What have I been learning as I Listen? Here’s a bit…

Even when we can't see it, God's Light shines on our path. Unhappy Dawn: Feelings vs. Truth

I was awake too early this morning. Spinning thoughts keeping me from returning to the sleep I longed for.

Dawn didn’t break. It oozed. Weak, gray light sank through my east-facing window as the sun sullenly took the sky.   READ MORE

God keeps His Promises, but our memories are short. How can we remember God's Promises? By reading His Word. God’s Word: The Cure for Our Forgetfulness

A God god in a box is too small to overcome the lies of this world…

The Listen When He Speaks readings for Easter Sunday and Monday took us through Luke 24. I was struck by our forgetfulness, and lack of understanding of God’s Truth… READ MORE

Job's friends weren't wrong about God, but they weren't right, either. Will I rely God's wisdom, or stubbornly cling to my own?Job’s Friends: God’s Wisdom or Mine?

There are many aspects to God’s character. Sometimes we choose a narrow view of God, and ignore what makes us uncomfortable, or doesn’t fit our concept of who God is. It’s easy to become entrenched in a limited theology. Job’s friends weren’t wrong about God, but they weren’t right, either. How can we learn to rely on God’s wisdom instead of our own?   READ MORE

Memorization can be difficult. Why should we make the effort to memorize Scripture? The Importance of Memorizing Scripture

…It’s foolish to think we can honor and please God if we don’t know what He expects of His people. We can’t grow in relationship with someone we don’t know, and we can’t be sure our understanding of Him is correct apart from what He tells us about Himself in His Word. We all have opinions on what is best, what God expects, and Who He is, based on insufficient information. We want God and His commands to fit what makes us feel good. We want a comfortable relationship with a God who validates who we think we are, instead of a truly loving relationship that challenges us so we can become who we are meant to be…. READ MORE

Proclaim good tidings of His salvation from day to day, Psalm 96:2. What I have I give. Proclaiming Truth: What I Have I Give

Depression steals hope. It blinds me to Truth. When I can’t believe Truth, I can’t feel hope. Here on Fruit of Brokenness, I share my struggles with mental illness. I’m honest about my despair. But also about hope.

I don’t have to feel hope to be held by it. Just because God hasn’t given me the victory of healing doesn’t mean He has withheld victory… READ MORE

 The Four Cs of Listening When God Speaks

We long for God to speak to us, but we don’t always want to listen to what He says. It hurts when He confronts us with the ugly parts of ourselves, but recognizing our sinfulness is a vital benefit of reading God’s Word. Without conviction, there can be no repentance that restores our relationship with God.

The pain of conviction is a blessing, and it’s not the only blessing God speaks to us through His Word… READ MORE

One important reason to read Scripture is getting to know the people of the Bible Getting to Know the People of the Bible

As a kid, I was immersed in Bible stories, and awed by the heroes who lived them. As I got older, they made me feel inadequate. They were so much more than I could ever be. People like Jonah and Samson didn’t count. Their stories were told to show how not to be. I wouldn’t run away like, Jonah, or so I thought. And Samson, well, Samson was just strong; he wasn’t very smart. As a girl, I had little respect for someone as foolish as he… READ MORE