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I was recently having coffee with a good friend, and I was sharing about a choice that one of my children made that I wasn’t very happy with. I had taken that one incident in their life and turned it into a worst-case scenario. I began to cry and talked to her about my fears that my child would never get on track, or that bad choice would lead to another and then another, and eventually, the child somehow would spiral out of control, and there would be no hope. The conversation went on and on, and by the time I was done, I was a blubbering mess. (I can be a tad dramatic). My friend pulled up her social media later that day and sent me a post written by a young man whose life was forever changed by the King of Kings. I shook as I read it. It inspired me, and I knew...

www.courtnayerichard.com For starters, I want to ask you do you volunteer, work, or serve in your local church? Do you run your own ministry or business? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then I want to encourage you to keep reading, because this is the post for you dear co-laborer. I want to encourage you to get things done this week! Let me just say, I know what it’s like to have God-ordained assignments at church and/or in your personal ministry or business, and find yourself asking, “Lord, how am I going to get all of this done?” I need to add here, that it’s also a good practice to reassess to see if you’re actually doing a God-thing or a good thing. In other words, we have to be careful that we don’t take on additional responsibilities that have no...

ha When the normal rhythms of a nascent spring were interrupted last March by the sudden appearance of Covid-19, we were thrust into a world of unknowns and uncertainty. We’re now in month six of a season punctuated by more questions than answers.  Like many of you, I’ve been gauging daily stats and headline news as I weigh choices about school, extracurriculars, online or in-person church and grocery shopping. We’ve muddled through risks and precautions, predictions and press-conferences to try our level best to make decisions that feel responsible. I don’t want to be fearful, but I also don’t want to be careless.  Most of us don’t even realize the strain of chronic, low-level stress we’ve been carrying. And some days – some days – the sheer volume of it all gets to us...

There is so much we don’t understand. Even while mystery propels us to control and corral, get a hold of and comprehend, part of us wants to tame mystery’s wildness, or chastise it like it’s a child prone to talk back and disobey. For we are scared of it. But maybe we love it a bit too? We might want mystery’s wildness, but we don’t want it too wild–we prefer it a bit tame, at least so we can grasp a bit of it, something to work out and consume for ourselves.  This morning I reread Walt Whitman’s “As I Ebb’d with the Ocean of Life.” I am obsessed with these lines: “I perceive I have not really understood any thing, not a single object, and that no man ever can,/ Nature here in sight of the sea taking advantage of me to dart upon me and sting me,/ Because I have dared to...

Change the baby’s diaper, take the dog outside, feed everyone breakfast (including said dog), start a load of laundry, empty the dishwasher, fill the dishwasher with more dishes, fold and put away the laundry, clean counters, vacuum, sweep, mop, snack-time, school-time, nap-time, lunch-time, snack-time, dinner-time, snack-time, bed-time. Do it again tomorrow.  As a mom and wife, I am given countless opportunities to set aside my wants and give my love, time, and attention to the needs of my husband and children. Pouring yourself out like that on a daily basis can sometimes be physically exhausting; I find myself praying for supernatural strength often! Yet, at the end of the day, even though I am tempted to wonder where my “me time is,” my heart is always full.  This is when I be...

Rev Looi Kok Kim (Chairman of Prayer Commission, NECF) In times of crises, what good can we see for a nation? The Covid19 pandemic outbreak has taken thousands of lives. The locust plagues in Kenya, Ethiopia, and Somali have destroyed hundreds of farmlands and crops, resulting in food shortages. These have caused great fear and uncertainties globally. The fear of the unknown can trigger out-of-control situations. It can ripple out into socio-economic slumps and political uncertainties. A suffering nation may hope for recovery but may not see any good coming out of the situation. On the other hand, in any arising crisis, there is always an awakening or warning call! It is a call from God to His children to wake up and return to Him. In our case, we may need a literal change of our daily rou...

Now I urge you, brethren, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God for me. Romans 15:30 You also joining in helping us through your prayers, so that thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf for the favor bestowed on us through the prayers of many. 2 Corinthians 1:11 Mike |  I may lose my home, on the verge. Please Pray that a miracle comes my way so I don’t become homeless Michael | My niece’s boyfriend is under going cancer treatment Please pray that God gives him the strength that he needs to go through this and beat this disease Sally Beck | First seek the kingdom of GOD and everything shall be given unto you. Diligently seek the super natural power of our Heavenly Father’s word and be bless...

10 Things “Yahweh” Means By John Piper Yahweh God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.” (Exodus 3:15) God’s name is almost always translated LORD (all caps) in the English Bible. But the Hebrew would be pronounced something like “Yahweh,” and is built on the word for “I am.” So every time we hear the word Yahweh, or every time you see LORD in the English Bible, you should think: this is a proper name (like Peter or John) built out of the word for “I am” and reminding us each time that God absolutely is. There are at least 10 things the name Yahweh, “I AM,” says about God: 1....

Last week, iBelieve and Crosswalk ran my devotion on comforting someone mourning that’s filled with vital tips from my training as a hospital chaplain. I got an email in my inbox from a woman whose friend had suffered a sudden stroke. She was spinning from the shock of it and searching for more resources to help.  As I checked my Twitter feed throughout the week, I was surprised to see many posts on grief from writers whom I respect. 2020 has certainly landed us in uncertainty, and perhaps an offshoot of that is a need to process grief with greater acknowledgement and responsibility. People are hurting. I wanted to pass along the resources that I suggested to her in my email back. I also wanted to include a prayer for support that I find particularly meaningful. I...

I’ve worn glasses since I was 12, and I’ve had a love-hate relationship with them for most of my life. I convinced myself that I needed glasses because I watched our little old black and white TV too closely. That’s what the old folks said, and that’s what I believed. Turns out, I was near-sighted, I could see near but not far, and as I got older, I’m not sure my television habits had anything to do with my need for wearing glasses. Love or hate, being able to see clearly, is an eye-opener. In my late 40s, my vision started to deteriorate to where I could no longer read the ingredients on labels. Up to this point, I wore contacts most of the time, but now I was in a pickle because my then-current prescription did not help. It was then I discovered reading...

C.S. Lewis once said, “There are far, far better things ahead than any we leave behind.” The first time I read this quote, I was in the middle of a huge life transition. Just recently I came across this quote again, and yes, I am standing on the brink of another major change. Doesn’t it seem interesting that God often brings us just the right quote, verse, and song when our very lives are experiencing joy, sadness, frustration, or loss? It is in these moments that we hear and see the true tenderness and compassion of a loving and gracious God. I am a sentimental person by nature. My garage is full of boxes of memorabilia from my kids that I am not ready to let go. I have been forced to purge through the years, but saying goodbye is indeed one of the hardest things I have learned to do as a...

We ask for the breeze to blow. Or the sun to shine. We ask for the flowers to bloom. Or the news to be good just one time. We carry much–expectations and hopes, dreams and desires. Or we don’t, because disappointment, time and again, has taught us to not count on good things anymore. Not for us, anyway. Fear can make any dream feel impossible to achieve. So taking one small step toward the dream feels useless, a waste of time. We are scared of the blow to our hearts if we fail one more time.  Believing in other people’s goodness is no easy task either. Not when they hurt us. Or we hurt them. And we struggle to pick ourselves up again. Try again. One more time. But here is where we turn: if there is an ache in your heart, let yourself feel it. Articulate it. Let it tell you a story. Le...