“Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through prophecy when the body of elders laid their hands on you.” 1 Timothy 4:14 NIV It was Test Week at my CrossFit gym and I dreaded it.  For several months we lifted weights with a slow count and higher than normal reps. For example, one…

Rootbound plants are wrapped in their own roots. Like an ingrown toenail, growth has gone inward instead of outward.  And inward is no place to grow.  Roots should spread. Deep and wide. Spiritual roots can bind too.  Squeeze. Tighter than duct tape, they can hold us hostage. I felt stuck. For years. Scripture speaks of several…

She stands there, wrings her hands, and taps the spot where her watch is supposed to be. She paces, back and forth, between the basket that should hold the watch when she’s not wearing it and the chest of drawers where she hid it.  Mom has dementia.  She’d been living in Wichita Falls, and only…

My husband and I love sports stories, stories where, in spite of great obstacles, the athlete triumphs. Netflix is full of them. However, in Deuteronomy, we find the opposite: great deeds met with distrust and rejection.  “In spite of this, you did not trust in the Lord your God.” Deuteronomy 1:32 NIV “This” is the list of miracles God…

Here are some tips for surviving the 2020 pandemic—with a spiritual twist. Tip #1: Wash up. As you wash your hands with soap and water, wash your spirit with the Word. God says, “Fear not.” Meditate and pray through Psalm 91 (below). Tip #2: Keep your distance. Distance yourself from fear, anxiety, and stress. God…

Sheep dog trials serve as my favorite event at the Fort Worth Stock Show. Sheep dog trials are a timed event during which the dog must maneuver three sheep around the pen and two different barrels, through a narrow shoot, and then into the pen while the shepherd gives commands. Shepherd and sheep dog teams…

Recently a friend asked for prayer. She’s working on her masters and knew an internship was part of the degree plan. What she didn’t know was that she had two weeks to find one! She confessed her stress and asked for prayer. This comment sprang from my mouth, “God created the world in six days.…

My feet dig into the cedar mulch of life’s playground as I struggle to master the seesaw of calling. Work on one end, relationships on the other. One soars, the other plummets. Thud. Yet, balance leaves me motionless, feet dangling in midair, mouth dry as the 60 Minutes theme plays in my head. Then God…

Can you trust God with your worst-case scenario? Job experienced worst-case scenario and then some. The book of Job recorded Job’s cry for God. Though the reader understands the whys and sees Satan behind the tragedy, Job lived in the dark. He wanted answers. He wanted to be heard. He wanted some sense behind his…

“No one is good—except God alone,” Jesus says in Mark 10:18 (NIV). Yet, He also tells us there will be times when He appears anything but. That’s when trusting God gets tough. Several weeks ago, a dear friend was diagnosed with breast cancer. Her daughter fought a similar battle a few years earlier at the…