Easier Said Than Done
A Dark Cloud of Realism with A Silver Lining of Hope It is one thing to write a book-length story of a successful Christian leader who battles daily physical pain, to illustrate through his life and ministry how God redeems pain for our good and for His glory.* It...
Where Do I Go When I Am Hurting?
You are grieving the death of your husband. Who can best help you process the loss of a decades-long companion? To whom will you voice your heart-rending pain? Who can help you navigate the difficult transition to living alone, to managing life and making choices...
Do We Really Want To Be Better Comforters?
What factors deepen and expand our ministry to hurting people? Valid answers include a sound grasp of Bible knowledge, identification and exercise of our spiritual gift(s), and a willingness to sacrifice our convenience and time precisely when others most need...
76 Questions To Reconnect You As A Couple
A Note from Terry: This is a guest post by Cindee Snider Re, co-founder, along with Pamela Piquette, of Chronic Joy (A Faith-based Chronic Illness Ministry). Chronic Joy has blogs and curriculum resources for needs in several categories: chronic illness or pain;...
How Well Do You See the Cross?
What things obscure a Christian’s view of the cross of Christ? What keeps us from experiencing all the benefits of the cross graciously lavished on us when we put our faith in Jesus’ sacrificial death? Here are a few of the obstructions, but I’ll put the...
Object Lessons for Relationships and Revival
The closest thing I have to a “man cave” is my home office. In addition to my desk and a computer and files, you see old photos of childhood baseball teams, personalized, special gifts given to me over the years by students, and numerous souvenirs from...
6 Bible Texts That Assuage My Depression (And Why)
I’ve never claimed that saturating myself in God’s Word and applying its truths eliminate my depression. But to use an old Amish phrase, I can say “for sure and for certain” that the Bible helps me deal with despondency, lowers the intensity...
A HEARTFELT PRAYER THAT GOD ANSWERED THE HARD WAY
A Christmas Memory I believe that Christmas Day should be the start of a week-long celebration, rather that its conclusion. Too often we feel an emotional and spiritual letdown the day after we celebrate Christ’s birth. That’s why I’ve saved a...
God’s Unfathomable, Funny-Wonderful Law of Provision
Has someone ever met a need in your life before you were even aware the need existed? Do you remember the time you received an unexpected check in the mail right before the mailman delivered a higher-than-expected medical bill, or immediately preceding the...
FAITH-BASED RESOURCES FOR CHRONIC PAIN, DISABILITY, DEPRESSION AND OTHER FORMS OF SUFFERING
As you peruse the following list of books and websites/blogs, think of your own needs, as well as the needs of loved ones and people in your sphere of influence. Books Michael Card, Sacred Sorrows: Reaching Out to God in the Lost Language of Lament (NavPress,...
Are You Strutting Your Stuff?
Have you ever driven a bus or a truck with a “governor” attached to the engine mechanism? It’s an item that won’t allow the vehicle to go any faster than a designated speed, such as 5o miles per hour. No matter how far down you push the...
SOMEBODY ELSE’S FLOYD
Have you ever wanted to be like someone else? Someone flesh and blood, not a comic book hero or any other fictitious heroine? I have. I still do. In three scenarios that occurred during my years at Wheaton Graduate School in Illinois (1971-73), I’ll show you...
