I watched them, the yard crew working outside my window. Some donned in straw hats that shaded their weather-worn, dark-skinned faces, some with orange safety ear-muffs strapped across their closely-cropped hair. In spite of the near 100-degree sun beating down on them, all were covered head to toe in protective clothing. These, my heroes […]
Month: July 2012
Four Keys to a Happier Life
Column Post by Lisa Easterling Who doesn’t want a happier life? What you might not realize is how easy it can be to move toward that happier life right now by employing a few simple keys. Key 1: Simplify, Simplify Let’s face it: we all live cluttered, chaotic lives. It’s hard not to, in such […]
When You Must Forgive the Unforgivable
Guest Post by Dana Arcuri It was the summer of 1966. Heartbroken, my newly divorced mother relocated to escape humiliation and gossip. Her plan was to raise five young daughters on her own. How she was to successfully accomplish that plan was a heavy burden filled with uncertainty. Desperate to make ends meet, Mom obtained work […]
What Forgiveness Might Really Look Like
Column Post by Laura Hyers “Everyone thinks forgiveness is a lovely idea until he has something to forgive.” C. S. Lewis Isn’t forgiveness so much more fun to talk about than to actually partake in? Not to mention that it’s always way better to be on the receiving end of forgiveness than the giving end. […]
When Catch and Release Goes Wrong
Column Post by Lakin Easterling Do you want to know a secret? It’s part of every woman, more so than men: it’s the power of a grudge. Perhaps it first became us when Adam shifted all the blame on Eve; maybe that’s the first taste we had of bitterness, a deep cut betrayal when we thought […]
When You Can Forgive Everyone but Yourself
Column Post by Glenda Harbinson The word forgiveness brings many thoughts to mind. There have been times in my life when forgiveness was relatively simple and other times when it was far more challenging. Childhood days of forgiveness seemed so difficult, yet looking back I see they were good learning tools, stepping stones to the […]
How to Turn a Hot Mess into Something Redemptive
Column Post by Rita Schulte Why are we all so freaked out about the mistakes, failures, and mess-ups in our lives? If we read the Bible, we see that most of the characters were a hot mess. We see David—a murderer, adulterer, and a liar. Peter was a coward, Paul was self-righteous, and Sarah laughed […]
How God Beautifies the Ugly Spoken Over Your Life
Column Post by Lisa Easterling She told me I suck at friendship. And she meant it. While most of me had the strength to reject the indictment as mean-spirited and untrue, a poisoned barb was left behind. I’ve been prayerfully thinking about this damaging prophesy over my life. My general philosophy is to take criticism […]