God is sovereign, that is He is the boss. He is in control. He is the supreme ruler of heaven and earth for all of eternity. He is Lord. We don't make Him Lord. He is Lord. And joy comes when we acknowledge that He is Lord; we rest in His Lordship. We trust His sovereignty, and we surrender to it. That means that God has the right to give, and God has the right to take away.

Bitterness grows in us when we fail to see the trouble and pain in our lives from God's point of view, and when our expectations of what life should be diverge from the reality of what life really is.

True Joy is not the absence of pain but the sanctifying, sustaining presence of the Lord Jesus in the midst of the pain

Wearing a low-cut, cleavage-revealing top is called suggestive. What does it suggest? That there is more than what you now see, and I may let you look closer since I'm already willing to give you this much of a peek.

Being disconnected from the local church, for whatever reason, is a dangerous way to live. Not only do these “ lone rangers” miss out on the blessings of functioning within the context of the body of Christ, but like lone sheep away from the safety of the flock and the watchful care of the shepherd, they are vulnerable to predators of every sort.

Every selfish, sinful, or indulgent choice I make today is sowing a seed that will reap a multiplied harvest. And every act of obedience is a seed that will produce a multiplied harvest of blessing in my life and in the lives of those I love.

Proud people keep others at arm's length. Broken people are willing to take the risks of getting close to others and loving intimately.