Category: character
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When It Seems That Nothing You Do Matters, Know This
Why do you do the things you do? Are you hoping for “likes” or applause or just some appreciation for your effort? Maybe this will encourage you.
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Don’t Trade Away God’s Lifelong Gift to Satisfy a Short-Term Appetite
A bowl of soup vs. a birthright? It seems like a no-brainer. But how many times have I chosen momentary satisfaction instead of a gift lasting a lifetime or beyond?
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Is Multitasking Sapping Your Spiritual Strength?
It definitely affected mine I had been going about the business of writing all wrong, and it took a confrontation by God to set me straight. My conversation with Him went something like this: “Do you remember that you kept waking up earlier and earlier TO SPEND TIME WITH ME — and then, instead, you…
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Do These Brake Lights Make My Rear Look Big?
And other questions pertaining to the Christian life Nothing is more commanding than brake lights on the vehicle in front of you. The traffic light may be green, but if the car in front of you has stepped on the brakes and you see red brake lights, you will stop too (unless you are looking…
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COVID-19 Can Bring Out the Best in All of Us
In this difficult time, try the Golden Rule. It might provide you the peace you crave.
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My Brother’s Guilty Pleasure Made Me the Guilty One
I left the M&Ms where he couldn’t reach them. I never thought that 1) he would reach them and 2) he would disregard doctor’s orders.
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What I Really Want Is Less of Me
I search for more in all the wrong places when what I really need is less of me and more of Jesus.
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How do you know when something is really broken?
Isn’t it possible for something to get worse in such tiny increments that I fail to recognize “worse” until it’s completely broken?
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Menopause goal: Never let them see you sweat
Who knew that “the change” meant I’d change my outfit in an instant — and then change it back again?
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How can you be strategic when you don’t have time to plan?
Driving toward a strategy Driving to and from work has made me a strategic commuter. Leaving my office at 5:05 instead of 5:00 can add 5-10 minutes to my drive time. Pulling my car into the crosswalk triggers the traffic light to change slightly faster (and the pedestrians to swear). Whatever. One particular road transitions…
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Do what you thought you were doing
The difference wasn’t that I added anything to my routine. The difference was that I did what I thought I had been doing.
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5 lessons I learned from a spider not named Charlotte
Within view of my kitchen is a banana spider in a large, often messy web. She reminds me of myself — except for the fact that I’m fairly certain she ate her husband last night.
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My kids make me feel 16 feet tall
Thinking about my own mothering moments makes me feel 16 feet tall at times. But today, my thoughts are with my friend Kaylen, who is celebrating her first Mother’s Day. She came into motherhood the hard way — not through nine months of anticipation and body oddities followed by “Labor Day,” but merely by falling…
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“God, I can’t do today” is a statement of faith
I’ve been saying it more and more often. “God, I can’t do today.” “Today” in that sentence might mean the whole day, or it might mean a specific part of it; it might mean some gargantuan task or stack of tasks; or an impossible deadline or person. “God” in that sentence isn’t a name taken in vain.…
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Feeding my inner road rage
I wrote this while stopped in traffic, so it’s probably longer than it needs to be — just like my wait at 34th street. Today it took me four cycles of the traffic light to make it across, which gave me plenty of time to feed my road rage. This intersection at University and 34th Street is…
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One takeaway from the irony of a freeze in Florida
The irony of a freeze in Florida isn’t so much that Boston ferns can’t tolerate the cold. It’s that the freeze in Florida showed me God’s power and my lack thereof.
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My yard is a metaphor for my life
Recently, I’ve spent most of my weekends weeding my yard, and I’ve found what I termed “a metaphor for my life.” Getting into the yard to pull weeds is evidence of the hope I’ve found in this near chaos.
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Look for the message in the mess
I tend to tromp hastily through life’s messes in an attempt to get them behind me. I wondered if I’d missed part of God’s message to me because of my tendency to hurry.
All Things Work Together 