Purpose
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Better than Fretting! How to Stay Calm and Carry On, Part II
Yes, that’s a camel. I’ve never ridden one—elephant yes, camel no—but I’ve heard they can be stubborn and cantankerous. Friends living in the Middle East told me their kids’ school bus was delayed one day for what seemed like forever because a camel decided to park itself in the road and chill there for the…
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Better than Fretting: How to Keep Calm and Carry On, Part I
What keeps you up at night? Bills? Relationships? Heartburn that, you worry, might be more than heartburn? If so, you’re in good company. By nature, I worry like it’s my superpower. But the Holy Spirit continues to disciple me through scripture fretting subsides as I shift my perspective and trust God more deeply. In this…
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How to Lead Like a Mother and Mother Like a Leader
Show of hands: who’s really lost it yet with their fellow quarantinees? I’ve had some moments before this, but yesterday, wham, everything bubbled up. I was going toe-to-toe over something completely stupid with one kid, everything in me wanting to win the argument, while also yelling across the house at the other to please-just-turn-down-the-TV. Meanwhile,…
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On International Women’s Day, Rise Like a Deborah
For International Women’s Day, I’ve been mulling over the life of Deborah, a prophetess who led the nation of Israel during its “Wild West” period known as the time of the judges. Like another notable prophetess, Miriam (see Exodus 15:20), Deborah was gifted in Spirit-inspired song. In fact, all of Judges 5 is a truth-telling,…
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How To Overcome Obstacles to Your Calling: Interview with Dr. Angie Ward, part II
Happy Book Launch Day to Dr. Angie Ward, who gave us warm, wise advice last week on how to embrace God’s calling in our lives. No surprise, I’m recommending I Am a Leader: When Women Discover the Joy of Their Calling to everybody–Go Get This Book! But until you can head to the store or…
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Called to Be a Leader: Interview with Dr. Angie Ward, part I
“The question is not WHETHER you have influence. The questions are WHERE do you have influence, and HOW are you going to use that influence to bring honor and glory to God?” That statement from Dr. Angie Ward in I Am A Leader: When Women Discover the Joy of Their Calling jolted me from my…
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What If Your Calling to Go Forward Means Going Back?
Go. Go fast. Go hard. Go far. Just go. That’s the message of our culture, isn’t it? You want to be labelled a leader? Then, you better race to the top, push all the boundaries, blaze all the trails. Even in our churches, we sometimes double-down on that one word in the Matt 28:19-20 great…
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Wise Women, Leading Ladies, and What They Teach Us about Calling
Calling is where your deep gladness and the world’s deep need meet. My friend, leadership expert Angie Ward, branded this Frederick Buechner quote onto my brain during a conversation on all things women and calling. For Angie, the idea of deep gladness answering deep need encapsulates the theme of her upcoming book, I Am a…
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How Wise Prayers Shape Our Lives
Shout out to every woman in seminary right now. It’s been a week for us and our sisters serving on the front lines, regardless of ministry role or theological conviction. I’m not going to rehash the “women in ministry” debates, especially the ones that seem like misogyny cloaked in religious posturing, but let me say…
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Wisdom Packaged in Love
I miss my Nana. Yesterday, I wanted to phone her so badly. I loved the way she would call me “Dahlin” in her Deep South drawl and end our conversations reminding me, “I prayed for you and all my grandchildren today!” Makes sense I would think of her as I study Proverbs, where wisdom is…