You’ve now become acquainted with all ten characteristics of the spiritual orphan. Maybe you only related to one or two but I will tell you that this would be unusual. Many check off more than a few and some even admit to having all ten. With that realization usually comes panic. “Is this hopeless? Am […]
Comfort. An embrace when I’m crying. A listening ear when I have to talk something out. A soothing gentle ballad when my anxious heart needs to calm. A soft blanket and a cup of tea when I’ve had a hard day. All of these do something wonderful for my heart but each one is earthbound. Though they are tangible, they […]
Mollie, our golden retriever, came to us at 4 years old with a rough story. Put out in a woman’s backyard, rarely brought in and poorly fed, she was a victim of the heat, cold, and severe weather. Though we have certainly spoiled her in every possible way, she is a bottomless pit of need. […]
If I don’t know Jesus well and if I don’t see myself through the mirror of His Word, I won’t know my purpose. I won’t know my gifts. I won’t discern my role in the kingdom. The greatest tragedy is to miss knowing God, the whole purpose for which I was born. The second is to […]
Jesus said that the road to eternal life is narrow and few find it. The road to destruction is a superhighway and it is the majority who travel on it. What’s the difference between the person who chooses the narrow road over the one who stays on the expressway? The willingness to hear Jesus’ call […]
To exercise discernment, I must be willing to assess, then take whatever action is necessary. Sometimes that means moving toward someone or walking away. But if I feel desperate for love, I will feel that I can’t afford to refuse anyone who promises it. The problem is that people with an agenda appear to love […]
If I’m a spiritual orphan, I have no roadmap for knowing how to function in a relationship. How could it be otherwise? An orphan’s early life was void of relationships so knowing how to relate to others, even superficially, is absent. Here are some questions you’ve probably asked yourself. I’d love to be close […]
Have you ever faced an event for which you were unprepared? Each of us have taken a pop quiz in school without the benefit of preparation. Some children, though, are raised in homes where there is little or no instruction for life. They never know what’s coming and what the experience will be like; whether […]
Confidence, a healthy confidence, is a wonderful thing. Well loved children from stable homes usually have it unless someone on the outside has corrupted it with bullying and/or public humiliation. There are precious few who are not afraid to answer questions in a class. The rest think twice before raising their hand. Introverts really struggle […]
Orphan Profile #1 I LOOK INSIDE OTHER PEOPLE’S WINDOWS AND WISH MY LIFE WERE DIFFERENT Unhappy with our lives, we will peek into the windows of other’s lives and wish we could be part of their family. We do it as children and unless we make our home Jesus, we will do it until we […]