Living Story Blog
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On Reading Well: Four Great Books to Check Out Today
On Reading Well: Four Great Books to Check Out Today “In a world dominated by tweets and texts, hot takes and sound bites, the call to read and to read well couldn’t be more timely, especially for the people of God.” Matt Chandler, endorsing Karen Swallow...
The Paradoxical Freedom of Belonging to God
As you may have noticed, we live in a world that prioritizes autonomy, the freedom of self-rule. The mantra of the 21st century is best summed up by my children’s cry to one another when they were young, “You’re not the boss of me!” How then, can it be, that belonging...
When Your Longings Are Unfulfilled: A Devotional
Are you longing for fulfillment? There's good news!What are you waiting for? A job, a spouse, a child to return home (whether spiritually or physically)? Maybe healing in a relationship or healing of a broken body? Discover the good news as you wait: one day, your...
What the World Needs Now: Forgiveness
Scarlet red and pastel pink candy hearts are popping up in stores everywhere; Pinterest is loaded with 1001 creative and crafty ways to tell someone "I love you." It seems like a good time to focus on love. What ignites love, and what sustains love? My husband and I...
Counting Our Blessings When Life Is Hard
A note about this devotional In 2017, our family was suddenly and unexpectedly thrust into many waiting rooms at doctor’s offices and hospitals. This meditation on gratitude is excerpted from the devotional I wrote about that season. To learn more about The Waiting...
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Daily Prayers
A Prayer about the Lord’s Discipline
Do not despise the Lord’s instruction, my son, and do not loathe his discipline; for the Lord disciplines the one he loves, just as a father disciplines the son in whom he delights. Hebrews 12:5-6 Heavenly Father, Although your discipline, your correction, your...
A Prayer about Understanding Sickness and Healing
‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind? John 9:2 Healing Lord, Thank you for the compassion you show the sick and those who need healing. Correct wrong assumptions about sickness and healing. Sadly, too many of us have been told that...
A Prayer about Laughing without Fear of the Future
“She laughs without fear of the future.” Proverbs 31:25 “It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man.” (Princes) (8-9) Mighty and Merciful God, You truly make us awe-some (literally, “full of awe.”) We know the verse, “This is the day the Lord has...
A Prayer about Peace for Troubled Hearts
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. John 14:27 Lord Jesus, Thank you for this profound promise for troubled hearts: You leave us peace, your peace. In...
A Prayer of Lament for Those Who Die Young
He who testifies to these things says, ‘Surely I am coming soon. Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!’ Revelation 22:20 Merciful God, We believe you to be merciful; help our unbelief. We admit, we struggle to understand why you would take young people home when it seems to us ...
A Prayer about the Pain of Living in a Fallen World
For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. Romans 8:21 Compassionate Father, We who live in Western culture are keenly aware that we don’t suffer the way people in other cultures do— we don’t have to search...