Stories of HOPE &
Nuggets of Truth
Power Tool
Keeping God’s Word Close The other day I was putting a new license plate on my car. I had picked the most freezing day of winter and was on a mission to complete it in record time. Running into the garage I grabbed the first screwdriver I found and ran back out into the tundra to make a quick finish of the task. However, as I leaned over to remove
Hard-Pressed
Sharing the Treasure of God's Word “We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.” 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 In the midst of trauma, your world turns upside down; you feel broken in a million pieces and steady footing seems impossible. The pain and sorrow of brokenness and loss leaves you in a place of
When Trauma Comes
The Impossible, a movie about a family who survived a Tsunami, expresses the chaos of trauma. It showed how hopelessness drives into your heart, mind and soul; you can’t breathe or orient to normal anymore because it no longer exists. Sorrow overwhelms, pain penetrates and confusion plagues your mind with a sense of drowning. All of these emotions occupy your being as you consider the searing loss of “normal,” the
HOLIDAYS ARE HARD- Part 2
How to Survive the Holidays Feeling the jolly of the holidays is excruciatingly hard? Experiencing pain even when you are around familiar people or traditions? Trauma does that. It brings a new level of awareness for the brokenness you feel, and it seeks to steal the joy of those moments. Figuring out why you celebrate, what to engage in, whom to be around or how to even begin to join
HOLIDAYS ARE HARD- Part 1
How to Help the Hurting Holidays are especially hard for people in Trauma. Even when you are around familiar people or traditions, trauma brings a new level of awareness for the brokenness you feel, and it seeks to steal the joy of those moments. Our working definition of trauma is “an emotional response to a deeply distressing or disturbing event that overwhelms a person’s ability to cope.” This can be
Kinsman Redeemer
Christmas 2022 is just a few weeks away. I find myself looking back over this year and realizing again how desperately this world needs Hope. Leviticus 25, describes a kinsman-redeemer as a close relative who basically allowed the hopeless to find hope again. I’ve thought about this with Christmas approaching. Hebrews 2:17 says “Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become
Raisin Cakes
"The Lord loves the children of Israel, though they turn to other gods and love cakes of raisins. They shall eat, but not be satisfied." Hosea 3:1, 4:10 I was struck by this verse because of how utterly silly it is. I say it's silly because it seems improbable that Israel really loved raisin cakes more than God. But when I think about it, I am just like Israel because