Christ is mentioned, we should automatically think of Jesus. But when we hear or read the phrase In Christ, it’s always a reference to born-again believers– a reference to who we are as Christians. And interestingly, it is who we are whether we know it or ...

This article first appeared on The Christian Broadcasting Network One thing that makes Jesus so endearing is His mercy. I know it’s what drew me to Him and captivated my heart. As undeserving as I felt, I needed the mercy He offered. I was lost for a long time, and then Jesus found me— just like the man at the ...

I think you would agree the Bible has some pretty big words, but if we’ll look deeper, they are BIG in context too. One of those words is justification. The dictionary gives three basic definitions. One is simply the act of justifying; meaning an explanation that defends you or a circumstance. A second definition is found in the world of ...

My dad is a retired Steel Fabrication Project Manager (similar to an architect). He used to build the “bones” of large buildings, or in some cases, the “exposed bones” of bridges, railings, and design features. He worked primarily with steel, which is one of the strongest building metals available. To build a bridge, one must analyze both sides of attachment ...

We once had to remove some trees on our property. One in particular was on our back porch, and although it was beautiful in its own right, it dropped no less than a million acorns, leaves, and bird-droppings year-round. It made it difficult for us to enjoy that space so my husband decided to remove the circle of bricks and ...

We used to live in a house that had a cranky screen door. The spring was loose so every time you’d attempt to close it, the door would creak and slam startling everyone in the house. After awhile, we got a new screen door with full glass and a self-adjusting spring. It was much nicer and very quiet to close. ...

God sends a lot of people across my path and one thing I hear myself saying repeatedly is: “Despite what your head is telling you, listen to your heart. God will always lead you in peace.”  Finding peace is the key to finding your way through a noisy world. There are thousands of voices you could follow, but there’s only One ...

My greatest desire is to help people grow spiritually– to find the same freedoms I have found in Christ. But the hardest thing I’ve ever learned in ministry is, I can’t make people believe. And I get it. I had a hard time believing too. I couldn’t understand how God could forgive me or love me– especially realizing He knew ...