I recognize that Jesus often spoke about the heart. He observed how our hearts can lead us astray. That the heart can be wicked and deceitful at times. But what about our minds? Actually, Scripture also often speaks about this. And it warns us about the importance of where we allow our minds to focus. "You keep him in perfec[...]
The Lord recently showed me a seed of joy during one of my morning devotional times. A seed deposited inside of us springs up and causes joy to grow in our hearts. He showed me that this seed of joy begins to grow when we understand who He is and accept that we are indeed His children, His creation. Our Creator/Father is the emb[...]
But the promise of travel came with a stipulation—everything my parents suggested we would do began with those two words: "Lord willing." They would announce an exciting adventure, but God had the final say about whether we did it or not. As a teenager, I found it oppressive. I blame James for this saying, which has become a[...]
"For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it" Hebrews 12:11 (ESV). Growing up in West Africa, modelling discipline was a common practice in everyday activities. Although I do not recall verbally hearing the word it[...]
It was a hot sunny day, and the lake water was a welcome retreat from the heat. Laughing and splashing about, my brother and I enjoyed swimming in the lake with two of our friends, Susan and Angel. With no care in the world, we were happy to have a place to play and enjoy the afternoon. Then, as quickly as the fun had started, i[...]
“If God can transfigure the greatest evil into the greatest gift, then He intends to turn whatever you are experiencing right now into a gift” Ann Voskamp. We have come to the end of yet another unprecedented month, year, and week... filled with many obstacles. I don’t know about you, but it’s been a long couple of year[...]
"When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit…." John 11:33 (ESV). 'That moved me to tears.' 'Wow, that was so moving.' This idea of things we encounter moving us is very common in our everyday language. Often, we attribute the cause of this movement[...]
Is discipline a consequence or a gift? The answer depends on where you have rooted your identity. As a little girl, I learned how to gain my parents' approval from a young age. Be good, do good, be better, do better, don't be a hassle, don't make waves. The problem was that no one could always be good, so inevitably, this led to[...]
My story, PRIOR to being rescued by the saving grace of Jesus, was not very pretty. I was not a person who sought to help or support others. My focus was specifically all about ME. I loathed Christians. I thought of them as hollow puppets with no understanding of anything beyond a bunch of rules that they blindly followed. Whil[...]
While in prayer, asking the Lord what He would have me write about for this month’s Heartstrong Blog Post, I immediately saw a picture of a rock being thrown into water and ripples being generated out from the place of the rock's impact. This image came along with the thought that what we say matters. Even a smile or one word[...]