Tagged: pain

God never gives us more than we can handle. Nowhere 1:1 How enriched are they who find their strength in the Lord; within their hearts are the highways of holiness! Even when their paths wind through the dark valley of tears, they dig deep to find a pleasant pool where others find only pain. He gives to them a brook of blessing filled from the rain of an outpouring. They grow stronger and stronger with every step forward, and the God of all gods will appear before them in Zion. Psalm 84:57 She was no more than two feet tall. Wrapped in a bright orange, purple, and yellow cloth folded twice to fit her tiny frame, the little girl balanced a plastic jug on her… Read More

[caption id="attachment_3700" align="aligncenter" width="596"] For my mother-in-love, a Master Gardener who taught me the fruitful practice of hard pruning.[/caption] I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful (John 15:1-2). Well, it seems we are all going to have a holly, jolly, pruning Christmas. The Oxford Languages Dictionary defines pruning in various degrees: trim (a tree, shrub, or bush) by cutting away dead or overgrown branches or stems, especially to increase fruitfulness and growth. cut away (a branch or stem). reduce the extent of (something) by removing superfluous or unwanted parts. December is a bit… Read More

@audreycfrank Admirers eagerly pressed forward as the beautiful actress swept through the adoring crowd. “She is crushing life,” one said, eyes glowing with a dreamy mix of veneration and envy. A rumored yoga expert, clean eater, human rights activist, and size 2 waistline, this woman seemed to have everything. Even the very shoes she wore sold out online within five minutes, purchased by young girls and middle-aged women wishing to somehow capture a bit of her elegance for themselves. Everyone wanted to be like her. Not far from the undulating crowd was a rehab facility, a very specialized place where those who had suffered traumatic brain injuries were cared for in the months after release from the hospital. Nurses, doctors, and caring staff helped people… Read More

@audreycfrank I was walking on a narrow gravel road that wound its way along the edge of a high ridge overlooking a sweeping valley. I am usually nervous about heights, but I was too focused on the journey to pay attention to the butterflies in my stomach. This was long before I gazed into the majestic Rift Valley of East Africa or the breathtaking vistas of the mountains and valleys of North Africa and the Middle East. This was a dream, and in it, the colors of the earth were strikingly vivid and the air itself seemed alive. It was more real than any path I have ever hiked on earth. I was with my companions and colleagues, and we were discussing strategy with intense… Read More