Heart Matters Blog

I was feeling pretty blue. As I maneuvered my car on the winding road with the wind blowing leaves all around, the tears trickled out. I knew the country I had grown up in and loved was in a very bad place. I said out loud, "God, will you fight for us? That's the question. Because maybe you're sick of us, and it's time we get what we deserve. I wouldn't blame you at all. Wickedness keeps increasing, and we the church have let it. We have not been the shining lights you called us to be." Immediately the song came through the radio, "You're the God who fights for me, Lord of every victory, Hallelujah, Hallelujah. You have torn apart the sea, You have led me through the deep, Hallelujah, Hallelujah…" (Egypt, Bethel Music & Corey Asbury) My sadness turned to peace and joy as the creator of...

My dog Tasha loved to go for walks. Well, we had to call them "W's." If the word WALK got mentioned prematurely, she would start yelping and spinning in circles. But the truth is, I loved going for walks just as much as she did. A walk around the neighborhood was a wonderful opportunity to breathe in the fresh air and scope out the various flower gardens along the way. But, sometimes when Tasha and I would saunter along, I would get so preoccupied looking around me that I'd forget to keep my eyes on the path. As you well know, every now and again you will come upon a spot in a sidewalk that has either sunken down a bit or has risen up slightly. If I wasn't paying attention, I could find myself tripping, twisting an ankle, or worse yet, sprawled out in an embarrassing heap. Someti...

Some of you say, "Today or tomorrow we will go… we will stay… we will do…"But you do not know what will happen tomorrow! Your life is like a mist.You can see it for a short time, but then it goes away. So instead you should say, "If the Lord wants, we will live and do this or that." James 4:13-17 [New Century Version] Most folks in the 21st century live by their daily, monthly, and yearly planners. I admit that even before my new calendar goes up on the wall each January, I have already penciled in plans as far out as October! We funny little humans seem to schedule ourselves into oblivion, running from one thing to the next. Yet, we rarely stop to think about the fact that all of our best-laid plans could come screeching to a halt in a blink of an eye. Sadly, when those roadblocks eventua...

The biblical festivals written out in detail in books like Exodus and Leviticus are full of invitation to embody God's eternal calendar in real time here on earth. Each festival offers the individual, and the faith community as a whole, the opportunity to leave slavery, celebrate revelations, and receive the shalom of being fully seen, loved and covered by their creator. Each festival is a learning environment encouraging the student to live more wholly (and holy) and with a sense of the original purpose of God's Kingdom on earth; which leads me to telling you we are in the festival season of Sukkot, or you may know it as, the Festival of Booths. The festival of Sukkot is marked by Jewish families setting up little tent like structures in their gardens or on their balconies and decorating ...

"My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; he is mine forever." Psalm 73:26 My dear friend, Julie, and founder of this site is living out this verse. Diagnosed with a severe health prognosis, she continues to exhibit peace and joy. She chooses to focus on the beauty of nature around her and share it with others in her amazing photos. God remains the strength of her heart. How does she do it? I don't have all the answers, but I believe I know some of the pieces of the mosaic, having known her for many years. First, she has spent years walking with God. She has been faithful in loving him and walking out his guidelines for right living and loving others. She has walked with God faithfully through the good and the hard soil. She knows who ...