“The paradox of God is that within the boundaries we resent there is life that is limitless in Him. And we cannot see that limitlessness without the boundaries that we’ve been praying for decades would lift. When they don’t move, we become more inclined to find Him within them.”- Sara Hagerty Sara Hagerty concludes Chapter […]
“Good boundaries bring relief to the grief of letting other people’s opinions, issues, desires, and agendas run our life. But if we see boundaries as a one-way ticket to acting unkind, unchristian, or uncaring, there will be no relief.”- Lysa TerKeurst In Chapter 8 (“Trying to Make Someone Else Happy Shouldn’t Be Your Definition of […]
“Loss is a crucible. It presses into the deepest places from which we loved, causing such pain we often don’t know how to make sense of the despair. Memories as crystal clear as if they were happening right now dance in front of us, letting us see the beauty of what used to be our […]
“Hope is the melody of the future. Faith is dancing to that melody right now.”- Lysa TerKeurst “Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. . . . Now is your time of grief, but I will see you […]
“I’m beginning the conversation with neglected loss, disappointment, and grief not because those are the main issues in any person’s life, but because those are the things we tend to run from. Of course we do. . . . Problem is, we are running from huge tracts of our own soul, leaving them behind, and […]
“We must process the grief of our loss; we must confront our denials and avoid letting ourselves become isolated. It won’t happen all at once. And it won’t happen in a perfect straight line.”- Phil Waldrep “There are some things in life over which God simply writes, ‘I’ll explain later.’ “- Corrie ten Boom Phil […]
The Louder Song: Listening for Hope . . . (NavPress, 2019) Aubrey Sampson, director of discipleship and equipping at Renewal Church in West Chicago, IL, recently penned The Louder Song: Listening for Hope in the Midst of Lament. In addition to her church ministry, Aubrey also ministers as a speaker, writer, and church planter. As […]
“In walking with people through grief and loss, I’ve recognized how . . . they’re desiring to connect, to be validated that their suffering or the injustice they are facing hasn’t somehow disqualified them from personhood. They’re not even coming for answers — they just want to be reminded that God hasn’t forgotten them.”- Mitchel […]
“The Christian gospel tells us more of the meaning of sin than suffering. . . . To the ‘why’ of suffering we get no firm answer. Of course, some suffering is easily seen to be the result of our sin: war, assault, poverty amidst plenty, the hurtful word. And maybe some is chastisement. But not […]
” . . . honoring our grievances is much like paying our taxes. They all come due eventually, and the longer we ignore them or attempt to medicate them with our flailings, the more penalties and interest accrue.”- Shannon Ethridge In her foreword to Aubrey Sampson’s latest book, The Louder Song: Listening for Hope in […]
“But here’s my caution: don’t be so focused on getting out of difficult circumstances that you don’t get anything out of them. Sometimes the very circumstances we’re trying to change are the very circumstances God is using to change us. . . . listen carefully to what God is saying during the tough times (emphasis […]
“The very thing we are afraid of, our brokenness, is the door to our Father’s heart.”- Paul Miller “Behold, I am making all things new.”- Revelation 21:5 Ann Voskamp follows One Thousand Gifts with her second book, The Broken Way: A Daring Path Into the Abundant Life. Ann opens Chapter 1 (“What to Do with […]