prayer

Last week I began a series to highlight the blessings in the unexpected season my family recently experienced. I remember when sharing the news about my husband’s layoff with a dear friend, her response was to embrace me and pray with me. The words that stood out the most to me were: “Help Joyce to

Have you ever walked through something overwhelming and difficult? It seemed like an eternity as you were in that season. But you knew giving up wasn’t a solution. So you did your best to be steadfast in faith and rely on God’s strength. And when it seemed as if the challenge was finally over, you

When you pray for something, what is your motivation?  To be honest, many of my prayer requests have to do with me or my family.  I’m sure I try to spiritualize it somehow, but at the core they can be pretty self-serving. It made me wonder what types of prayer get God’s attention?   I

Over the years, I have experienced a hurt or two.  During each experience, I cried and vented, but eventually I dismissed it.  I’d tell myself that I was fine, that I forgave the person who hurt me, and I would leave the situation in God’s hands.  The only thing is that as soon as I

When my son first became involved in sports, he did so through a league for children with special needs. One of the unique aspects of this sports league is how they assigned buddies, who were teenagers, to the athletes in need of assistance when playing. A buddy could be seen helping an athlete swing a

I came home from work yesterday, and my husband and son were outside with a few neighbors.  The kids were riding their bikes and the adults were hanging out nearby. My daughter and I went across the street to join them.  Our temps were back in the 60s, so it was the first day that we

Natural disasters.  Shootings.  Division. It seems as if these are the frequent headliners lately. I don’t know about you, but hearing of such tragedies is pretty disheartening and causes us to respond in different ways. Some folks remain in a state of fear and pity: “Oh how terrible!” Some quickly move on with their own

Have you ever prayed about a heart’s desire which no one around you seemed to fully understand? When I was pregnant with my oldest daughter, I felt a prompt from the Holy Spirit to leave my career and become a stay at home mom. I was surrounded by people who I believe meant well, but

“I guess all we can do is pray about it.” I’ve been guilty of saying that like it was the last option available with a “hope it works” kind of attitude behind it. It’s easy to fall into the thought that whatever God wants to happen will happen; so what is the point of praying?

We walked out of the sanctuary into our church’s main lobby. I thought my husband was heading toward the free Father’s Day popcorn table. But he wasn’t. He had veered off to the side of the lobby, his arm around the shoulder of a fellow church member. The two appeared engrossed in a deep conversation.