Blog Archives

Dec 22, 2019 08:00am

Surviving the Most Wonderful Time of the Year when You’re Grieving

by Lifeword Executive Director Donny Parrish Christmas can be the worst.  That doesn’t sound very religious coming from a guy […]

1644 Views
Dec 19, 2019 08:00am

The Battle of Self Worth in a Performance-Based Culture

I love to please people. I work hard to achieve things- stupid, meaningless things or accomplishments that I think people […]

1216 Views
Dec 18, 2019 14:30pm

Just a Baby

I know it sounds wrong to say but Christmas really is a strange time of year in some ways. For […]

1344 Views
Dec 17, 2019 08:00am

What Does “Home for the Holidays” Really Mean?

During the holiday season, we always hear about going home or other family members coming home. It got me thinking […]

1448 Views
Dec 11, 2019 08:00am

Five Ways to Cope With the Holidays When You’ve Lost a Loved One

Christmas is hard. Once you’ve lost someone you love, it’s bittersweet at best and terribly painful at worst. It’s a […]

1268 Views
Dec 03, 2019 08:00am

“Prone to Wander, Lord, I Feel it”

In 1757 Robert Robinson, a self-proclaimed “wanderer,” wrote the penitent words of a poem we know today as the hymn […]

1756 Views
Nov 30, 2019 08:00am

If You Want a Life of Victory, Fix Your Focus

One of my good friends, Alejandro, will sometimes text me out of the blue to just see how life is. […]

1934 Views
Nov 29, 2019 08:00am

When You’re Disappointed With God

Philip Yancey in his book, Disappointment with God, tells of a letter he received from a woman who was struggling with […]

1404 Views
Nov 27, 2019 08:00am

Is it Happiness You’re After? Or is it Joy?

As I stare at my bag of double chocolate donuts, I ponder the question, where does happiness come from? I […]

1559 Views
Nov 25, 2019 08:00am

When Your “House” is on Fire

I have always struggled with my tongue. From arguing to sarcasm to sharp, cutting words. I have memorized and meditated […]

1525 Views
Nov 22, 2019 08:00am

The Secret to Keeping Friends

Friendships are often fickle. What’s the secret to keeping friends? I got a story for ya: On an epic day […]

1006 Views
Nov 19, 2019 08:00am

What Should I Say to Fear?

Peanuts characters Linus and Charlie Brown were discussing how to deal with the difficulties of life. Linus tells Charlie Brown […]

1267 Views
Nov 18, 2019 08:00am

Does Jesus Want Me to Be Happy?

Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mount, gave us a pathway to happiness called the beatitudes. God blesses those who are […]

1172 Views
Nov 16, 2019 08:00am

Happiness Depends on Whose You Are

“Happiness is in the eye of the beholder.” Have you heard that phrase? Usually with “Beauty” instead of “Happiness”? Sure, […]

1374 Views
Nov 12, 2019 08:00am

Five Ways to Prepare for a Bear Attack

Are you prepared for a bear attack? Our family recently took a vacation to the picturesque Grand Teton Mountains. The […]

1332 Views
Nov 09, 2019 08:00am

People Are Not Your Enemy

People are not the real enemies. Paul made that clear when he said, “For our struggle is not against flesh […]

4241 Views
Nov 08, 2019 08:00am

Ten Reasons I’m Happy and How You Can Get There

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with […]

878 Views
Nov 07, 2019 08:00am

Twenty Seconds

There are only a handful of times in my life I have thought, “I could die in the next few […]

1033 Views
Nov 04, 2019 08:00am

Are You Spiritually Dehydrated?

Sometimes life can be completely and utterly exhausting. I’m talking stress from work, family, or money issues to being mentally […]

1444 Views
Nov 02, 2019 08:00am

Mike and Laura Beth: From Brokenness to Mending by the Potter

Mike: Sin and Brokenness “…Looking back,  I see there was no actual desire to pursue the things of God…  Nonetheless, […]

1638 Views
Oct 30, 2019 08:00am

One Thousand Little Compromises

OUR PRIVATE CHOICES AFFECT EVERYONE WE KNOW Every moral decision that we make is like a brick in a wall […]

1423 Views
Oct 29, 2019 08:00am

When You’ve Lost All Hope

The solution to keeping your heart ablaze with hope is redirecting your eyes to Christ.  When your eyes remain fixed […]

1457 Views
Oct 17, 2019 08:00am

Six Ways, Single Mom, to Embrace Your Story

We’ve all done it. Stayed up late folding laundry or baking cookies or otherwise serving our kids.   We’ve also not done it. We’ve been […]

1306 Views
Oct 14, 2019 08:00am

11 Depression Dos and Don’ts

It’s a subject no one really wants to talk about. We whisper about it. We know it exists, but no […]

1494 Views
Oct 13, 2019 08:00am

Football: The Struggle and the Victory

In school you are taught that there are four seasons in every year. However, for the Swart household, there are […]

907 Views
Oct 09, 2019 08:00am

The Weirdo, The Fear and The Church

Be weird. Be random. Be who you are. Because you never know who would love the person you hide. ~ […]

1354 Views
Oct 08, 2019 08:00am

Sports, Competition and Four Rules on Perspective

It was probably there inside me just waiting to get out, something about myself I didn’t know was possible. When […]

1009 Views
Oct 07, 2019 08:00am

Why Your Kid is Obsessed With Video Games

Video games offer a world for your kids where they are the ones with power. The lure is easy to […]

1294 Views
Oct 02, 2019 08:00am

What Can Chickens and Scary Moms Teach Us About Jesus?

If you’ve done much reading through the Gospels, you know that Jesus has a long history of picking the most […]

1338 Views
Sep 28, 2019 08:00am

“You Heard Her”: The Power of a Praying Mom

I recently wrote that Augustine, though raised by his Christian mother to love Jesus, was not a Christian for a […]

2867 Views
Sep 27, 2019 08:00am

Augustine: Pride, Sex and the Power of Jesus

Through my seminary studies, I recently read about the conversion of Augustine, one of the giants of Christian leadership and thought […]

1534 Views
Sep 26, 2019 08:00am

The Question Is NOT, “When Do Boys Become Men?

Shaping our boys is a daunting challenge. It’s one that lies heavy on every parent’s heart. I know it burdens […]

1111 Views
Sep 22, 2019 08:00am

Jesus and Racism

Last year two black men were arrested in a Philadelphia Starbucks after the white manager contacted police. When a video […]

1364 Views
Sep 20, 2019 08:00am

The Gospel is Your Redo Button

Have you ever wished for a “Redo” button? Have you ever had a day that started off so completely on […]

3915 Views
Sep 19, 2019 08:00am

Want to Feel Full? Pray This Prayer.

Around 9:00 every night, my dog Duke stares longingly up at the cabinet above my husband’s recliner. He knows exactly […]

1286 Views
Sep 18, 2019 08:00am

Getting Rid of FOMO

FOMO (the fear of missing out) ain’t dead is it? Like, here I am age 28 and I still scroll […]

1541 Views
Sep 16, 2019 08:00am

11 UNHEALTHY Ways to Disciple Gen Z

In some ways, discipling Gen Z (those born anywhere from 1999-2015) is no different from any other generation preceding it. […]

1201 Views
Sep 14, 2019 08:00am

Reflecting Our Owners’ Character

In an article in the New Yorkermagazine, author Malcolm Gladwell writes that vicious dogs are often not inherently vicious, but are […]

1270 Views
Sep 12, 2019 08:00am

Divorce: Beauty From Ashes

Divorce.  In American society, it has become the norm. In fact, the United States has the sixth highest divorce rate […]

2244 Views
Sep 11, 2019 08:00am

Living When You Feel Like Dying

It was one year ago today that my baby girl stepped out of this world and into eternity. “For to […]

1537 Views
Sep 09, 2019 17:00pm

Purpose in Pain

Divorce.  It’s an ugly word, isn’t it?  And yet in American society, it has become the norm. In fact, the […]

1340 Views
Sep 09, 2019 08:00am

Doubts Come Like a Thief in the Night

In 1972 the rapture movie A Thief in the Night was released, but I didn’t see it in a theater. I saw […]

1438 Views
Sep 08, 2019 08:00am

What is the Purpose of Life?

The Bible Confirms Our Struggle The author of Ecclesiastes says that life is “meaningless” almost forty times over the twelve […]

1217 Views
Sep 06, 2019 17:00pm

Don’t Put God in a Box

On March 3, 2003 (3/3/3), my cousin Kevin and his wife Beth became parents for the first time when their […]

1447 Views
Sep 05, 2019 17:00pm

Movie Review: Overcomer

Overcomer is a feel-good, faith-based movie that challenges you to think about your true identity.  In the aptly named Christian […]

2346 Views
Sep 04, 2019 17:00pm

Forgiving Like God Does

Have you ever watched a reality TV show where they are all trying to live together in a house or […]

1504 Views
Sep 04, 2019 08:00am

Dr. King, the Cross and Unity

by Brandon Cox Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. has been an inspiration to me for a number of years because […]

1183 Views
Sep 03, 2019 08:00am

Satan’s Four Favorite Tactics

Satan has been sowing seeds of deceit in my family. This is not surprising or unique because Satan is a […]

4891 Views
Sep 01, 2019 08:00am

God’s Answer to the Problem of Loneliness

In Genesis chapter one, the Bible describes the creation of the world. As God paused to contemplate His work at […]

3535 Views
Aug 31, 2019 08:00am

Giving God Control

 The day my oldest daughter gave birth is a day forever imprinted in my memory. Since he was the first […]

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