June 2010 -  When God Stirs the Nest

(Part one of a three part series: Flying lessons from our creator)

A great eagle with powerful wings sits besides you. He’s always seemed grand as you’ve watched him soar over you. He’s lovingly provided for your needs and tenderly cradled you under his wings. Today, he has a different agenda.

Suddenly, with his powerful talons, he begins digging, dislodging all that made your life comfortable... Read more.

April 2010 -  Letting Go

(Part three of a three-part series on the Resurrection)

I wrote on the top line of my journal... "When has Jesus called me to let go?" Immediately my heart went back to a time 20 years earlier.

My husband and I were serving a large church in a ministry position, In our work there, we saw many come to God and others overcome through their faith. Then suddenly the church began to struggle... with many losses and defeats that kept us reeling. Read more.

April 2010 -  Living Without Reservation

(Part two of a three-part series on the Resurrection)

It was early morning and I was drifting between sleep and waking. Suddenly, I found myself awake, but 20 years in my past. As I looked at my children at ages 5, 6, and 8, I thought, "God has taken me backwards in time. This is his gift to me."

My first emotion was joy! I was outright elated. Here I was in the past, with a full memory of the future. My mind spun with all the changes I could make. I would change the trajectory of any mistakes I had made. I was being given a second chance.

And looking at my beautiful children playing, a list of changes I'd make began to crystallize... Keep reading.

April 2010 -  Lingering at the Cross

(Part one of a three-part series on the Resurrection)

It was a Sunday morning and I awoke with a heavy weight firmly on my shoulders. Pulling myself out of bed, I prepared for our women’s group meeting at 7:00 am at my house.

Lately, I had been overwhelmed by concern for my adult son and his continued healing after his girlfriend’s death.  In fact, I had experienced flashes of fear tinged with despair, where I imagined getting a call that something terrible had happened to him... Continue reading.

April 2010 -  Spring Glory

Do you ever have times when it seems that every direction you turn, the same message is coming your way?  Through the beginning of 2010, God has taken my heart again and again to the cross, calling me to die to my own agendas, gifts, desires and dreams…to myself.

I’m finding that this death God calls us to can prove a bit messy, especially in a heart full of desires and dreams. Continue reading.

December 2009 -  Good News of Great Joy

Last year for Christmas, I asked my husband to replace my white, warped second-hand bookshelf by my reading chair in our bedroom with a newer model that would hold more books (and perhaps even match our furniture).  On Christmas morning, my husband proudly unveiled a beautiful black bookshelf neatly bearing all my treasured volumes... Keep reading!

November 2009 -  The Five Talents of Suffering

Three weeks ago, I received a phone call no parent wants to receive.  It was my son Caleb, crying so hard he couldn’t talk. “Caleb is that you?” I asked, panicking on the inside. “What’s wrong, son?”  When he could catch his breath, he said the unthinkable, “It’s Cassie…. she’s dead, Mom.”  I could hardly breathe. Cassie is Caleb’s girlfriend of two years. She was only 22. Continue reading.

September 2009 -  Manasseh, the thief on the cross... and me

June 2009 -  Losing Dad

I just passed an unexpected milestone.  I entered the realm of those who have lost both parents—what some call becoming a mid-life orphan.

April 2009 -  The Storm Before the Calm

February 2009 -  Scorning the Shame in Kiev

A prayer from Kiev...
“Father, certainly there were days when I wondered if this day would ever come. I remember one morning when I was alone, weeping on a park bench, asking you when there would be relief. Asking you when Dave would turn the corner in his addiction. Yearning for just a drop of fresh hope. Praying I could persevere. I left there that morning with a sense of peace that you still had a plan for us. “Hold on,” you whispered to my heart. “Soon enough.”

Watching Dave teach a four-hour seminar for fledgling recovery ministry leaders yesterday was inspiring. It was good for me to sit back and trust. And each part seemed exactly where it was supposed to be. I’ve never been prouder of my husband.” Read on!

January 2009 -  Mojo and Me

In June of 2006, I was walking beside the river in our town praying for my husband, Dave. In times like these, (if I listen very carefully) I sometimes feel like there’s a message for me coming directly from God. That day, the message was that we needed a dog. More specifically, my husband needed a dog.

We had been in counseling on and off for four years for Dave’s sexual addiction and my codependency. Although we were making progress, it seemed there was a measure of healing that was evading Dave. Keep reading!

November 2008 -  Treasures of Darkness

Earth’s crammed with heaven,
And every common bush afire with God;
But only he who sees, takes off his shoes,
The rest sit round it and pluck blackberries.
— Elizabeth Barrett Browning*

As we prepare for what traditionally is a time of thanksgiving, I find myself drawn to these words. Certainly, visiting women’s ministries around the U.S. and beyond has opened my heart to how… “earth’s crammed with heaven.” Read more!

October 2008 -  Immanuel in Jamaica

My husband and I recently traveled to Jamaica where I spoke at a Secure in Heart event and Dave conducted a men's purity night. Dave and I were deeply moved by the humble and heartfelt response to the messages, as well as the warm hospitality shown by the brothers and sisters there.  Continue reading!



September 2008 -  Triumphant Forgiveness

July 2008 - Terry and the Iced Tea

Last Sunday, we had about 30 people at our house for breakfast and Sunday morning worship. To go with the waffles my husband was preparing, I made my usual peach mango iced tea. One of those visiting was Terry Bridgmon, who has visited our services on and off for the last couple of years.

After the wonderful breakfast and lively service, Terry asked if we could talk. He wanted me to explain how to make my iced tea. Usually, this would take minutes. But Terry has been blind from birth. Read on!



May 2008 - God, The Chaos Slayer

My husband Dave and I have started leading Pure in Heart days. With the men and women divided, we take the shame off of Satan’s attacks on our purity by opening up about our own struggles, framing the battle from the Bible, and giving concrete ways we can help each other win this battle. We’ve watched God take down the walls, as Christians learn how to talk to each other about these issues.

To frame the battle, I read some excerpts from my new book in progress about Eve. In one excerpt, Eve, in deep mourning over Abel’s death and Cain’s banishment asks, “Can God once again bring light after darkness?”  Continue reading!

April 2008 - The Greatest Welcome

My husband, Dave first had the idea of inviting ourselves to the Tulsa International Soul Winning Workshop, I thought he might be just a little over-zealous. He wanted to see if God would open the door to getting Secure in Heart to a bigger audience.

In years past, over 10,000 people have attended this large workshop. Mt initial thought was that perhaps 20 women would come to a restaurant somewhere near the conference to hear about the book...  Keep reading!

March 2008 - The God Who Remembers

Remember me. Let me know you haven't forgotten me. It sounds so simple, so obvious. But as I did an indoor prater walk about the bed and breakfast my husband and I were holed up in to write (we had the whole place to ourselves), uttering those words brought up a huge lump in my throat. In fact, I would barely choke out the tears that seemed to come out of nowhere... Read the rest!

February 2008 - Rain Song

My husband Dave and I just returned from almost two weeks in Hawaii.  Our trip started with “Pure in Heart” messages in Oahu.  We were moved by the warm fellowship and responsive hearts.  On Saturday, with Dave’s parents accompanying us, we flew over to a torrential rainstorm in Hilo.  There, we met up with Randy and Patsy Harris (elders in the Chicago church) and our close friends Sam and Judy Hastings from DeKalb. 

On Sunday morning, our group of eight worshipped under a carport with the Hilo brothers and sisters as the rain poured around us... Read more!




January 2008 - The Glory of Little Miracles

One of the things I love most about God is the way he surrounds me with a truth, right when I need it...

The holidays had been a challenge. One weekend I sat in the hospital in another state as my sister-in-law had cancer surgery. The next, I sat with my father (on the others side of the country) who was explaining to me how he had been tricked into signing away any inheritance our family might receive. Because my time with my father went long, I lost my only opportunity to visit my mother's grave... Continue reading.




November 2007 -  Single, Secure and Surrendered

As one of my bet friends aptly put it, as single women, many of us are in the "waiting room" of our lives.

Waiting to find our future mate while fluctuating between hopelessness and desperation. Waiting to see where our career will go or not go. And for many, trying to "keep God in the picture" while we figure it all out... Keep reading!



July 2007 -  God's Goodness–The beginning of security

When Satan came to Eve in the garden, he went right after the heart of her relationship with her father - God's goodness. Why? He wanted her to think that there was something missing that she really needed. In fact. God was outright holding out on her: "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." Genesis 3:5

In this temptation of the ages, Satan told Eve that there were three things she was missing... Read the rest!