Lori Boucher

Enlarge the place of your tent, and let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out; do not hold back; lengthen your cords and strengthen your stakes." Isaiah 54:2 (ESV). Isaiah 54 is named the eternal covenant of peace. The study notes for this chapter say God commands his people to prepare joyfully for their future. This line so resonates with me in this moment of history. When God gives us commands, there is a powerful and beautiful space of surrendering to trust that what God asks us to do is for o[...]

Why do we despise that which is good for us? Why do we see discipline as negative, harmful, and holding us back from living our true selves? I want another donut, just one more episode, just one more drink, just one more click, scroll or post; indulgences that lead us to hate ourselves after but in the moment feel so authentically right and deserved. You deserve it, you work so hard, you’ve had a hard day, you need to rest, chill, relax, you do so much for others, you need to do something for yourself. We[...]

"You will tread on the lion and the adder; the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot. Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him; I will protect him because he knows my name. When he calls to me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.” Psalm 91: 13-16 ESV. Psalm 91 is a beautiful, tender, and intimate Psalm that describes the confidence we can have in the Lord despite our ci[...]

And he said to them, “What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?” And they stood still, looking sad. Luke 24:17 What did you see? The Road to Emmaus Story in Luke 24 is a crazy story for so many reasons.  Jesus appears to Cleopas on the day he has resurrected, but God does not allow him and whomever he is with to recognize him.  He asks about the conversation they are holding as they talk together about all that has transpired. Have you ever been in the middle of an u[...]

"At that time, Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, 'Look, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.'" Matthew 12: 1-2 ESV. In old times, the heads of grain on the outer edge of the field were left for the needy poor and foreigners. Jesus and His disciples travelled from city to city, preaching the gospel, not knowing where their next meal would[...]

There is a story in the Bible where Moses asked Pharaoh to let God's people go, and Pharaoh was so angry he said, "You shall no longer give the people straw to make bricks, as in the past; let them go and gather straw for themselves. But the number of bricks they made in the past you shall impose on them, you shall by no means reduce it, for they are idle." Exodus. 5:7-8 ESV. I see a wrestle here in the spirit in a natural tension. The people have no idea that God is working a plan to set them free from capt[...]

"Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience."  Hebrews 4: 11 ESV. In the Old Testament, the law established a calendar that included a day of rest called the Sabbath, some festivals like Passover, had two days of rest on the first and the last day of the week, which translates into our Sunday and Saturday, something we call "the Weekend." When Jesus came, He fulfilled the need for these rituals and invited us into an even better covenant that includ[...]

"And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; giving thanks[d] to the Father, who has qualified you[e] to share in the inheritance of the[...]

"…the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness, that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He might be glorified." Isaiah 61: 3b Do you ever feel like there is a spirit of heaviness on you? Sometimes it feels as though it's on your physical body: like your legs and arms feel like cement, and you feel tired and weary. Other times you sense it in your spirit or emotions: you feel discouraged, down, depressed, unmotivated and struggle to do things you normally do. So[...]

"Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day, God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation." Genesis 2: 1-3 ESV God created everything with a spoken word. He created it and called it very good, and then on the seventh day, He rested from all He had made. He didn't rest because[...]