3. Jesus has suffered as we have…and more. If you’d said this to me during the darkest of my wilderness days, I would have probably gotten very cranky. Sometimes it feels like Jesus is that perfect older brother who does everything right and, more importantly, never does anything wrong. When we lean into that bitter […]
The past two weeks we’ve found comfort, inspiration, and hope in passages from Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings that parallel powerful, relevant Scriptural truths for those of us in chronic illness. Some of these scenes–and many of these truths–impacted me so deeply they turned into words of their own. I’d like to share with you […]
Last week we looked at four encouraging themes from Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings that parallel Scripture truths for us in our valley of chronic illness. This week we look at the last four: 5. Our needs will be met along the way All now seemed dry and silent; but refusing to despair Sam stooped […]
I just finished re-reading The Lord of the Rings again. Each time I read this masterpiece I gain a new layer of appreciation for the story, the writing, the characters, the themes, and the language. While all those things impacted and inspired me afresh this time around, I also found a new connection with Frodo […]
The God Who Moves the Mountains Even though I was settled in my decision to move to Colorado, I wanted to visit again–to see the area as a prospective home and not just a nice place to visit–before I made things Official. So when Erin drove out at the end of February with as much […]
Happy New Year? “I look at 2022 and I see a black hole.” “There’s not much else that I want right now, and I hesitate to make plans or even to have big desires because 1) it takes energy to have and maintain big desires and 2) it’s really hard when they aren’t met, and […]
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 […]
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. […]
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 […]
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 […]
The Valley