Latest Posts

When You Are Tested on the Very Truth You Declare, Part Two

To read Part One of When You Are Tested on the Very Truth You Declare, click here.  Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.Luke 22:31-32 There is a time in the walk of discipleship when we are tested on the very truth we declare, the promises that liberated us. The… Read More

When You Are Tested on the Very Truth You Declare, Part One

Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.Luke 22:31-32 When we are tested on the very truth we declare, we really should not be surprised, but we often are. I wasn’t thinking about this on the day I met Hamida. She had traveled for days from the desert to reach our… Read More

Save Your Photos Day: When Shame Blots You Out of the Picture

thanks, Edie Look towards him and shine with joy; no longer hang your heads in shame.Psalm 34:5, New English Bible Hello, readers. I am breaking tradition today and sending you this post a day early. According to the National Day Calendar, today is Save Your Photos Day. In a recent conversation with a friend, I was reminded of the power of shame to blot out our faces, to erase the photos where we once smiled… Read More

The God Who Fulfills Promises With His Own Hand

O Lord, God of Israel, there is no God like you, in heaven or on earth, keeping covenant and showing steadfast love to your servants who walk before you with all their heart…You spoke with your mouth, and with your hand have fulfilled it this day. Now therefore, O Lord, keep… what you have promised to him saying, “You shall not lack…” (2 Chronicles 6:14-16). I am thinking deeply these days about how my Father… Read More

When Shame Stops You from Telling Your Story

for Susan Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story—those he redeemed from the hand of the foe (Psalm 107:2). “You stopped before telling me the story. Go back and tell me the story!” Her request rang against the slap, slap, slap of our footsteps on the pavement as we ran in the early morning sunlight. My friend Susan had been listening intently as I shared a painful betrayal, a celebration stopped short by… Read More

Join My Book Launch Team!

My upcoming book, Covered Glory: The Face of Honor and Shame in the Muslim World, releases August 20, 2019 (Harvest House Publishers), and you are invited to join my launch team! What is a launch team? Edie Melson, my stellar writing mentor, says, “A street team—also called a launch team, dream team, tribe, posse, road crew, etc.—is a group of readers passionate about your book. These are people who believe in what you've written and… Read More

Instead of Uncertainty, Security

During the month of June, I will be writing a series of devotionals based on my upcoming book, Covered Glory: The Face of Honor and Shame in the Muslim World, published by Harvest House Publishers August 2019. My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand (John 10:27-28). Eager to hear the… Read More

Instead of Abandoned, Treasured

During the month of June, I will be writing a series of devotionals based on my upcoming book, Covered Glory: The Face of Honor and Shame in the Muslim World, published by Harvest House Publishers August 2019. You will no longer be called, “Abandoned”…Indeed, you will be called “My Delight is in Her”…For the Lord will take delight in you…As a bridegroom rejoices over a bride, so your God will rejoice over you (Isaiah 62:4-5,… Read More

Instead of Broken, Healed

During the month of June, I will be writing a series of devotionals based on my upcoming book, Covered Glory: The Face of Honor and Shame in the Muslim World, published by Harvest House Publishers August 2019. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed (Isaiah 53:5). Her eyes shone gratefully as we handed… Read More

Instead of Hidden, Seen

During the month of June, I will be writing a series of devotionals based on my upcoming book, Covered Glory: The Face of Honor and Shame in the Muslim World, published by Harvest House Publishers August 2019. You have searched me, Lord, and you know me (Psalm 139:1). “I know God sees me. Can you help me?”  Jameelah sat before me, her brilliant blue scarf pulled aside to reveal a face the image of a… Read More