Let’s gather around the table to study the life of Ruth
Sometimes loving God with all your heart looks a lot like you’re “breaking the rules”! Join our special guest Carolyn Custis James as we continue our series on the life…
Topic > Relationships > Caregiving >
Jesus’ interaction with a sick child and a worried dad struggling to have faith
When our son or daughter is sick all we want to do is take away their pain. We try to soothe the sickness away. But sometimes the illness is so…
Let’s take God’s message of healing to those in need
Dealing with painful circumstances tends to draw us inward. Sometimes we even forget there are others around us struggling with brokenness and sorrow as well! We’re learning how to share…
Healing Hands
In his short story “The Hurt Man,” Wendell Berry recounts how Nancy Beechum welcomed a complete stranger into her home after he stumbled up the street, bloodied, with a crowd of fierce, angry men chasing him. Nancy opened her door and washed the clotted blood from his body. She pressed the white rags, now crimson, onto his cuts. The hurt man trembled as Nancy spoke gently to him: ”You’re going to be all right.”
Comforted To Comfort
“Pastor, the results came out positive. My wife has breast cancer.” When a congregation member broke this news to me one Sunday morning, I was speechless. What could I possibly say to comfort my friend in light of this bitter news? After a moment of silence, I quickly remembered the words that most comforted me when my own wife was diagnosed with breast cancer. And so with a level voice, I replied, “I want you to know that I’m here for both of you, no matter what.” He wore the same expression of gratitude that I had worn years before…
5 Humbling Lessons I’ve Learned As a New Mom
As I’m writing this article, my 3½-month-old baby is stretching in her rocker and “talking” to herself. It amazes me how much she has grown in these past months—from a wrinkly, frowning newborn to a chubby, still frowning baby.
Open Arms
The day my husband, Dan, and I began our caregiving journey with our aging parents, we linked arms and felt as if we were plunging off a cliff. We didn’t know that in the process of caregiving the hardest task we would face would be to allow our hearts to be searched and molded and to allow God to use this special time to make us like Him in new ways.
On days when I felt I was plunging toward earth in an out-of-control free-fall, God showed me my agendas, my reservations, my fears, my pride, and my selfishness. He used…
Taking the Initiative Against Daydreaming
Daydreaming about something in order to do it properly is right, but daydreaming about it when we should be doing it is wrong. In this passage, after having said these wonderful things to His disciples, we might have expected our Lord to tell them to go away and meditate over them all. But Jesus never allowed idle daydreaming. When our purpose is to seek God and to discover His will for us, daydreaming is right and acceptable. But when our inclination is to spend time daydreaming over what we have already been told to do, it is unacceptable and God’s blessing is never on it.
A Multiplied Love
When a woman in Karen’s church was diagnosed with ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease), things looked bad. This cruel disease affects nerves and muscles, eventually leading to paralysis. The family’s insurance wouldn’t cover home care, and the stricken woman’s husband couldn’t bear the thought of putting her in a nursing home.
As a nurse, Karen had the expertise to help and began going to the woman’s home to care for her. But she soon realized she couldn’t take care of her own family while meeting the needs of her friend, so she started teaching others in…
Learning to share in our brokenness
Dealing with painful circumstances tends to draw us inward. Sometimes we even forget there are others around us struggling with brokenness and sorrow as well. Today on Discover the Word, the group challenges us to take God’s message of healing to those in need. We’re learning how to share “The Beauty of Broken” . . […]
How did Jesus model true manhood?
When we talk about Jesus, it’s mostly in association with the major events of His life: His birth, death, and resurrection. But what about all those years between His birth and His death? What kind of person was Jesus; how did He live as a man? Today on “Discover the Word,” the group and guest Carolyn Custis James discuss how Jesus often upset preconceived ideas about how a man should act. Discover how Jesus modeled true manhood today on “Discover the Word”!
How A Facebook Contact Led Me to An Orphanage
Korea is a place that I’ve always wanted to visit—I’m a major fan of Korean dramas. Some would therefore say it’s a pleasant coincidence that I was sent to Seoul this year for a company meeting, but to me it was God answering my prayers.
When life comes to a standstill–Vivian’s Story
When the diagnosis comes so hard and fast that you can hardly breathe, where do you turn? Hear how the power of a loving God and the ongoing support of His people helped Vivian battle through her cancer journey. Find strength to hang on no matter what you’re facing.
Help for a Heavy Load
It’s amazing what you can haul with a bicycle. An average adult with a specialized trailer (and a bit of determination) can use a bicycle to tow up to 300 pounds at 10 mph. There’s just one problem: Hauling a heavier load means moving more slowly. A person hauling 600 pounds of work equipment or personal possessions would only be able to move at a pace of 8 miles in one hour.
Moses carried another kind of weight in the wilderness—an emotional weight that kept him at a standstill. The Israelites’ intense craving for meat instead of manna had reduced them…
What Ruth teaches us about the spirit of God’s law
Many people view God’s law as a list of “dos and don’ts.” But the story of Ruth reveals a bigger perspective on God’s instructions. Join us as we discover the difference between being good and being changed!
Let’s gather around the table to study the life of Ruth
Sometimes loving God with all your heart looks a lot like you’re “breaking the rules”! Join our special guest Carolyn Custis James as we continue our series on the life of Ruth and explore those times when it seems like the letter of the law is in conflict with the spirit of the law.
Discover ways to help those who are hurting
You may not recognize it immediately, but it’s possible that the person standing right next to you is wounded, broken, or struggling. Let’s be willing dispensers of God’s grace. Hear a “best of” conversation from last year.
use my room
When I agreed to help start a book club at my church, I was excited about choosing the titles and discussing the literary works. I wavered, however, when I had to decide where to hold the meetings. (My house often has cluttered countertops and my kitchen appliances don’t always sparkle.) Thankfully, one Sunday morning, a woman in my church offered to host the meetings at her home. I sensed a genuine spirit of hospitality, and I gratefully accepted her proposal.
