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a tribe that roars
We do not lose heart. When staring into the tangible darkness that seems too heavy to move or see through, our knees do not quake. Our hearts do not cease to beat. To be lionhearted means to stand firm, despite the thunderstorm. But when it is time, you charge that wall with every fiber of your being and take the enemy down. No retreat. No thought of losing. Fighting from a place of victory. Take aim and pray—not from your circumstance, but from a place of authority and strength. God does not call us to be people of fear, but a tribe that roars and takes the land.
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emerging
I have gotten the rare pleasure of literally watching a butterfly come out of its cocoon. It was one of the most intriguing processes to witness. As each day passed, the outermost part of the cocoon’s skin began to thin until it was barely even there, entirely translucent. Suddenly it was gone. The most fascinating part was that the butterfly did not instantly fly away as I was anticipating. It laid very still, slowly starting to move parts of its body ...
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raw joy
Sometimes, joy doesn’t look like rejoicing. It may feel startling, or undesirable; its rough edges may scrape our fragile skin as we brush up against it. But when we begin to recognize joy in the raw places of our grief and disillusionment, we are convinced anew that God is good, that faith is real. When we see that there is hope ahead, that we haven't been abandoned in the midst of an unfinished story, this is our joy. So hang onto this truth, Beloved, when the winds blow untamed and the path twists in front of you. Yes, there may be suffering and pain where the road bends, but the…
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redeemed into Life
While I wish I could remember the sight of the exotic blooms that surely filled the greenhouse, or summon the warmth of the humid air that must’ve beaded droplets on the glass, all I really remember is the eternity I spent locked inside the metal and cement of a bathroom stall, sick to my stomach and aching for home.
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blessed is she who believes
What was it, exactly, that Mary believed? Her actions here confirm her belief in God as Promise-Maker, Promise-Keeper. She believed that He is both willing and able to do “immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine” (see Ephesians 3:20). And she believed that He is the Giver of all good gifts and the rewarder of those who seek Him (James 1:17; Hebrews 11:6).
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inexpressible and glorious
Is it just me, or does it seem to be taking greater “fortitude” than ever just to make it through one day and into the next? Put simply, fortitude is “courage in pain or adversity." I’ve never considered myself to be especially courageous, nor do my life circumstances involve a constant barrage of catastrophes. Yet when life manifests as a daily battle, making a firm decision to hold onto hope can be an act of considerable bravery.
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an invitation to expand
Since my roommate moved out 8 months ago to get married and start a new life elsewhere, I had left the door to her old room closed. Sure, I took advantage of her walk-in closet for some overflow storage boxes and stashed an empty file cabinet on the wall where her desk used to be. Other than that, though, the room remained empty and silent at the end of the hallway, not really a part of my home at all. Once school ended for the summer and I turned in my year-end checklist, all that started to change. I felt the Lord’s nudging to step out in faith with a…
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Embattled Heart
The enemy is after my heart today. I can feel the anxiety stirring, a menacing presence roiling just below the surface. There is no reason for it — no immediate fear or dread — just a silent stalking. The seasons are changing. Darkness arrives earlier and earlier, swallowing up whole chunks of evening hours and magnifying the lies that seem so much easier to dismiss in the daylight. You are alone. You are powerless. No one hears your voice or cares what you have to say. You are a failure. There is no hope for you. The lies are a poisonous oil that seeps between the cracks in my armor.…
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Stirring the Gifts
A sense of tension stirs beneath the worship of our small fellowship these days; our elders addressed it again just this morning. There’s an underlying apprehension and expectation of what’s to come. I would love to know if this same stirring is manifesting itself in the wider Body of Christ, if it signifies a larger move of the Kingdom of God, or if it’s something more limited, unique to us. Personally, I experience it in the urgency to write, to reach beyond time and space and connect with those of similar spirit. I am convinced my Lord has called me to this, to speak forth His words for “such a…
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A Promise Worth Claiming
I was drawn into Philippians today; I’m not sure why. I think I was instinctively seeking some comfort from all the “rejoice” references. Grief and struggle has been thick in the air lately, and between that and accumulating stresses in my work, I found myself teetering dangerously on the edge of a familiar dark place. I felt the rush of tears just reading the intro verses; there was something in the simplicity of returning to the Word after a prolonged absence – the sense of being safe at home was immediate. But Paul’s attitude baffles me. At the end of verse 18 and on into 19, he writes, “Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, for I know that…
