The Warmth of Other Suns
February 25, 2026
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I know many of you are familiar with the prolific author, Isabel Wilkerson, who, ten or eleven years ago, had a book published called The
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Who in the Bible Fought Like a Black Girl From Brooklyn?
February 23, 2026
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“So, Nehemiah, cupbearer to the king, fought like a Black girl from Brooklyn?” I said out loud as if someone told me the world was
Was It Reasonable? The awkward story of our Savior’s birth
December 28, 2025
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Was it reasonable to appoint a teenage girl, never yet known by any man, to wear such unbefitting evidence of unspeakable sin? To explain
Unshaken: Standing Firm in God’s Word
December 9, 2025
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHOmBV4js_E IN THIS VIDEO: This is what can happen when you think you’re standing firm in God’s Word, but realize you haven’t guarded against your
Woman’s Day – Sherry Boykin – “Steeped black tea bags cured my sties!”
June 10, 2024
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Indisputable Identity: A YouVersion Devotion and Reading Plan
December 2, 2023
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Sometimes a really bad breakup is a really good thing. Find out how in “Indisputable Identity” on YouVersion. Read it HERE.
The Warmth of Other Suns
February 25, 2026
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I know many of you are familiar with the prolific author, Isabel Wilkerson, who, ten or eleven years ago, had a book published called The
Who in the Bible Fought Like a Black Girl From Brooklyn?
February 23, 2026
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“So, Nehemiah, cupbearer to the king, fought like a Black girl from Brooklyn?” I said out loud as if someone told me the world was
Was It Reasonable? The awkward story of our Savior’s birth
December 28, 2025
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Was it reasonable to appoint a teenage girl, never yet known by any man, to wear such unbefitting evidence of unspeakable sin? To explain
Unshaken: Standing Firm in God’s Word
December 9, 2025
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHOmBV4js_E IN THIS VIDEO: This is what can happen when you think you’re standing firm in God’s Word, but realize you haven’t guarded against your
Woman’s Day – Sherry Boykin – “Steeped black tea bags cured my sties!”
June 10, 2024
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Believing Like a Child at Christmastime
December 25, 2023
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A Christmas story full of encouragement to believe what God says simply because He is God.
Extraordinary Love, Extraordinary Care: A Christmas podcast for you
December 9, 2023
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Loving someone who doesn’t love you.
Indisputable Identity: A YouVersion Devotion and Reading Plan
December 2, 2023
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Sometimes a really bad breakup is a really good thing. Find out how in “Indisputable Identity” on YouVersion. Read it HERE.
The Easiest Way to Teach or to Learn Anything
December 1, 2023
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You’ve worked up a good appetite after a long day of physical work. When you arrive at dinner expecting a hearty meal, someone says, “Would you mind not eating today?” How do you respond?
When Giving Thanks Seems Too Hard
November 24, 2023
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Show Notes: Season 1, Episode 2: When Giving Thanks Seems Too Hard The story of “that harrowing day” mentioned in this episode is found in Sherry’s
Why Pay Attention to What God is Doing in Your Life? Hear it From a Teen!
November 15, 2023
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How can you distinguish between God doing something and people doing something?
You Will Be Healed
April 2, 2023
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Today felt like the mighty rushing water from a johnny pump on the Fourth of July in 1970’s Brooklyn–a forceful rush of overwhelm that in
When It Looks Like God Isn’t Answering Your Prayer
January 15, 2023
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When the third guy I was absolutely, positively sure I was going to marry walked down the aisle with someone else, I finally felt fully
Change Your Perspective, Change Your Life
October 7, 2022
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Check out the video below to see how changing your frame of reference or your mindset will ignite your life and set you (and others)
Life as a Missionary with Sherry Boykin
September 26, 2022
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Has anyone ever caused you to wonder about the depth of your faith? I’m so thankful for this interview with Sonia Hines, host of Mars
Changing Your Perspective with Sherry Boykin
August 4, 2022
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What do you fully believe as soon as you hear it without ever needing any proof or any validation from anyone else? Sonya Hines, host
Some People Turn Out to Be Way Different Than You Think
June 24, 2022
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My family were a little worried when they first met B. He had just been at a carwash because he had hit a deer…an ALREADY
What Baby Wesley Didn’t Know
April 10, 2022
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Neither newborn baby Wesley nor his parents had any idea of the profundity of their unannounced arrival at our front door at precisely 5:00 pm
Thoughts on Diversity in the Body of Christ
April 6, 2022
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Part of my husband’s story involves his exposure to diversity in general and then to diversity in the Body of Christ:
How God Heals the Pain of Miscarriage
March 17, 2022
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March 17, 2007. I’ll never forget it. Kaki was a year and a half old and the pregnancy test was positive. We rejoiced like
God Can Use Anything to Put You On Someone Else’s Heart
March 10, 2022
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It might just be your name . . . When I arrived on campus for my first semester of Bible college, a wild car accident
When You Just Want to Have a Baby
March 3, 2022
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Sometimes, you just want to have a baby. Period. I remember well the years I spent begging God for the gift of being a mom.
How I Learned the Necessity of Self-Care
February 26, 2022
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I sped down 38th Street on my way to meet one of three or four girls I mentored. My college student staple–a pizza pretzel in
How God Prepared Me to Eat Whatever On the Mission Field
February 19, 2022
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One year in college I couldn’t afford to travel home for Thanksgiving, so a lady from church invited me to her family’s Thanksgiving in nearby
Dear God, Please Forgive Me
February 5, 2022
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NO WAY was I going to be a foreign missionary as a single woman!!! I didn’t want to end up a strange, cat-hoarding old lady
Sometimes You Just Mess Up
January 29, 2022
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I was so proud of myself that I straightened my posture until I was a full six inches taller than normal. I was on
But I Thought I’d Be Married By Now
January 22, 2022
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New Missionary-on plane to Peru-still single . . . I couldn’t help bursting into tears. I was genuinely ready, excited and intrigued about what lay
The Day I Learned to Fish, For Real
January 15, 2022
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Several of us from the Peruvian Amazon village of Grau took a trip one day in a long, tall, peke-peke canoe to visit a friend
What a Black Woman in Brooklyn Has in Common with a Jewish Woman in Antiquity
January 6, 2022
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At six-years old, I overheard someone say my father was dead. I did not yet fully understand the finality of dead, but I sort of
At What Point Does Your Gratefulness Start to Look Unseemly?
August 6, 2021
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I stood still and stared at this sculpted masterpiece in New York City’s Battery Park this week. Something about it made me want to cry
Learning to Live in Your Epilogue
July 29, 2021
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When God moves, He moves. And I’m so very grateful for that–a little stuck, perhaps, but grateful just the same. Every woman in Scripture I’ve
How Epilogues Keep You in the Game When You Feel Like Giving Up
May 25, 2021
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When I was seven years old, I heard the word epilogue for the very first time. I remember it so clearly because we were all
Sometimes You Just Mess Up
February 19, 2021
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I was so proud of myself that I straightened my posture until I was a full six inches taller than normal. I was on my
How to Get Your Kids to Remember What God Has Done
September 18, 2020
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Here’s an easy way you and your kids can remember what God has done–on purpose! Build an altar! (I did this with our daughter and
Northeast Pennsylvania Business Journal – Sherry Boykin – Faith and Tales
August 6, 2019
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Does Speaking the Truth in Love Have to Sound Mousy?
April 30, 2018
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Why Speaking the Truth in Love Might Be the Same as a Tongue-Lashing
How to Get Over That One Big Thing
March 25, 2017
6 Comments
Ten years ago this month I stood on the kitchen chairs, sang, and did “The Chicken Dance” after seeing double lines darken on my Dollar
Will You Dance?
April 5, 2016
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Excited? Be prepared for the invitation of your life; you never know when it may come!
Why You MUST Tell Your Story
March 9, 2016
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“What are you afraid of?” our small group leader asked one night. “That once it’s all said and done,” I whispered, “no one will have
When a Wilde Man Weeps
February 23, 2016
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Just visualize this true story as you read it aloud: A famous man lives a double life. While living with his wife and two children,
How to Choose Words Wisely: Last Speech of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
January 18, 2016
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Do we choose words this wisely? Remembering Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his legacy with this last speech of his–given just one day before
Burning the Pilato: What a Peruvian tradition teaches about facing your obstacles, part 2
December 31, 2014
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I thought I’d re-share my New Year’s post from last year and encourage you to burn your own pilatos later tonight like we will. I’ll check
The Biggest Gift is Not Under the Tree
December 25, 2014
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An old man is shocked when an angel tells him he and his post-menopausal wife will soon have a baby. A young girl is puzzled when she learns that in
The Real Miracle Worker
November 27, 2014
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I am fit to be tied every single time I hear someone steal God’s glory by claiming that God no longer performs miracles today. These perpetrators usually have seven
Down Broadway: Without the neon lights, stardom and fortune
August 25, 2014
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If you google Broadway you get a gazillion hits about great New York City theatre, casting directors, and superstar bios.
Not Your Mama’s Meatloaf! How puff pastry and caviar can get your praise on
August 18, 2014
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This past week our family hosted three little boys from Ecuador who were invited to the United States to attend a soccer camp, and to
Profile Me, Please! Why you should be glad to be labeled
July 10, 2014
7 Comments
Gone are the days when I lamented hyphenated first name intros like, “This is Sherry–the girl who’s still single. . . ,” or “Remember Sherry–that jungle missionary
When You Don’t Get a Do-Over
June 26, 2014
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Ever been afraid of telling it like it is? Afraid of telling the truth because the would-be recipient was older, more experienced, or somehow more
A Call to Biblical Manhood: Whose job is it to keep his pants up?
May 20, 2014
32 Comments
SOMEONE, help me with this–please! Just how responsible are women for maintaining the sexual purity of men? If you’ve ever been part of an institution
Relationships in The Wild: BUT-Kickers seminar, week 6
April 28, 2014
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On Sunday we finished our BUT-Kickers seminar with one last look at “Relationships in the Wild.” And after six weeks of hanging out in the Book of Judges
What You Should Know About The God of Resurrection
April 21, 2014
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“Word!” “Testify!” “Amen and amen!” Shouts of praise ushered me back to my childhood roots as we joined hundreds of people in New York City yesterday and celebrated
Relationships in The Wild: BUT-Kickers seminar, week 5
April 14, 2014
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This week we discussed “Relationships in The Wild,” the only fitting name I could think of to describe the resolute craziness of events in Judges, chapter
Huh?
April 8, 2014
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“God, Say What?” Check out this article from today’s edition of Inspire a Fire!
How to Make Sense of Your Hard Times or Your Difficult Past, BUT-Kickers seminar, week 4
April 6, 2014
14 Comments
Today we revisited the story of Samson’s wife from Judges 13-15. This time we compared our takeaways from last week with testimonials from our own
Jumping Off That High Horse: A necessary exercise for combating heart trouble
April 3, 2014
4 Comments
I had to blow the dust off my copy of Timothy Keller’s, The Prodigal God this week, because I realized the lessons I thought I
How to Make Sense Out of Your Hard Times or Your Difficult Past: But-Kickers seminar, week 3
March 30, 2014
7 Comments
Today we jumped into the story of Samson’s wife, another unnamed woman in the Book of Judges—a book overflowing with unusual, unthinkable stories about
When It’s Not Your Fault but You Pay the Price: But-Kickers seminar week 2
March 24, 2014
8 Comments
We just completed week 2 of “When It’s Not Your Fault but You Pay the Price,” and what a whirlwind it was! We’ve been working through
Hope for the Cheerful: Because the hurting already know what to do
March 21, 2014
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Isn’t it strange that there’s a huge, gaping hole in the outpouring of hope for the ones who most need it, yet who are least likely
A Not So Silent Scream: What I wish Jephthah’s daughter had said
March 18, 2014
2 Comments
It’s both humbling and embarrassing to think that knowing God personally for thirty years isn’t enough to make my default answer to the unwanted STUFF
When It’s Not Your Fault but You Pay the Price: But-Kickers seminar, week 1
March 16, 2014
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Today we started a six-week But-Kickers seminar with a look at what happens when your life is shaken up by something you had nothing to do
The Taboo Test: Engage your audience with what you do NOT say
March 13, 2014
14 Comments
The geniuses at Hasbro had the right idea when they came up with a party game that had players shouting, laughing, interrupting each other, thinking with their
Love Song: Imagine The Lover of Your Soul singing THIS to you
March 10, 2014
3 Comments
Discouraged? Feeling like no one gets your pain? Need a way to overcome your disappointment? Why not write a song about The Lover of Your Soul,
Why Marriage is not for Virgins
March 7, 2014
12 Comments
Just recently on a clip from The Taste, a reality show based on a cooking competition, I heard Chef/Author Anthony Bourdain say that a dish
Redeeming the Sound of My Faith: A song for those who think they don’t belong
February 27, 2014
6 Comments
Redeeming the Sound of My Faith For those who have at some time awakened to find themselves clapping when there was no music–a song of
Is God a Two-Timer?
February 25, 2014
13 Comments
“For your Maker is your husband—the Lord Almighty is his name.” (Isaiah 54:5) Will you marry me? There it was, plain as day. A
Why I’m Still Married and What That Could Mean for You: Valentine’s Day edition
February 14, 2014
13 Comments
Today is the 14th anniversary of my husband singing me Steven Curtis Chapman’s, “I Will Be Here,” and asking the greatest rhetorical question imaginable: “Will you marry
10 Things Church Ladies Do Better Than Everyone Else
February 11, 2014
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Lately I’ve noticed a whole heap of hilarity in the Body of Christ, especially among us church ladies. And the hilarity comes from hearts full of faith,
3 Ways to Pray for the Children of Phillip Seymour Hoffman
February 5, 2014
8 Comments
A young father. Found dead. In an apartment in New York City. An apparent drug overdose.
Honest Abe, Geico, and How You Can Know if You’re Ready for Marriage
February 4, 2014
3 Comments
A couple of years ago my husband and I saw a commercial for Geico brand auto insurance which dramatizes a supposed conversation between Abraham Lincoln
On Wives and Handcuffs: How to break out of relationship jail
January 17, 2014
4 Comments
Did you know that the Spanish word for “wives,” esposas, is the same as the Spanish word for “handcuffs”?
Bread and Butter: The new premarital sex
January 9, 2014
24 Comments
Is it me, or does it seem that lately any consumption of food that isn’t organic, raw, vegan, or gluten and GMO-free has usurped the position of premarital sex as
10 Confessions from 2013: Why not get some things off your chest?
January 4, 2014
6 Comments
In the spirit of coming clean and starting the new year off with a blank slate, here are 10 confessions of mine from 2013:
Burning the Pilato: What a Peruvian tradition can show you about your toughest obstacles
January 2, 2014
4 Comments
An annual tradition in the Peruvian Amazon is the burning of “pilatos”– homemade, life-size dolls that resemble the makers of the pilatos, or that resemble public
Doing What You Hate, and Loving It in the End: What happens when you put on your big-girl Spanks
December 28, 2013
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Doing what completely repulses you can bring new understanding to the monumental work of Christ. See how in my latest article, Taking the Cup, in Catapult Magazine.
How to Keep Your Faith From Making Your “But” Look Big: 3 Keys to overcoming mediocrity
December 27, 2013
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But I could lose everything if I tried something like that! But they would never like me if they knew my whole story.
If I Were Satan: How I would trip up Christians at their own game
December 20, 2013
2 Comments
If I were Satan and I wanted to make Christians act more like me than like Christ, here’s what I would do:
Thank God I’m Not 25 Anymore! 5 reasons to celebrate coming of age
December 18, 2013
6 Comments
In honor of my 52nd year, here’s why coming of age is worth celebrating:
Does Anyone Hear You?
December 12, 2013
8 Comments
We have an ongoing tradition in our home of having our 8-year-old daughter “pay” for unexpected, unbelievably sweet, thoughtful, adorable things she does that so overwhelm her
Nelson Mandela, God and You
December 6, 2013
4 Comments
Because Nelson Mandela wanted real change, he went after their hearts, not their heads.
3 Reasons Your Teens and Young Adult Kids Won’t Take Your Advice: How to get them to tune you in
December 4, 2013
2 Comments
“But I’ve always taught my kids the truth. Why won’t they listen to me?”
Thankful I Didn’t Have the Last Word: Are You? A Thanksgiving Confession
November 28, 2013
8 Comments
Not that I want to be muzzled like an ox, or that I harbor some secret desire to be bound and gagged, but there’s something
5 Godly Things God Doesn’t Want You to Do
November 26, 2013
12 Comments
Make a joyful noise to the Lord (Psalm 100:1,2) . . . without addressing the unrighteous outburst you splattered over your eight-year-old for acting like a second-grader.
Hashtag Unbelieving Christians: 7 Questions that put your faith in perspective
November 15, 2013
2 Comments
For “You of little faith” Or perhaps of no faith at all.
What Finding Nemo, The Lion King, and Your Life Have in Common
November 12, 2013
10 Comments
They are all wonderful illustrations of . . .
Is it Your Fault Your Kids Don’t GET Christ? After you catch them red-handed, then what?
November 8, 2013
3 Comments
Is it your fault your kids don’t GET Christ? After you catch them red-handed, then what?
Why Would God Say Something Like THAT?
October 29, 2013
6 Comments
When it seems like God is wrong, then what?
For All You “Les Mis” Groupies
October 14, 2013
27 Comments
Every once in a while I jump in my car, roll up the windows to create that perfect Surround-Sound, and blast my favorite songs from the original soundtrack of the Broadway musical, Les Miserables.
Why Chicken Soup Doesn’t Always Cure Colds
August 31, 2013
9 Comments
Okay, there’s that sore spot again. You know how you press your big toe against the inside of your shoe over and over again when you
I Don’t Know What “Made Love” Means
July 21, 2013
10 Comments
Yep–that’s what the image says: “I don’t know what ‘made love’ means.” Let me explain. These last couple of months the developing of But-Kickers has been a big
A Lesson from My Seven-Year-Old: The Family Recipe?
July 9, 2013
6 Comments
My seven-year-0ld daughter and I watched our favorite cooking show last week in preparation for the Fourth of July. The show featured a chef who had built
Don’t Ever Get Married If You Can’t Do This
May 10, 2013
2 Comments
So glad I ignored my “What’s the Matter With Those PET PEOPLE, anyway?” attitude last night! It all started with a tweet by awesome news anchor, @danbharris,
Why I’m Still Married, Part II
April 18, 2013
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Remember yesterday when I told you about my right-bran-thinking/left-brain-talking husband with those “uncomfortably long pauses” between awkward statements and heartfelt, fuzzy words? Well, what I didn’t mention was that
Why I’m Still Married
April 17, 2013
7 Comments
So glad someone beat me over the head about giving my husband the benefit of the doubt early on in our marriage. He’s one of
Survey: Best Advice for First Year Newlyweds
April 8, 2013
5 Comments
In 50 words or so, tell us the best relationship advice you received in your first year of marriage.
A Sweet Love Story – Two thumbs up!
April 5, 2013
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Wow! Just gotta smile at a great love story.
Seriously . . . Don’t Let This Happen to You
April 2, 2013
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For all the lovesick out there, you just have to check out these strange, but true articles! Newlywed Files for Divorce After Husband Brings Mother on
Do You Ever Wonder . . .?
March 28, 2013
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Do you ever wonder what Job’s wife might have said if she knew how Job got on Satan’s radar to begin with? Do you ever
How to Fuel the Budding Writer or Illustrator in Your Child
November 30, 2012
2 Comments
Write a simple story for your child and have him or her illustrate it . . . Or have your child make up a story that
No Excuses
October 31, 2012
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No history, no in-laws, no ex’s, no secrets, and STILL Adam and Eve managed to struggle with the same relationship pitfalls we do–especially in the areas
What I’d Love to Ask Eve
October 16, 2012
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Adam’s silence when he was offered fruit from the only tree whose fruit he couldn’t eat really irks me. Did Adam at least scratch his head
Mr. Wonderful
October 4, 2012
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Ever been told something so devastating you wanted to slip through a keyhole and disappear? Check this out: http://www.inspireafire.com/mr-wonderful/
Backs in Search of Bones
July 29, 2012
1 Comment
This past week at Teen Leadership Conference, high schoolers were asked to write about significant events . . .
The Face I’ve Earned
July 27, 2012
3 Comments
My husband and I laughed our bottoms off one night as we watched a commercial advertising the services of a local plastic surgeon.
Community (Prodigal Pilates, Part 5)
June 30, 2012
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My friends and I have finished reading and discussing The Prodigal God, and it has taken a little while to digest it all…Here’s what I
What Grace Looks Like (Prodigal Pilates, Part 4)
April 24, 2012
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It looks like the bishop scene in the movie version of Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables (Columbia/TriStar Pictures, 1998). The bishop in that scene demonstrates what Christ,
Considering Culture (Prodigal Pilates, Part 3)
April 13, 2012
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I just realized the elder brother in the parable of the prodigal sonS is an even bigger jerk than I thought a week ago. Notice how
What’s So Good About Friday? (Prodigal Pilates, Part 2)
April 6, 2012
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Good Friday. Besides the redemptive act of the just dying for the unjust (that is, Jesus Christ dying for YOU and ME), there is something that
The Prodigal God Pilates
April 1, 2012
1 Comment
This spring some friends and I are stretching ourselves through the parable of the prodigal son (or more correctly, the parable of the two lost sons) as
The Sneetches on the Beaches and the Snobs in the Pews
March 28, 2012
1 Comment
Is it me, or are these two groups one in the same? Here’s a quote:
Has God Ever Done Anything Strange To Catch Your Attention?
March 20, 2012
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One day while I sped across town to meet one of three or four girls I mentored, I felt a sudden, overwhelming, almost debilitating exhaustion. The thought of going home, crawling in bed, and
What Do You Know About God that He Has Never Told You in His Word?
March 12, 2012
3 Comments
In our first six months of marriage my husband never actually told me he hated it when I spent so much time getting our place together to host someone that