“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.” -U.S. Declaration of Independence Jesus gave His life...

Americans are generous and kindhearted people, a people who strive to strengthen and preserve those delicate bonds of affection that unite the human family and give safe harbor to all its members. -Ronald Reagan, fortieth U.S. President, 1989 My book, God Bless...

The tallest structure in our nation’s capital, built by man and pointing to heaven, is inscribed Laus Deo, words that encapsulate the reason our nation exists: Praise be to God. These words face the rising sun. From the Pilgrims’ arrival in 1620 to the vastness of our...

Meditate on this for a moment today: Christ has entered into heaven itself to appear now before God as our Friend (Hebrews 9:24). It’s nearly breathtaking to believe this. We, who have done nothing to deserve His love, are befriended by the Savior of the world. And He...

When I think of the wisdom and scope of His plan, I fall down on my knees and pray. Ephesians 3:14 Precious Lord, take my hand; Lead my on, Let me stand; I am tired, I am weak, I am worn—a lyric written by Thomas A. Dorsey in 1932, as relevant today as it has ever...

A sweet book focusing on the celebration of our risen Savior! For little hearts filled with big purpose by the God who gave us the way, truth, and life. Jesus answered, "I am the way. And I am the truth and life. The only way to the Father is through me." John 14:6...

LIBERTY “God who gave us life gave us liberty. And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of people that these liberties are the gift of God? That they are not to be violated without His...

GRACE-MINDED A peaceful heart leads to a healthy body. Proverbs 14:30 God isn’t concerned about a portion of our well-being, He cares about all of it. He’s a God of wholeness and healing. He knows the world we live in is a stressful place and the peace He gives is the...

It's an astounding privilege to be chosen to join God's work on earth. To be given the Holy Spirit as a guide is equally humbling. If we wake up every day in a manner of praise for all God has done, we open our hearts to doing all that can be done—for the glory of our...

When the light of a new day washed over Fort McHenry on the morning of September 14, 1814, the stars and stripes became the symbol of an infant nation in the hands of an eternal God. Francis Scott Key felt compelled to capture the emotion he felt when he witnessed the...

God writes the beginning, middle, and end of our life’s story. The Holy Spirit stands ready to help us live a life marked by trusting God and laying aside anything outside of His will. When we look to our Savior and the way He walked through this world, we see clearly...

WHO ELSE? Who else has held the oceans in His hands? Isaiah 40:12 Who else holds the pages of your life in His hands? Who else holds the hope of your days in His hands? Who else holds you, and everything you need, in His hands? The magnitude and fullness of God is...

Where we are in our life, what we’re doing, and who we’re affecting, is a valuable part of our journey. The Holy Spirit, our constant companion, sees our life from every perspective. Most importantly, from God’s point of view. Even though we don’t make all the right...

The Bible tells me over and over again to praise the Lord, never mind what’s happening. —Elisabeth Elliot It’s challenging to praise and never mind what’s happening when we’re going through tests and trials of every kind. But that’s when God develops the harmony. He’s...

Being known is one of the most beautiful reflections of love. We’re seen and understood perfectly by God because His love for us is flawless. Knowing what is best for us includes knowing who is best for us. We have friends who challenge us and those who comfort us,...

Treat every human interaction as a God-orchestrated opportunity to be a funnel for the unseen blessings of Heaven to pour into this world—through love, giving, kindness, patience, and forgiveness. Look out for others, let your eyes fill with tears of compassion, and...

“I pray heaven to bestow the best of blessings on this house and all that shall hereafter inhabit it. May none but honest and wise men ever rule under this roof.”  -President John Adams’ blessing engraved on the mantel in the State Dining Room of the White House, 1800...

Don't criticize and speak evil about each other. If you do, you will be fighting against God's law of loving one another. James 4:11 God initiated a law long before governments were in place on the earth. He created humans in His image, His likeness. Have we forgotten...

I’ve learned by now to be quite content whatever my circumstances.  Philippians 4:12 A simple life is not something we arrive at one day by coincidence. It’s the result of a choice or a change of circumstance. There are things that happen in our lives that move us in...

You chart the path ahead of me and tell me where to stop and rest. Psalm 139:3 We can’t know what tomorrow looks like or what we’ll face on the journey ahead. What we can know is that God knows. If we get to a point on the path of our life where we need to stop and...

Even if I had the gift of faith so that I could speak to a mountain and make it move, I would still be worth nothing at all without love. 1Corinthians 13:2 Everything we do in this world is reduced to nothing if love isn’t our highest goal. We’ll fall short countless...

Within a period of 5 years, I lost a marriage of 30 years and a job of 20 years. I'm here to tell you...don't give up. The years that followed the losses have shaped me in a way nothing else could. God alone knew, being the sculptor of the heart. The length of our...

I’ve gotten into the habit of saying, “I love you, Lord” when I open my eyes in the morning, It’s a quiet, simple, and gentle reminder to my heart that God comes first. Life is more beautiful when we keep Him in that place. I’ve learned how the path gets difficult and...

There might be unwelcome news, difficult discoveries, not-so-lovely conversations, and downright unpleasant moments in the first 24 hours of our work week. But how will we respond? Where will we allow our thoughts to go? We choose: grace and grit or distance and...

I was blessed to meet a whole bunch of kind people at a book signing this week. There's one hope of healing our nation right now, and it's God's 4-point plan. Humility, prayer, love, and repentance. Put more directly, God alone. Apart from Him, there is no way to...

What type of person inspires you? Is it someone you describe as joyful and bubbly, who lifts the energy in a room just by being in it? Is it someone who exudes light from the inside out through their eyes, their smile, or their words? Is it the one who jumps at the...

  Always be someone who notices the sunset. Perceive God’s presence. He’s here and mindful of you. He wants to be involved in your days. He sees you breathe a sigh of relief at the end of each one. Not a single thing in your life is insignificant to Him. If it was, He...

When you're in nature, do you pay attention to the bird song in the trees with its simple repetition and sweet melody? In response to God’s faithful provision, it's likely we’re listening to an offering of praise. Jesus said, “Look at the birds of the air, for they...

We can love and not like.   I love being alone. To ponder, pray, and write. I cherish my solitude. I need it. But I don’t like being alone when the 123 year old cottage I live in makes noises at night and I want to hear someone laughing with me at the movie I’m...

Lord, when doubts fill my mind, when my heart is in turmoil, quiet me and give me renewed hope and cheer. Psalm 94:19 A quiet spot, a soft chair, and a good nap. Sometimes the sweetest rest is stolen at unplanned times, when our heart is in turmoil and our mind is...

We can expect God to speak to us in the quietest parts of our day, because that’s when He has the calmest path to our heart. Rarely will we be able to concentrate on listening to Him when life’s demands are loud. When we develop the discipline of unwinding at the end...

A little over 3 years ago, I was struggling physically, emotionally, and spiritually. I broke down, looked up, and cried out. Father…I don’t want to try and control anything, anymore. I got transparent with myself and with God. My life was mediocre from top to bottom....

“I have told you all this so that you will have peace of heart and mind. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows; but cheer up, for I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 We can have a deep sense of peace today even if our lives are shrouded in...

Many years ago, I had the privilege of having dinner with Elisabeth Elliot. She was clearly a soul who learned to trust God through the humanly impossible trials of life. She was anchored in the love of God, and you knew it by being in her presence. Spending an...

The best possible life is ours to discover daily with the help of the Holy Spirit. A life spent loving God and loving people has no chance of becoming mundane or monotonous. The people and places that become part of our story are uniquely designed by our Creator, and...

We need God to be first in our life, and we need the people He brings into our life to hold a close second. His heart for all of us is love, and it flows through fellowship. Being together and being there for one other is monumental if we’re going to stay the course...

There’s an authenticity that flows naturally from us as a result of discovering our truest self, by being more intimately bound to our Creator. You saw me before I was born and scheduled each day of my life before I began to breathe. Every day was recorded in your...

I’m an emotional being. As a writer, I’m constantly thinking about the human response to impossible circumstances and real suffering. I pray for the ability to empathize. I meditate on personal times of walking through the wilderness, when everything I know about God...

It is God Himself who has made us what we are and given us new lives from Christ Jesus; and long ages ago He planned that we should spend these lives in helping others. (Ephesians 2:10) God’s plan for each of us is unique in many ways, but in one way is always the...

A small, quiet gathering in front of a fireplace, a coffee table crowded with snacks, every person in the room feeling the warmth of God’s love…that’s the kind of thing that makes a big impact on a weary spirit. We all get weary in this world. Sticking together to get...

O Bethlehem…you are but a small Judean village, yet you will be the birthplace of my King who is alive from everlasting ages past!     Micah 5:2 God can take a small place and make an eternal difference. Give a small place to peace. “I am leaving you with a gift—peace...

This is a difficult Christmas for me. I can relate to those who go through this season with an undertow of sadness. On the surface people move around and past you with a palpable excitement, wearing a smile you wish you could return. Beneath the surface, there are...

There’s no sweeter rest than the rest God gives. It’s free of worry and full of peace. It’s like sinking into our favorite chair, or hiding away in a quiet place with a cup of tea, separate from everything that pulls us this way and that—to do more, to be more. God is...

Often the inn that had no room for Joseph and Mary is likened to the human heart that allows no room for our Savior. Where no welcome is given, salvation does not enter. With the human heart, God is not demanding, He is patient and long-suffering. With the lost, Jesus...

One day the earth will bask in the perfect peace of Jesus and we’ll know His love completely. Even now, we can be submersed in a peace beyond our circumstances when we get to a quiet place and fix our thoughts on Him. Where our mind goes, our body follows. When our...

There’s something special about a walk through the neighborhood in wintertime, especially around the holidays. Homes are warmly lit, trees are adorned, and you can almost feel the coziness inviting you to pause and take it all in. Peace comes with light, because light...

At some point in our lives, we realize our relationships are everything. Possessions are temporal, feelings are fleeting, and time is racing. God, in providing everything we could possibly need, chose us for one another—to lean on and love; to confide in and laugh...

Celestial events are in the Creator’s hand. We're in the season of celebrating a birth that was prophesied from the beginning of time, announced by angels in a field of shepherds, and marked by the movement of a star. The bright, ball of light signaled to stargazers...

Excerpt from Journaling with the Holy Spirit:  The eternal impact of our life is in motion every day. We can be tempted to believe the lie that only certain days matter, that going through the motions is insignificant, or that the things we’re doing in this season...

When Jesus was born, God’s love stepped from heaven to earth—covered in flesh, filled with forgiveness, and willing to be the sacrifice for us all. Hope became ours when love became human. The King of Kings was cradled in a manger, en route to a throne. Eternity in...