Training Under the Perfect Coach Few things challenge the will and grit of a person better than an intense physical challenge. I personally have experienced this in the...
OUCH – Times Three Seven years ago on October 29, Dean and I were blessed with two big life changes. The first was the birth of our sweet granddaughter,...
What does it mean to be filled with the Holy Spirit? “Mom, Dad … Do you know about the Holy Spirit???” As a matter of fact, we did, but how did our teenage daughter not know that?...
Sent They thought he was crazy. They thought he was the Christ, or Elijah or the Prophet. John the Baptist was sent to prepare the way of...
Driven to Intimacy Growing up, I used to love to sit and listen to the adults talk with one another when my parents would visit with their friends and...
Consuming Ownership or Humbling Stewardship My wife and I enjoy listening to older sermons and are big fans of Derek Prince. We have been listening to some of his sermons lately. ...
Knowing a Holy God “But I, through the abundance of your steadfast love, will enter your house. I will bow down toward your holy temple in the fear of you....
Sometimes Unwanted Advice Is A Good Thing Have you ever had someone give you a piece of advice that made you angry because it was correct? When Dean and I had been married for a...
Waiting, Patience, and Silence Personally, these are three of my least favorite words. However I have seen in my life, (especially recently), that they are some of...
Remembering What I Forgot Dean and I love Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. We especially like to go to places without cell phone coverage or internet. We have a...
The Five W’s 5 W’s Trials and suffering. Words and experiences that we want to avoid. But when it comes to oneness in Christ, we must count...
Dwelling in Eternal Joy “Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when...
Tripping Over Animals Each evening this summer, as the sun sets, Dean and I have fallen into a chore routine before sitting down on the porch with our “wind...
Big Questions – Bigger God It was a Tuesday in September 2019. It seemed like any other normal cross-over workday for me. I worked 8 days on and 6 days...
Big Questions Little did Dean and I know that on the night of July 4 2007, God was about to set on fire a dream that had been more than a year in the...
Purpose in the Clouds I don’t know what it is about plane rides, but I’ve had some incredible, sacred conversations with people I’ve never talked with...
In Memoriam – How Do We Live? When we think of Memorial Day we often immediately think about a day off from work or school, grilling and cookouts, yard, and lawn...
Butterflies and Chipmunks Today I was feeling heavily burdened by many thoughts and cares. It feels like so much is going on in my life right now- so many good...
The Standard If you have ever attended a symphony orchestra concert, you would likely notice that before the conductor made his entrance onto the stage...
Reflecting the Great Artist Warm, fresh spring air blows in through the window adjacent to my small bedside desk. The sunlight is as bright as the grass is green, and...
What Fragrance It was a week. Whirlwind is probably the best word for it. So getting some time to slow down and reflect on what God has been doing has...
Loving Bravely I had an eye-opening conversation with some of the other women at The Journey this week The Journey is a young adult ministry where Corner...
Unity is Counter Cultural At each conclusion of the Monday night ladies’ Bible study I attend, Mary Westra always asks each person for a “takeaway”...
Victory In Corner Clubhouse (children’s ministry) we went through the story of Joshua. I am continually amazed by how God will use the...
5 Easy Ways to Worship Jesus this Easter Week If Easter is the most important day for a Christian of the whole year, how is it that so many years it gets here, and I’m totally...
The Brain, Music, and Unity As someone who enjoys the arts, I have been interested in how music and art are used to interpret our understanding of God and His...
Hold Fast There is something truly amazing about the way God uses the husband-and-wife relationship as a picture of Christ and the Church. ...
Building the Body I recently attended a Young Adult night in Grand Rapids. It was a great experience to be able to see how another church did their YA...
Living Psalm 23 “I’m so sorry to say that your book project was not approved by our publishing committee.” Reading those words in my email a year...
Whose Food As a family we have been slowly working through the gospel of John. In my personal study I have been going through Romans, albeit...
God Knows Exodus 2:23-25: “During those many days, the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their...
If I Could Give You One Gift For The New Year “I am CONFIDENT of this very thing, that HE who began a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.” Phil 1:6...
The High Priest Forever This is the time of season for gathering, exchanging gifts, parties, get-togethers with family, travel, and if we are not careful we can...
Seperation Anxiety When I was twelve, my family had a very anxious dog. The first time we left her alone in the house, she destroyed my favorite pair...
Welcoming Advent Basking in the glow of Thanksgiving, the fridge is stuffed with leftovers. Christmas decorations beckon to be freed from their red crates...
Lifestyle of Gratitude We just celebrated Thanksgiving, a significant holiday in the United States. We gathered together to remember all the things we are...
Living Temples From the sermon passage, Haggai 2:1-9: “‘Who is left among you who saw this house in its former glory? How do you see it now? Is it not...
Hyperfocus I have ADHD. The first time I was given this diagnosis, just out of highschool, I laughed. I genuinely did not believe the doctor. You see,...
Aphorizo Horizon. A word that reminds me of the Greek word “aphorizo” which means separated. Paul describes In Romans 1:1 how he was separated...
Weary With Worry Sometimes, the everyday act of living a human life is exhausting. Simple tasks feel burdensome. Connecting with people is as hard as...
Dying An Unintentional Spiritual Death When I heard that Jesus died for my sins and I could know God personally, I couldn’t believe it was true. Me? Little, insignificant,...
Do I Have A Testimony Worth Sharing? Why do people always talk so much about the “hard things” in their lives when sharing their testimony? This question came to mind...
20-20 Vision What do you think of when you hear the word “vision?” I think about my eyesight, and how I need glasses to see. Sometimes the phrase,...
I Need You? Umm, I Don’t Know About That. “Don’t think of yourself more highly than you should. Just as the human body has many parts so it is with the Body of Christ. We are...
Dressing in Holiness I have been thinking about how God made the universe with a perfect Order that He structured into all of Creation, and how it can be seen...
Planted Psalm 92:12-15 (ESV) The righteous flourish like the palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon. They are planted in the house of the...
Good and Hard at the Same Time “Joy is resting in God’s definition of good.” Pastor Davis Moore, Corner Bible Church Hugging the warm mug, I headed to the table....
Like Gold 1 Peter 1:6-9 “In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the...
What is “Success” as a Christian? “My true life is the Anointed One and dying means gaining more of him.” Phil 1:21 The Passion Translation On Sunday and Wednesday...
5, 4, 3, 2, 1, Forgive “I appeal to you Euodia and Syntyche. Please, because you belong to the Lord, settle your disagreement.” Phil 4:2 You never know...