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Spiritual Depression Wednesday Writings

Spiritual Depression: An Introduction

I’m so excited to begin a new series this week! Have you ever heard of the book Spiritual Depression: Its Causes and Cure by D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones? A friend recommended it to me last year, so I bought a copy and read my way slowly through it, marking the pages and taking additional notes. Oh […]

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Women in the Valley

Women in the Valley: Jasmine’s Story

Thank you, Jasmine, for sharing your story with us! Tell us about yourself! I’m an Aussie, and I live around 1.5 hours’ north of Sydney, New South Wales, with my husband of nearly eight years, Dave (he’s a champion!). I’m originally a clinically-trained psychologist, but right now I’m working as an author of Christian fantasy […]

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A Study in Lamentations 3 Wednesday Writings

Broken, Grieving, Hopeful, Praying: A Lamentation in Miniature

By Emily’s encouragement, here is a post and poem, inspired by Lamentations 3, that I originally published on my personal blog. As I studied the book of Lamentations–chapter 3 in particular–Charles R. Swindoll’s little book The Lamentations of Jeremiah (Swindoll, 1977) opened my eyes to the depth, beauty, and poetry of this section of Scripture. […]

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A Study in Lamentations 3 Wednesday Writings

Broken, Grieving, Hopeful, Praying: Lamentations 3 for the Chronically Ill, Part 5

Last week we looked at the last third of Lamentations 3 and some general takeaways for those of us in chronic illness: staying faithful to God and trusting in Him during a trial. This last week of our study I want to park on the big theme of the whole chapter and the book: waiting […]

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A Study in Lamentations 3 Wednesday Writings

Broken, Grieving, Hopeful, Praying: Lamentations 3 for the Chronically Ill, Part 4

Over the past three weeks, we’ve studied Jeremiah’s personal lament over Jerusalem’s destruction and Israel’s captivity, his intentional journey from hopeless to hopeful, and his humble introspection and call to repentance. This week we look at the rest of Jeremiah’s lament and some general considerations for us in chronic illness. Note: I studied this section […]

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A Study in Lamentations 3 Wednesday Writings

Broken, Grieving, Hopeful, Praying: Lamentations 3 for the Chronically Ill, Part 3

After looking at Jeremiah’s personal lament and his journey from hopeless to hopeful, both of which provide great encouragement for those of us in chronic illness, we come to a part of the chapter that continues the God-focused, hope-giving theme while introducing a more somber note of introspection. Part 3: Verses 31-42 KAPH 31 For […]

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A Study in Lamentations 3 Wednesday Writings

Broken, Grieving, Hopeful, Praying: Lamentations 3 for the Chronically Ill, Part 2

Last week we introduced Lamentations 3 and read Jeremiah’s personal lament in verses 1-18. Today we’ll see a significant shift in tone as we look at the next section of the chapter. Part 2: Verses 19-30 From 1:1 to 3:18, Jeremiah has described “hopelessness,” but verses 19-39 focus on the hope that we have in […]

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A Study in Lamentations 3 Wednesday Writings

Broken, Grieving, Hopeful, Praying: Lamentations 3 for the Chronically Ill, Part 1

Some of my friends have named Lamentations 3 as one of their go-to passages during tough times–or the regular tough days of chronic illness. I’ve always seen Lamentations as a beautiful (if not a little depressing) book, but it wasn’t until October when I read it in my devotions that this passage became that life-giving […]

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Women in the Valley

Women in the Valley: Carol’s Story

In this interview, Carol shares her story and testimony of God’s goodness and grace through her valley of chronic illness dealing with an autoimmune disorder.

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Songs on Saturday

Songs on Saturday: Don’t You Fear

Scripture tells us that, under the control of the Holy Spirit, we should be “speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord” (Ephesians 5:19). May you be encouraged by the spiritual truth in this song! Don’t You Fear words by Ben Everson You can […]