My mother has given me some great advice over the years. But the one piece that I remember the most—and the piece that I put to use with the most frequency—is something that she probably doesn’t even remember saying at all. It was one of those times when she was trying to console an upset teenager (me!) and attempting to use that segment of time as a teachable moment. “Sometimes, Staci, you just need to get in the car and go through a drive-thru for a Coke.” I’m not sure how much stock I put in that nugget of information at the tender age of seventeen, but I do know how wise I’ve come to view those words as I raised my own children and maneuvered through a myriad of life’s complex twists and turns. Sometimes we just need a time out--a few minutes to back up, regroup, rethink, and recharge. “Casting all your ...
Tag Archive: spiritual life
Big Mouth, Part 1
He who guards his mouth and his tongue keeps himself from calamity. Proverbs 21:23 NIV It’s funny how something so small as the mouth, something so seemingly insignificant, can get so many people into trouble. I can’t tell you how many times I have done this, witnessed this, or experienced this to be true. For example… you are the 3rd party in the middle of a conversation when all of the sudden one person says something that leaves everyone in the conversation stunned. Almost in silence. Did you know that this is not something that's new to today? I cannot even begin to tell you how many variations of the word “mouth” there are in the Bible; I lost track somewhere over 300 times. As a mom to two teenage sons, I have to tell you that the mouth, at least in our house, is the biggest enemy to peace and happiness. I wish it ...
Bloom Where You’re NOT Planted
Is it possible to blossom when you’ve been planted in a situation without the things that nourish your soul? When deprived of some of your own basic ‘nutrients’ do you have what it takes to display God’s handiwork in your life anyway?
Last fall these bulbs were sitting perilously close to the surface, in danger of becoming a mid-winter snack for the fat, scavenging squirrels that have the run of the neighborhood.
I lifted them from their precarious spot, and stuck them on the shelf, intending to bury them deeper in a more advantageous location. But as the weather turned and I stopped going out back, they sat forgotten…
Serving An Unchanging God
Awhile back I was really frustrated with my husband. We were outside in the yard and I honestly cannot remember what I was mad at him about (I’m sure it was huge at the time, but probably petty in the big scheme of things) but I said, “You know you are a lot like God.” He looked at me and I could tell he was kind of puffed up at the thought of being like God. I said, “Yeah, you are a lot like God because you never change!” We laugh at this moment now, but at that point I was not laughing. Can you relate? The part that is true in that statement is that God never changes. Malachi 3:6 says "I the LORD do not change. So you, O descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed.” All of the circumstances and people around us ...
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Genny Heikka
Managing EditorGenny started her career life thinking that the business world was where she wanted to be. But after her daughter was born and she began reading books to her, she realized that what she really wanted to do was be a writer...
