As I prayed and pondered the beautiful life growing in my daughter’s womb so much began to well up in me! So many things I wanted to share about my Abba and his care for her! So I began to write Letters From Papa. The nurture and love of both of our parents set the…
How audacious to claim, “I have life without lack because the Lord is my shepherd.” That’s the point of Psalm 23 according to Dallas Willard in his new book Life Without Lack. But I feel many examples of lack in my life and so do you. Is the poet and singer of Psalm 23 living…
Recently, a friend secretly prayed to God as his Mother. “My church wouldn’t understand,” he lamented. What do you think? Is it important to view God as Father? Do you appreciate femininity in God? Would you ever pray to God as “heavenly Mother”? My Ph.D. dissertation was on our image of God. I interviewed hundreds…
The nurse hit a nerve in my hand! I screamed in pain and now my hand is withered. Will I view God by my bad circumstances or my circumstances by God’s love? I went to the cross of Christ.
As a girl I dreamed of being in ministry for Jesus with my husband one day. I had really admired the pastor and his wife at the church I grew up in. Also I saw my parents teach Sunday school together and I met other ministry couples that inspired me by the way that they…
Sometimes the Christian life feels like a “dogged, religious plod” rather than a “living, spirited dance!” (1 Thessalonians 4:1-2, MSG). What’s gone wrong? Dallas Willard answers, “You need to arrange your life for deep contentment, confidence and joy in everyday life with God. This requires a great a vision of God.” (Shared by John Ortberg…
If God seems angry and unkind you may need to re-map your brain through loving relational engagements that improve your self-image. Scientific research shows that our gut-level beliefs about God change our brain circuits. When we worship the true God with our hearts it activates brain pathways and turns on higher brain regions that help…
I thought I really trusted God’s goodness and love. I could tell you God was loving and good, I could even teach a Bible study on it. But God wanted to grow me and so he showed me the true state of my soul, that actually I didn’t fully trust in his goodness and love.…
Much of my life I (Kristi) have struggled to Trust God fully. I’d read verses like Psalm 91:10, “No harm will befall you” and I’d think about the suffering in our world and in my life and conclude, “Those are nice words but they don’t seem to be always true.” Nine years ago I was really…
Your image of God is the most important aspect of your psychological makeup. Probably, like most people, you’ve picked up some damaging distortions in your heartfelt understanding of God. This especially happens when we experience emotional wounds or deficits in childhood and then project these onto God. We need the Word of God to wash…