Conntecting the Dots

Posts Tagged: 1 Peter

How Does a Yearly Focus Word Help Us Grow?

  A yearly focus word is a great tool to help us grow in our faith journey. One year, my word was “joy.” It reminded me to reframe the way I viewed difficulties. I learned to see them not as hindrances but as opportunities to experience God’s presence and promises in new ways. Another year,… [ read more ]

Experiencing Joy When Your Heart Aches

  Last week provided an opportunity to spend three days on the Makana with our youngest daughter and her family. I’m so grateful for that time because this week, as you read this, we’re packing up their household and moving them to northern British Columbia where our son-in-law will do his two-year family practice residency…. [ read more ]

5 Promises God Keeps and Why

In the past four days, God has reminded me several times that He always keeps His promises. The first reminder came last weekend as I researched for a First 5 assignment.   refers to Abraham believing God’s promise to make him the father of countless descendants. Humanly speaking, this was an impossibility. He and his… [ read more ]

Bad News, Good News, and Hope

I recently read an article in which an author admitted never reading reviews about her books. Her reason? One negative review could send her into a downward spiral, cause her to question her calling as a writer, and make her feel as though she had nothing of value to say. She may have received a… [ read more ]

There’s Light at the End of the Tunnel

  We’ve all heard the term “the light at the end of the tunnel.” We say it when going through a dark time in life. Circumstances may be extremely difficult but we see rays of hope ahead, and that hope keeps us going.   Jesus’s followers in the first century wouldn’t have used this term… [ read more ]

3 Truths About Humility

  God honors humility (). While we know it’s a good and necessary virtue to pursue, some folks think of it solely in terms of a quiet, passive personality. That’s inaccurate. Here are three truths to help us better understand this character quality God wishes to see in us.   Humility requires strength of character…. [ read more ]

Can God Be Trusted?

Back in the early 80s, I volunteered at a summer camp on Canada’s west coast. The program director was big on developing team camaraderie among staff. She’d selected several activities to accomplish her goal.   One activity involved staff lining up and facing each other while holding a huge blanket between them. Volunteers climbed a… [ read more ]

An Encouragement When Feeling Down

. Pam Franklin and I met at a writers’ workshop in Saskatchewan several years ago and began emailing shortly afterwards. Last summer she and her family moved to BC. It’s a real treat having Pam live only 20 minutes’ drive from my home now. Anyway, the transition hasn’t been as easy as anticipated, and Pam… [ read more ]

Love Deeply

Mother Teresa said, “It is easy to love those who are far away. It isn’t always easy to love those who are right next to us. It is easier to offer a dish of rice to satisfy the hunger of a poor person than to fill up the loneliness and suffering of someone lacking love… [ read more ]