Tagged: love

Many are the sorrows of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the Lord. Psalm 32:10 The steadfast love of the Lord is exceptional. Unlike what we commonly call love, His love will never tire of us. Think on this. The steadfast love of the Lord will never tire of you. The love of the Lord does not grow weary. He does not know compassion fatigue. The Lord is not fatigued by those who trust Him. He will not divorce you, ghost you, cancel you, or abandon you. You cannot wear His love out with your need. [bctt tweet="The steadfast #love of the Lord surrounds those who trust Him." username="audreycfrank"] Yes, troubles may surround you. Enemies. Problems you can’t seem to… Read More

Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.  1 Peter 4:8 The cluster of purple wild asters greeted me like a bouquet held out in the hands of a child. I paused my walk home and crouched down to take a closer look. Perfectly formed, delicate petals opened to reveal small yellow centers. They were a work of art. A pleasant focus at the end of a long, sweltering workday in the high heat of summer. But as I rose to continue my journey, I noticed that clutched along the edge of the bouquet was a pile of trash. Someone had discarded used tissues on the ground, and from the look of it, the flowers had pushed the rubbish… Read More

Hello, again, dear fellow pilgrim. As we journey through the beginning of this new uncertain year, we are taking time to look at the things that are certain, the immovable, unchanging character of God. This is our second week looking long into the heart of God's hesed love. Hesed is a Hebrew word used to describe God's tender mercy, compassion, and lovingkindness. To read Part One of our study of the hesed character of God, click here. God extends His hesed invitation to every person, written in flowing script upon cultures and people groups throughout the world. Your honored presence is requested by the One who loves you with endless mercy and compassion. Come as you are. The hesed invitation transcends language and time, for… Read More

Among other things, mercy is a womb.  A mother’s womb is meant to be a safe place, a sanctuary where new life can begin. An unhurried space, a quiet shelter. A protected refuge where growth happens at exactly the right pace. A nourishing haven, marked by rhythms of rest and movement, development and health. And at the right time, from this wonderful place, birth happens and the world is changed. In Hebrew, this place is called rāham (also transliterated as rachem or rechem). Rāhem is a homonym, the same word for both womb and mercy. How interesting that one word means both womb and mercy. Womb is well understood in the English language. Mercy, on the other hand, can be a somewhat opaque concept declared… Read More

And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.Romans 5:5 There is a hope that does not put us to shame. Love, at its heart, is about hope. Hope that we might be valued enough by others to be loved by them. Without hope, there could be no love. How interesting that Romans 5:5 embeds this little gem of encouragement right in the middle of a hard passage about suffering, during a time when many hearts want to give up all hope. Paul, the writer, urges us toward a better hope, one that does not disappoint. Our world needs to know such hope right now. The… Read More

@audreycfrank Tears streamed down her face as she tried to explain between sobs what was causing her so much woe.  “Jusdhat siadillf mmmeisgah wumph!” I do not speak Sobbing Hiccup very fluently, and I truly had no idea what was making my child so upset. One minute we were driving happily down the road on a sunny afternoon, talking about Christmas. The next thing I knew she was unintelligible and crying her eyes out. Turning my rearview mirror so I could look directly at her splotchy sweet face, I implored, “Calm down, and tell me what is wrong.” “I-I-I-I’m a bad girl. I know I am on the naughty list! And now I won’t get any presents on Christmas morrrrrrnnnnning,” she wailed. I took a… Read More

disarm: take a weapon or weapons away from (a person, force, or country); remove the fuse from (a bomb), making it safe; deprive of the power to injure or hurt. (New Oxford American Dictionary) I am heavily armed at all times. My weapons are both visible and concealed, and I am careful to wear them at all times. Over time I have collected quite an arsenal. Performance is my nuclear weapon, carefully engineered to obliterate rejection and disapproval across vast distances. Coming in a close second in power is a highly dependable weapon called Control. Its accuracy can be counted on and it rarely misses its mark, unless the target moves by forces beyond my control. The next weapon might surprise you. Called Good, it… Read More