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Perspectives
Another classic. I love this palindrome!
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Reconcilosec
A classic! I laugh every time. (Particularly appropriate as we head into November and the holidays …)
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CCEF Conference: Guilt & Shame
Having prayed for him for years as he worked on it, our family was thrilled with Dr. Ed Welch’s book on shame was released this year: Shame Interrupted: How God Lifts the Pain of Worthlessness and Rejection It really is my favorite book from 2012. I encourage you to read it, even if you don’t struggle with overwhelming feelings of badness, not-good-enough-ness, not measuring up, being worthy only of rejection (all descriptors for unbiblical shame) … because someone you know and love probably does. So don’t you want to be equipped to minister the beauty and power of the gospel to the shame-based people in your life? I do. (I…
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“My fears feel like necessary defenses against being hurt …”
Whenever my women’s events carry over from a Friday to a Saturday, Fred and I always invite the women to respond to three questions in writing (based on the topic of the event—peacemaking, Fear Not!, teens, etc.) and then we spend a significant amount of time reading through each response and then praying for all of the women. Over the years, we have done this for thousands of women—I would say easily 10,000+—and we have kept every single prayer card that we have ever received. I have boxes of them! I just can’t throw them away … they are such precious glimpses into the hearts of these dear women. One card…
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FREE Jerry Bridges Book! “True Community: The Biblical Practice of Koinonia”
I bought and read this book the old-fashioned way (with money and paper) and found it absolutely with the investment. But FREE? Can’t beat that! True Community: The Biblical Practice of Koinonia (by Jerry Bridges)
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Service Starves Worry (and Depression)
I can’t remember if it was David Powlison or Tim Keller (probably it was both of them) … but I have paraphrased one of their teaching points to (hopefully) repeat it to myself often and thus, engrave it in my memory: Service starves worry. In fact, I would say the same thing about depression: Service starves depression. Even in your darkest, toughest season of life, there is always some way to give yourself away.
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The Most Peacemaking-y Response in That Exact Moment? Back Off and Give Me Some Time
Fred and I had a whopper of a fight recently. It was one of those awful cul-de-sac conflicts where even our best efforts to pull out of fighting only wrapped us around even more into deeper, more hurtful, more frustrating exchanges. Finally, I just broke down and wept. I sobbed in a way that I don’t easily or frequently sob. I was literally begging Fred to just stop the fight; to do whatever it took in that moment to relieve me of the crushing hopelessness I was feeling. And Fred, being the kind and loving friend that he is, did just that. He backed off. He recognized that even though…
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And then a GIANT SPIDER crawled right over my notes on the podium …
Even though it’s usually my happy place, I can understand why some people are afraid to speak in front of large groups. And even though they don’t usually freak me out, I can likewise understand why some people are afraid of spiders. They can be creepy! So today? I had an experience that would definitely be extremely troubling to any people for whom both of these fears overlap … as I was teaching at my women’s retreat in Tennessee, a GIANT SPIDER skittered up and over the edge of my podium and right across my speaker notes. Yeek! Pretty much without blinking, I set down the microphone, grabbed the nearest resource…
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Reality Does Not Operate According to Our Preferences
From my friend, Anne’s, FaceBook update: ”We desire a world that we can control, where suffering is a problem to be solved and everyone gets what he or she deserves: this is the gravitational pull of Original Sin. Like Job’s friends, we prefer the safety of “if-then” conditionality. Suffering, however, often serves as an unwanted reminder that reality does not operate according to our preferences.” Tullian Tchividjian in
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“Forgiving Your Enemies” Can Sound So Great in Theory—Until You Actually Have an Enemy to Forgive
If you don’t know the story of Eric Lomax (I didn’t), you will want to read this: Eric Lomax 1919-2012 (HT: Challies)