I wish I could claim a super-cool-wife award in this story and say that I was nothing but enthusiastic about Justin's adventure . . . but unfortunately I can't. Continue Reading …
Resources by Topic: Hope & Encouragement
Jani is reminded that "I can't" is relative. Be encouraged that you CAN do all things through Christ who strengthens you. Continue Reading …
Is your ministry to others a success? Here are three terrible ways to measure that. Continue Reading …
Here are three Trojan horses that are attacking the depth and quality of our relationships, leaving many of us disconnected in a connected world. Continue Reading …
Bob Lepine is ready to vote. He's made his choice. Read about his hope for the next four years. Continue Reading …
Grasp God's love in a whole new way as you study one of the most misunderstood and neglected books of the Bible. Continue Reading …
What does a three-year-old playing soccer have in common with the process of becoming more like Christ? Continue Reading …
It was in the wake of an adoption gone wrong that I first found it. I dug into the Scriptures looking for hope while my world seemed to spin uncontrollably. Continue Reading …
Nancy Leigh DeMoss kicks off the 2012 True Woman theme, Seeking Him Together, with a transparent confession about what can distract her from seeking the Lord. Continue Reading …
In times of weariness, far too often I'm so busy being busy that I fail to stop and reflect upon the One who supplies His children with strength. Continue Reading …
Are you angry at God? Or just down in the dumps? If so, Joni's words are for you! Plus, a couple of faith-boosting stories from Nancy. Continue Reading …
Some of us have worn our labels so long, they seem stitched into the fiber of our being. Sometimes we even "like" our labels, because they're comfortable. Continue Reading …
Isn't everything in this world fading? Only satisfying for a moment? I never realized I had so much in common with the woman at the well. Continue Reading …
Hey, you. Yes, you. I mean no disrespect. You are, after all, my sisters in Christ. But I'm just going to say it . . . Those frowns are not becoming. Continue Reading …
How can you be desperate for God when all you're desperate for is a little peace and quiet? Continue Reading …
Are you surrounded by overnight sensations while you seem to be going nowhere? If so, this post is for you. Continue Reading …
I hear a common complaint about the world of Facebook. It goes something like this: "On Facebook people make their lives look perfect." Continue Reading …
When my husband and I were hiking a few years ago, we started out on a clearly marked mountain trail. But the further we went, the fewer trail markers we saw. Continue Reading …
Most women are confronted with a battle. They shift . . . from valuing Christ-centered loyalty and commitment to jumping over the next high bar in life. Continue Reading …
The medical term for it is seasonal affective disorder. I call it a plain ole funk and it happens to me every year about this time. Continue Reading …
Here are five more ways you can live out God's Truth in 2014. Continue Reading …
Will you stop blaming your past failures and turn a new page on future victories? Continue Reading …
What is it about a new year that makes us all want to call for a massive "do over"? Continue Reading …
Like Peter, Christ doesn't see you as who you are today, but as who you will be! Continue Reading …
Are you letting others determine your worth? Great news for you here if so, as well as a chance to win Nancy's new devotional. Continue Reading …
Dannah Gresh's TED Talk releases today, Leslie opens up about her two death penalties, WORLD's Marvin Olasky interviews Rosaria Butterfield . . . Continue Reading …
God knows I have many, many questions. I long for Him. I want to follow Him. But, if I am honest, I also want life to be stable, predictable, and easy. Continue Reading …
God isn't opposed to desire or pleasure. He created us with a huge capacity for both. For most of us, the problem with our desires is that they are too small. Too ordinary. Too halfhearted. Continue Reading …
My family, too. Here's what is changing things. Continue Reading …
My husband announced he was planning a surprise for my birthday...Nothing could prepare me for how I felt when we pulled into the parking lot of Cracker Barrel! Continue Reading …
What little Isaiah Daniel Ortlund can teach us about our forever home . . . Continue Reading …
Do you feel like your life is on hold, like you've been forgotten, like nothing exciting ever happens to you? Think again. Today is simply the time God is preparing you for. Continue Reading …
Is there something in your life that feels insurmountable? Do you feel abandoned and alone? Take heart, and pay extra close attention to how weakness won a war. Continue Reading …
We had been sitting on the tarmac for forty-five minutes when the pilot's voiced pierced our collective silence with these words . . . Continue Reading …
My forty-two-year-old single friend never thought her miracle would come driving in a white suburban filled with children who would change her life. Continue Reading …
It humbles me -- when I consider these men and women who smiled at a death that held no power over them and who longed for the Messiah from afar. Continue Reading …
Too often we go through life half-numb to spiritual realities. If you struggle to find a vibrant, transforming relationship with God, this is for you. Continue Reading …
". . . Her departure ushered in a season of loneliness that I hadn’t experienced since my college years." Continue Reading …
Their raw, fragile emotions raged as they waited all Sabbath long before bringing spices to His tomb. When they finally arrived, His body was missing! Continue Reading …
When you want big things in your life and you want them NOW. Continue Reading …
If you live with anyone for too long, sin patterns and bothersome traits will quickly emerge. And marriage is no exception. Continue Reading …
Is it humanly possible to truly love someone who has hurt you? Continue Reading …
Just exactly how much ME time do I need before it becomes selfish and self-indulgent? Continue Reading …
I have all the telltale signs of a hormonal overload. My emotions seem to have stamped their ticket for a roller coaster ride where there are no exits. Continue Reading …
If the news about my biopsy had been different, if it had been cancer, if it had been a life-threatening report . . . would I have reacted differently? Continue Reading …
Do you push yourself harder and harder until you become so spiritually, emotionally, and physically exhausted that you feel like you have nothing left to give? Continue Reading …
There are times as a pastor's wife when I feel overwhelmed and incapable all at once. Maybe you know the feeling . . . Continue Reading …
It’s not that I’m surprised by my “little strength and ability.” In fact, daily those truths flash like a neon sign in my mind. What’s surprising is that the Lord doesn’t see them as hindrances. Continue Reading …
You would've laughed if you’d seen me—skis and poles flying every which way, kids hurrying out of my way, grown men shouting over their shoulder, “You okay?" Continue Reading …
We can all feel overwhelmed by our circumstances. Even when the things we are facing are good things, we can get anxious. Continue Reading …
This hilarious and insightful conversation will remind you to focus, not on what was or even on what is, but on what will be. Continue Reading …
I'd rather be paid in praise over a paycheck any day. Can you relate, or am I the only high-maintenance girl who loves to have her work noticed and applauded? Continue Reading …
For the next month on the blog, we'll be opening curtains and flipping on lights so you can see into homes and lives of those you've never met. Continue Reading …
Nancy and the Revive Our Hearts team give us a sneak peek into how God is personally working in their lives at the start of 2014. Continue Reading …
Nagging and whining won't solve your problems. They may help you get your way in an immediate sense, but they will not win victories for the Kingdom of God. Continue Reading …
Prepare to laugh with us at what Nancy's elementary teachers wrote on her report cards, and then tear up as Nancy recounts the faithfulness of the Lord. Continue Reading …
Do you ever doubt that God will answer your prayers? Lina did . . . until He answered. Continue Reading …
Four-year-old Lizzie feels certain God will enter sympathetically into her world, her pain. How about you? Continue Reading …
The wondrous acts of God are not limited to by-gone days. Our minds cannot fathom all that He is able to do in and through the lives of those who trust Him! Continue Reading …
Not much gets in the way of my Thursday night routine. After over a year, I've grown to look forward to this night of the week almost more than any other. Continue Reading …
Is pregnancy a good enough reason to not be self-controlled? Continue Reading …
You took the dare to change. You were sure about it. You were excited about it. Then you left the crowd and went home to a house that felt big, quiet, and empty. Continue Reading …
If the women in your life were to describe the effect and power of your words, what would they say? Continue Reading …
In the privacy of the bathroom stall, Jane burst into tears. She wept and wept, wondering why her emotions were so strong. Continue Reading …
You are my gracious, all-knowing, all-wise, all-powerful Master and Savior. So why do I . . . Continue Reading …
Lindsay shares a lesson she learned after the Olympic spoiler alert she received about the Fabulous Five. Continue Reading …
The tradition of vowing to change at the start of the New Year can be an exercise in disappointment. Maybe that's because I'm focusing on the wrong things. Continue Reading …
The lit tree and carols playing softly couldn’t hide the tension in our relationship. We couldn’t seem to communicate without some level of misunderstanding. Continue Reading …
Why do you do what you do? Continue Reading …
Do you feel like the entire world has forgotten you while you toil away for the Lord? That nobody cares, not even God? Continue Reading …
Elizabeth’s cold barrenness and years of humiliation melted like snow under warming sun as she praised God’s unexpected work in her life. Continue Reading …
Do some women just have a 'super-human' spiritual gene? Continue Reading …
I hate waiting. We all do. Waiting for God to move can feel especially uncomfortable. When I've prayed and do not yet see God's hand at work, I tend to get squirmy. Did He hear me? Continue Reading …
Do you ever feel paralyzed? Not physically, but emotionally. I call it "hitting the wall," and here's what I find helpful when that happens. Continue Reading …
We see our failure and sin, and the brimming optimism of a new year suddenly seems utterly cliche. We long to change, but we know we're likely to fail again. Continue Reading …
The Christian life is a race like no other. Do you need an energy boost to keep on running? Continue Reading …
I enjoy music, but sometimes I just forget to incorporate it into my day. It's like I need to write a note on my calendar each day that says, "Play music!" Continue Reading …
I, too, have experienced the heartache that can come from choosing to love. Continue Reading …
You have a picture of her in your head, the godly woman you'd like to be. But we don't become her overnight. What it takes is one-moment-at-a-time growth. Continue Reading …
Young mother, if you're tired, if you're discouraged, if the days stretch long and the nights pass with little rest, here are some truths to remember. Continue Reading …
With so many opinions swirling around, it can be tough to know who's right and who's wrong. Overwhelmed with information? You need a "Cinderella's Castle." Continue Reading …
Have you ever hit a dry place in your walk with Christ? Or maybe you’re too low to even voice a prayer. Maybe you're in the Valley of Baca. Continue Reading …
It's really a story about God and how He delights to use one ordinary woman to reach her family, church, country, and the world. Continue Reading …
I wish you could’ve joined me. Every August our staff gets together for one week to re-focus on Jesus before we launch into a new year of ministry. Continue Reading …
Exactly two weeks before her due date and two days before we were planning to travel for Christmas, my daughter called to tell me early labor had begun! Continue Reading …
This week's Supreme Court decisions on DOMA and Prop 8 are much on my heart, as I'm sure they are on yours. Continue Reading …
It’s not every day a girl like me gets to meet a woman like Enkelejda Kumaraku . . . Continue Reading …
How do you respond under stress? Whenever we face those "I can't handle it!" moments, looking to the right source for strength can turn everything around. Continue Reading …
Do you have FOMO? Learn about this new term coined for our ever-connected digital age and what to do about it. Continue Reading …
While He may not immediately give us the answers we’re longing for, He is far from absent when His children call upon His name. Continue Reading …
Do you feel stuck in a place where growth seems impossible? Take heart. God springs up beauty in the most unlikely places. Continue Reading …
When I let my emotions control me instead of me controlling my emotions, I open myself up to enemy attack. Continue Reading …
TIME magazine dared to ask a question we are all asking ourselves, "Am I mom enough? Do I have what it takes to mother well?" Continue Reading …
Waiting means trusting God with the parts of our lives that are in a season He has ordained to remain "not yet." But we're impatient, aren't we? Continue Reading …
Do you ever feel like you're continually coming up short? Dishes in the sink. Mountains of laundry growing by the day. . . I had one of those days recently. Continue Reading …
God exists. Sometimes it just hits me as strange. Not that God exists, but that God exists and my day is full of all these ordinary things. Continue Reading …
Since I'm a God-believer and a Jesus-follower, I'm always looking for the ways God shows up in my everyday mundane. And He does show up. Continue Reading …
Perhaps you feel you have nothing to offer. Take heart, you serve One who seeks those who know they are needy. Continue Reading …
I enjoy God's beautiful creation, but I'd prefer not to sleep there, cook my food there or bathe there. So I can only imagine how the Israelites felt . . . Continue Reading …
I woke up this morning troubled by yesterday's failures . . . Continue Reading …
It’s nice to be remembered. A card on a special day, a look from a knowing friend. What does this personal attention from the God of the universe mean? Continue Reading …
Advice for navigating the blogosphere with James 1:19–20 in mind. Continue Reading …
When God is the only One who sees your sacrifices, your hard work, your faithfulness, is that enough for you? Continue Reading …
God has gifted us with a cloud of witnesses—because our own eyes are not enough. Don't let the testimony of those who have gone before us be lost on you. Continue Reading …
Christina Fox’s book, A Heart Set Free, will help you better understand and grapple with your emotions in light of the gospel. Continue Reading …
The Psalms of Lament are a rich resource for learning about our emotions. Christina Fox explains five things we learn from those psalms. Continue Reading …
It’s all too easy to let your heart grow cold toward your family. We do it in three simple steps . . . Continue Reading …
A dedicated wife and servant of Christ, Susannah Spurgeon faithfully encouraged her husband Charles in his fruitful ministry—and tirelessly poured out herself as an offering to further God’s Kingdom. Continue Reading …
Jesus doesn’t only offer to take our heavy loads and let us rest, but He also gives us the chance to learn. Continue Reading …
The road to compassion can be costly and uncomfortable, but it is the way of joy. Continue Reading …
God is pleased, because of Christ, to accept our sincere yet flawed acts of obedience to His commands. And even the smallest acts of obedience are worth celebrating. Continue Reading …
Discernment—seeing the difference between right and wrong—can be a wonderful asset to the Church, but only when it’s packaged in humility and love. Continue Reading …
It’s time to stop avoiding our sisters in Christ because they possess what we’re longing for. Continue Reading …
Spring is a season of new life and fresh beginnings, and that’s always worth celebrating! Here are five ideas for celebrating spring regardless of your season in life. Continue Reading …
Author Barnabas Piper makes a curious and compelling case for why healthy skepticism and a thirst for knowledge is a good thing—perhaps even essential. Continue Reading …
Refresh your heart with the truth in this roundup of top blog posts from 2017! Continue Reading …
Refresh your heart with the truth in this roundup of top blog posts from 2017! Continue Reading …
When motherhood feels overwhelming, instead of adding self-care to your already too long to-do list, meet with your Provider-God for soul-care sustenance. Continue Reading …
How one teenager discovered True Hope on an iPod in a sterile clinic. Continue Reading …
Our hope is an anchor we can grasp and cling to. It is real, lasting, and secure. Continue Reading …
When the soul is disregarded, it doesn’t eventually fix itself. Continue Reading …
Hope creates tension. We long for a future reality that is totally secure—but not yet accessible. Continue Reading …
Are you tired? Are you in need of rest? So were the disciples, but when they went away to rest, they got something better—a sovereign display of God’s power. Continue Reading …
How do we perpetuate resurrection joy when Easter is over? Continue Reading …
When the pressures of life threaten to drown us, hope keeps us afloat. Continue Reading …
When you are tumbling, His steadfast love is your life raft. Continue Reading …
One day, the wait will be over. Continue Reading …
Worship is a rehearsal of certain joy to come. Continue Reading …
Christ is our True Hope in an unjust world. Continue Reading …
Hope in Jesus never fails. Continue Reading …
No matter my age, my True Hope lies in Jesus. Continue Reading …
There is a source of hope that will not fail us. Continue Reading …
In exchange for despair, God offers us unfailing hope. Continue Reading …
True Hope doesn’t get put on the shelf. Continue Reading …
When the pressures of life threaten to drown us, hope keeps us afloat. Continue Reading …
When you are tumbling, His steadfast love is your life raft. Continue Reading …
One day, the wait will be over. Continue Reading …
Worship is a rehearsal of certain joy to come. Continue Reading …
Christ is our True Hope in an unjust world. Continue Reading …
Hope in Jesus never fails. Continue Reading …
No matter my age, my True Hope lies in Jesus. Continue Reading …
There is a source of hope that will not fail us. Continue Reading …
In exchange for despair, God offers us unfailing hope. Continue Reading …
True Hope doesn’t get put on the shelf. Continue Reading …
Are you running to broken cisterns when your soul is parched? Continue Reading …
Message 9: Truth About Circumstances
We no longer live in a Genesis 2 world—a perfect, sinless paradise. So how do we handle the difficult circumstances we experience in this broken world?
We no longer live in a Genesis 2 world—a perfect, sinless paradise. So how do we handle the difficult circumstances we experience in this broken world? Continue Reading
Hope for Hurting Hearts: The Ministry of Encouragement
In a world where so many people are sad, lonely, and hurting, we need practical ways to encourage one another. Continue Reading
Playing the 'If Only' Game
The enemy convinces us that the only way we can be different is if our circumstances change. The truth is they merely reveal what we are. Continue Reading
Donna Otto's Mottos
Poignant quotes to live by from Donna Otto that will make you think, and will make you a success if you will live by them! Continue Reading
One Anothers in Scripture
How does God expect us to treat each other? (Taken from Nancy's radio series "Who Needs the Church?") Continue Reading
Pathway for Contentment (Message Listener Guide)
A study outline that will help you get all you can out of Nancy's "Pathway for Contentment" message. Continue Reading
Encouraging One Another
In a world where so many people are sad, lonely, and hurting, God wants to use you to communicate His heart and minister grace to others. Continue Reading
30-Day Gratitude Challenge
Cultivate a heart of gratitude and begin your 30-day journey to joy! Continue Reading
Pathway for Contentment Answer Key
Answer key for Pathway for Contentment (Conference Message Outline). Continue Reading
Do You Need Some Conversation Peace? Ask Yourself ...
How healthy is your speech? Take this quiz to discover areas in which your words fall short of the golden standard. Continue Reading