by Dineen Miller
The Battle We Can’t See
If you’re like me, you most likely get pulled in multiple directions on a daily basis. Interruptions abound and your self-identity is as apparent and flittering as the steam on the bathroom mirror. And that’s if you even got a shower that day. You’re a mother, a wife, someone’s assistant-boss-you fill in the blank, the…
The Most Dangerous Prayer
It’s birthed in the deepest recesses of our hearts, then moves with our silent yearnings to the hidden places in our thoughts. We dare to think it, until we finally submit and give words to this most dangerous prayer. “Lord, do whatever it takes to bring my husband/wife to Christ.” Among the unequally yoked there…
A Fine Linen Belt
In Jeremiah 13, God tells Jeremiah to purchase a linen belt and tie it around his waist. Jeremiah does as God instructs him. Then God speaks a second time, telling Jeremiah to bury the belt in a crevice. Many days later, Jeremiah unearths the belt at God’s direction and finds it ruined and completely useless.…
How Did We Get Here?
It’s the question we all dance around. The one we sometimes want to ask but don’t. The one we dread being asked. The one we know the person’s dying to ask us when we tell them why our spouse doesn’t share our faith. “Did you know he wasn’t a Christian when you married him?” (I…
The Devil and the Angel
I screwed up again. And amazingly, I felt entitled to. (Insert yucky “ew” sound here, please.) So here’s how it played out. Months ago I agreed to let go of our cleaning service, because we had to cut costs. Now if you’re a busy mom (If? Yeah, I heard that snicker.), sometimes that can be…
The Marks of Marriage
Time again, I run across some interesting patterns in marriage. Just recently I spoke to a woman whose marriage suddenly ended after 14 years to her surprise. My heart broke for her and my alert bells went off as I found another piece to the pattern. I’m not an expert, but I put my observations…
Piece by Piece
Usually when I write a post, I find a picture after the fact to suit what I’ve written. But this time the picture came first. I love this image because it speaks of how we give away pieces of our heart, how we can walk around with gaps and holes (sometimes literally!) in our hearts,…
The Great Hope Maker
Two weeks ago, I posted about enduring hope. At the end of the article, I included this verse as part of a prayer. “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Romans…
Hope That Endures
How do we keep hoping when everything we see tells us there is no hope? The very definition of faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see (Hebrew 11:1). But how do we apply that to situations that leave us hope-less? So often I see the…
To Know and Be Known
As I wrote down my prayer, the ache in my heart formed into these five words, “to know and be known.” Baffled by its meaning, yet fearful of the ramifications, I realized in that moment this was my dream. To know and be known. Several days later as I read one of my devotional booklets,…