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The Gift of Your Purpose
I had a dream. I was walking down the street in a familiar neighborhood with a bouquet of flowers in my hand. As I looked at this bouquet of flowers, I thought to myself, “These flowers are so beautiful, and I know just what to do with them. I’ll take them home, let them dry…
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The Gift of God’s Love
And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God and God in them. (1 John 4:16) The best advice I could probably ever give someone is to learn how to see people through the lens of Christ, through a “love-tinted glass”…
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The Gift of His Footsteps
Man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps. (Proverbs 16:9) Planning is pretty much second nature to me. It’s in my DNA; I plan; I prepare, and I get things done. I had a thought recently, though. The most wonderful things in my life are things I didn’t plan for; they are the…
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The Gift of a Heart-Shaped Keychain
Some time ago, I ordered myself a heart-shaped keychain. I needed something to identify my keys, something with my name on it. Each of the keys are for something different, but they are all my keys. In a way, God is a lot like a keychain full of keys. He is the key to peace;…
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The Gift of the Trial
Count it all joy when you face trials of various kinds, for you know that testing of your faith produces steadfastness, and let steadfastness have its full effect so that you may be lacking in nothing. (James 1:2-4) My father will always be my hero. He was a gambler; he had been gambling since he…
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The Gift of Change: Melting an Ice Cold Heart
The other day, I was filling up my water bottle with ice and noticed some of my ice cubes had began to clump together. I picked up a chunk and realized it couldn’t possibly fit in my bottle. “It just needs to melt a little bit.” I told myself. As I looked at it, I…
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The Gift of Your Glow
Lately I’ve been on a sunless tanning journey. When I realized my old foundation powder no longer matched my skin tone, I decided to make a trip to the makeup store. I quickly grabbed a couple of shades of powder and made a beeline to the first employee I saw who wasn’t already helping someone—a…
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The Gift of a Grain
Currently listening to “Oceans” by Hillsong United God, Your thoughts about me are precious. They cannot be numbered! If I could count them, they would be more than all the grains of sand. (Psalm 139:17-18) This photo is from one of my favorite little hiding places. Every time I would visit, no matter how hard…
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The Gift of Rejection
I often pray a particular prayer. “God please remove those who are not called to my life. God please keep me from wasting my time on someone or something that isn’t meant to be.” God has always been faithfully consistent in answering that prayer though it doesn’t always feel good. The truth is though I…
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The Gift of Such a Time as This
For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this. (Esther 4:14) I believe we were all meant for the…
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The Gift of Being a Woman
Women’s Day is right around the corner, and I’ve been thinking lately about what it means to be a woman. A woman at her best is driven by love not leadership, peace not power, connection not control. This doesn’t mean women can’t be leaders, but it shouldn’t be her driving force nor her end goal.…