“I have learned through the years that God does not just want our happy; He also really wants our sad. Everything is not fine, and God wants to hear about it.”- Esther Fleece Esther Fleece continues Chapter 1 of No More Faking Fine as she notes that God doesn’t minimize our pain or compare it […]
“We have not discovered the beauty in sorrow, so we try to get out of pain as quickly as possible. . . . But life will let all of us down, and we need a way to talk about it — a way we have lost along the way.”- Esther Fleece In Chapter 1 (“God […]
“God meets us where we are and not where we pretend to be.”- Esther Fleece Esther Fleece recently published No More Faking Fine: Ending the Pretending to explain and apply the ancient biblical language of lament. In the Foreword, Louie and Shelley Giglio (Passion City Church, Atlanta) describe the beautiful nature of lament. They write: […]
“Success is not what you have; success is Who you have.”- Dr. Tony Evans “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive.”- Genesis 50:20 In Chapter 14 (“The Peace of Detours”) of Detours, Dr. Tony Evans […]
“God has a way of blessing you exactly where you experienced the pain the most.”- Dr. Tony Evans Tony Evans concludes Chapter 10 of Detours as he provides three ways to know you’ve truly forgiven someone. 1. You don’t bring other people into the situation that have nothing to do with the sin. Dr. Evans […]
“Development . . . often a painful process of breaking us out of our own ambitions and independence so we can live a life of surrender and obedience before God.”- Dr. Tony Evans In Chapter 2 (“The Pain of Detours”) of Detours, Tony Evans reminds us sometimes God asks us to take the next step […]
“Instead of giving someone a piece of your mind — it’s far better to give them pieces of your heart.”- Ann Voskamp In Chapter 16 (“When It Comes to Wooing God and Healing Wounds”) of The Broken Way, Ann Voskamp cites Jean Vanier, a Canadian Catholic philosopher. Mr. Vanier observes: “Most of the time to […]
“I get to live into the dare that . . . though shards of our broken hearts pierce our lungs’ every breath, there’s the grace of a miraculous communion of all the broken.”- Ann Voskamp Author Ann Voskamp concludes Chapter 13 of The Broken Way by stating fuller inclusion in the life of Christ comes […]
“This is always the choice: pain demands to be felt — or it will demand you feel nothing at all.”- Ann Voskamp In Chapter 2 (“Re-Membering Your Broken Pieces”) of The Broken Way, Ann Voskamp observes that we never stop hoping for the best. Hence, we wait for the best in life like it got […]
“I imagine God is pleased when we allow the foolish things of this world to confound our wisdom- when we allow ourselves to be drawn into His love in the most peculiar ways.”- Matt Bays Matt Bays begins Chapter 10 (“Me Encanta- The Love of God”) of Finding God in the Ruins by observing there […]
“Holding God responsible for our pain is as unproductive as it is unwise.”- June Hunt June Hunt begins Chapter 11 (“Blindsided by a God-sized Boulder: ‘Oh God, How Could You Do This?’ “) of How to Forgive by noting that the vast majority of wounded people don’t allow their bitterness to consume them. However, many […]
“To err is human, to blame it on someone else is more human.”- Unknown June Hunt continues her presentation (Chapter 8, How to Forgive) of the four stages of forgiveness by discussing stages two and three. Stage Two: Feel the Offense. We may respond to unjust treatment with anger, outrage or even hatred. Ms. Hunt […]