Hello Reader, Time to Check Your Roots A hurricane stripped limbs and leaves from trees in my neighborhood a couple years ago. Pines toppled, and my neighbor’s maple trunk snapped in two. Yet the sabal palm remained unfazed, unbroken, and swaying in winds that shattered everything around it. Its secret lay beneath the surface, where its roots had spent years growing deep into the soil. A New Year Invitation A new year offers us a chance to pause and assess our lives. We set goals, make...
about 2 months ago • 4 min read
Happy December Reader, Earlier this week, I posted a simple challenge on social media: Read one chapter of Luke each day starting December 1st, and by Christmas, you'll have read the entire book. I'm doing it too. As I began reading, my heart began to stir with hope. Chapter after chapter, miracle after miracle unfolded before me: Elizabeth and Zacharias, barren for decades, held their promised son. A virgin conceived the Savior of the world. Angels appeared Mary, Joseph, and to shepherds in...
3 months ago • 1 min read
Why Your Prayers Feel Unanswered (And What to Do About It) Hello Reader, Do you ever wonder why prayers feel unanswered, peace feels elusive, or joy seems missing from your life? You do all the things believers are told to do, yet your heart still feels distant. Maybe fear grips you, or relationships are strained. Somehow the promised abundant life seems just out of reach. It could be there are hidden "Do Not Enter" signs around your life. This Thanksgiving week, many of us pause to consider...
4 months ago • 2 min read
Hello Reader Thanks for reading and being part of my email list. I know your inbox stays full, so I'm honored to share these teachings with you. God bless you! When Disappointment Meets Jesus The words caught in Martha’s throat as she approached Jesus on that dusty road. Her brother lay dead in a tomb, and four days had passed. The body had already begun to decay. She said to Jesus, “Lord, if only You had been here, my brother would not have died” (John 11:21 NASB). Perhaps you know that...
4 months ago • 4 min read
Hello Reader, We’ve all had it happen. Someone made a stupid comment to us at work, a certain person’s face appears in our social media feed, or a family member says something sharp. Suddenly our stomach drops. A memory we didn’t even realize was still alive jumps to the surface. Why do these moments hurt so deeply? Why do they bother us so much? When we first moved to Florida five years ago, I noticed beautiful white wildflowers growing along the side roads. They looked so pretty, I even...
5 months ago • 3 min read
Hello Reader, When Life Cuts You Down, Grow Deeper Roots My husband planted a couple of tomato plants on our back porch. A few did not do very well, but one plant began to thrive. We were delighted to see it growing tall and healthy. Then one day, I walked outside and saw that a deer had eaten it down to the stalk. At first it seemed hopeless, but we decided to keep watering it. To our surprise, the roots grew stronger. Have you ever felt like that tomato plant? You were moving forward,...
6 months ago • 4 min read
Hello Reader, Thanks for reading! Today I share a profound insight the Lord showed me that I pray will help you too! Have you ever wondered why you keep struggling with the same battles, even after you've prayed for deliverance? When Deliverance Prayer Isn't Enough While there are a number of reasons why deliverance is not immediately effective, I recently had a dream that revealed a powerful truth about deliverance warfare. The Dream Metaphor In my dream, I found myself with a group of...
8 months ago • 5 min read
Hello Reader, It means so much to me that you’re here. Thank you! Today, I want to share something personal with you. It started in my flower pots but ended in my spirit. This spring, I battled spider mites on my impatiens. I tried everything that I read on the internet. But those tiny pests just kept returning to weave their little webs on my plants and suck the life out of them. My once-lovely flowers withered, yellowed, and dropped their leaves until only bare stems remained. It was...
9 months ago • 3 min read
Hello Reader, Have you ever seen a sabal palm tree right after it’s been transplanted? Here in Florida, sabal palms are harvested from swampy places, plucked up without much of a root ball, stripped of their fronds, and stacked in piles that look more like discarded logs than living trees. It’s hard to believe they survive. But once they are planted and braced or “staked up” with wooden stakes, something incredible happens. They slowly grow new roots and begin to flourish. It reminds me of...
10 months ago • 2 min read