Living A Life of Love… [the Believer’s Calling]
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Living A Life of Love… [the Believer’s Calling]

A Fallen, Wounding World God didn’t call us to a life of wounding, friends. He called us to live a life of LOVE. But because of our human-ness, we’re born into a world inherently wounding. And sadly, as creatures of a fallen, imperfect world, we inflict our own wounding behaviors on those around us. “With…

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever… [a holiday movie review]
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The Best Christmas Pageant Ever… [a holiday movie review]

I had no idea what to expect when I walked into an early screening of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever🌟 last Saturday. Since I hadn’t read the book or seen the stage production, I guess I expected something of a Junie B. Jones, elementary reader nature. But instead, I encountered a wondrous story of God’s…

Perfecting God’s Love… [Our Life-Giving Gift]
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Perfecting God’s Love… [Our Life-Giving Gift]

Our Human-ness Brokenness became our human-ness when sin entered the world. Our perfectly axised world suddenly set un-straight was forever imperfectly tilted towards disobedience, enmity, and darkness.  We’re called, as Christ followers, to peel back the darkness and live in the Light; becoming increasingly more like Him. We’re called to love like Jesus loved. And…

The Best Kind of Friend… [and God’s Purpose in Suffering.]
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The Best Kind of Friend… [and God’s Purpose in Suffering.]

The best kind of friend is a praying friend. It’s no secret 2024 has been a hard year for the Rains’ household. Little by little, I’ve pulled back the curtains in this season of life and let friends in…  I might’ve overshared a time or two. But the reality is when we share our “stuff,”…

10 Years Ago…. [Looking Back and Pressing Onward]
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10 Years Ago…. [Looking Back and Pressing Onward]

10 years ago this summer, two incredible things happened…   A New Calling… “See I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up, do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” – Isaiah 43:19 10 years ago this summer, at the height of the Ice Bucket…

How to Love the World… [one challenging circumstance at a time]
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How to Love the World… [one challenging circumstance at a time]

When I issued the very first LOVE challenge to myself and asked others to join, what I really desired in this world more than anything was to be one of those “rare Christians” Tozer talked about. A Christ-follower whose very presence compelled others to become “better Christians” themselves. Apart from God, none of us are…

How to Have Joy [and Be Joyful] in a Not-So-Perfect World.
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How to Have Joy [and Be Joyful] in a Not-So-Perfect World.

Joyful people see with open eyes the hard reality of human existence and at the same time are not imprisoned by it.” – Henri Nouwen  Radiating hope ✨ and Shining God’s love in a weary, not-so-perfect world is what the manger message is all about, friends.  God’s love for us does not change like the…

Correcting Injustice: The Self-Emptying Love of Jesus Christ
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Correcting Injustice: The Self-Emptying Love of Jesus Christ

To Correct or Not to Correct? Have you ever made a snap judgement about someone or something? Sadly, I often make snap judgements. But recently, I found myself the recipient of someone else’s snap judgement. And it took all the Jesus-lovin’ strength I could muster, friends, not to email this person and set them straight….