19 May 2018 Heidi’s Story

Heidi’s Story

posted by

Part 3 of the series, “God is Good”…

In this post, I share a remarkable story about the goodness of God. If you missed the last two posts, start there. One Unshakable Core Belief, and Mystery: The Unresolved Category

experience God's loveTo recap, it’s hard to reconcile the goodness of God with suffering in human life. We may start to think God isn’t doing a good job of being God. But He has given us solid reasons to trust in His goodness and asks us to embrace the category of mystery. Yet, if we’re in the wilderness of unanswered questions, the Holy Spirit can still bring the presence of God into our pain and suffering. When we experience His goodness, we may not understand the “whys” of our circumstances, but His peace remains. Experience is the operative word.

So here’s the story of my second cousin Heidi…Continue reading

Filed Under: 2018 Tagged With: , , , , ,
20 May 2017 Grounding

Grounding

posted by

Terry had serious throat cancer. He pastored a small church in rural Montana. The community of people who loved him prayed hard and fasted long. We encouraged him in every way we knew how. One by one, medical answers came up empty. Still, we sought God’s healing power.

But Terry died anyway. He was only 39.

I cried a flood tears. My heart ached for his family. But some tears also revealed my disappointment with God. Why would He take such a wonderful man? We needed Terry here. God is able to heal—but in this case, He didn’t. I asked God for understanding. Over the course of Terry’s decline I saw four dramatic symbolic pictures.

In the wake of Terry’s death, God made sense of them.Continue reading

Filed Under: 2017 Tagged With: , , , , ,
17 December 2016 Being Held

Being Held

posted by

Many years ago, I was sitting in a counselor’s office completely brokenhearted over my marriage. The counselor was a nice person, but she had no real guidance to offer. Her therapeutic approach involved hours of long-faced listening. After that, her advice was simple: “The answers are within you.”

Right. I wouldn’t have been there if that were so.

Black and white grunge image of a teen girl cryingWhen you are broken, you stumble around looking for some kind of solace. I was vulnerable, and unfortunately, I received a lot of bad advice in those days.

But God is a God who sees. Hagar knew that. (Gen. 16:13)

On my last appointment with that particular counselor, something took me by surprise. She had me lean back on her couch and asked me to close my eyes. What now, I thought. She said, “I want you to think about your Higher Power, whatever that is for you.” I argued inside. Why was I paying good money for this?

But as she left me alone, I entered into a vision.Continue reading

Filed Under: 2016 Tagged With: , , , ,
Next Page »