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Air Travel and (Not) Sufffering and (James 4) Monster Wants
I was so blessed to spend time this weekend with the women of The Church of the Good Shepherd in the beautiful city of Durham, North Carolina. The fellowship was sweet; their faith was such an...
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“One day, you will rarely, rarely ever feel rage, Tara.”
Last week, when a snowstorm turned a four hour flight into a seven hour adventure and I was stuck in an airport for two days away from my family, I thought about something Judy Dabler has said to me...
View ArticleOverwhelmed? Tempted to hide away? “Busy beyond the scope of your call?” OR...
Our lives are blessed. Truly. I have been chosen by God before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight, because of His Son (Eph 1). God granted me the life-changing gift of a...
View ArticleEyes Burning from Tears
It’s all too raw to go into right now—and honestly, the details might not ever be appropriate for sharing on this public blog—but today I cried harder and longer than I have in months, even counting...
View ArticleGod can and does use weak, sick, discouraged, beat-down, lonely, struggling...
I remember listening to this years ago and being blown away by what John Piper taught about the life of David Brainerd: Oh, That I May Never Loiter On My Heavenly Journey! (If you, like me, prefer to...
View Article“There was a growing disparity between the public persona and the private man …”
An excellent read by Paul Tripp: The Fearful Pastor
View ArticleHow to Overcome Fear (by Dr. Andrew Selle)
I once served on a conflicted church intervention team with an extremely gifted mediator and counselor: Dr. Andrew Selle of Vermont’s Christian Counseling and Mediation ministry. We have stayed in...
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Learning how to put away CLAMOR (“a loud and confused noise, esp. that of...
I know I have blogged about this topic in the past: One Day, You Will Rarely, Rarely Ever Feel Rage, Tara But given the TRYING day I had yesterday and the EVEN WORSE day I am having today as I jump...
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Begging Jesus for Sleep
Last week I endured one of my (relatively common) stretches of insomnia. It was, as always, incredibly hard to bear. If you have never struggled with acute, lasting sleeplessness (the kind that goes...
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The Most Scared I Have Ever Been in my Entire Life
On the drive home from church today, my ten year-old daughter asked me when I was the most scared in my entire life. I thought for a moment and then I replied that the saddest I had ever been was when...
View ArticleAre you paralyzed because you don’t know how others will respond? You can’t...
Wow. I really needed this today, Cap’n Dave. Thank you! Paralyzed by endings? Mind present duties and then leave events to God.
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The Day I Hit our HOUSE with Fred’s TRUCK
Today, my darling husband has been working hard on a number of projects both inside and outside of our home. I have to admit … as he worked on the bushes by our driveway, I was tempted to cringe a...
View ArticleThe Only Way to Overcome Evil and Fear is with Goodness and Love
I’m not sure from where I took these notes, but they are around ten years old, so I’m assuming they are a combination of Judy Dabler, people from my church, and anything and everything from CCEF: “When...
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Tackling Two (Irrational) Fears
I’m continuing to prep for my women’s retreat this weekend (“Fear Not”) and sometimes I’m just laid out on my face before the Lord over the profound, applicable truths that God is graciously helping...
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Trauma, Anxiety, and Hope
If we don’t interact in real life or on Facebook, you may be slightly concerned about me, since I am currently not blogging on a regular basis. Please don’t worry about me! I am doing very well, but...
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That Time I Utterly and Completely Failed and Caused a DISASTER! (Almost.)
Countless descriptions exist for personality types. Some of us are “high strung”; others are “low key.” We can be “linear,” “drivers,” or “random creatives,” etc. etc. For those of us parenting...
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“Don’t worry, Mom. The pastors will come.”
[As I am starting to gear up for my 2017 events, I thought I would encourage myself by re-reading this sweet reminder of pretty much the kindest thing church leaders have ever done for me as a speaker...
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PTSD & Anxiety – Annoying, Painful, Distressing, Devouring.
If you ever want to see who your true friends are, struggle through trauma therapy after being assaulted. Man. Real friends can BRING IT. Love. Anger. A text that actually makes you laugh out loud...
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Just Tell Them You’re Not a Christian. Nothing is Worth Dying For.
If you have ever listened to my testimony, you know that when God saved me way back in 1984 (my freshman year of high school), I was a bonafide Christian jerk. Yes, I had heard the distinct call of...
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Apart from a miracle, a good relationship with this person is probably never...
I once received an email from a good friend (let’s call her “Mary”), who wanted to know if I had any ideas for how she could minister to someone in her workplace (a Christian parachurch ministry) who...
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