Blog
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Review – Journey Into God’s Heart
My version of Throwback Thursday is the very first book I featured in the Woman Alive book club, in July 2006! Back then I even wrote out discussion questions for each book – a labor of love. Jennifer Rees Larcombe is a beloved figure in the Christian world. The daughter of well-known evangelists, she came…
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A mixed approach to hospitality
We’re in a season of hospitality. When people ask us if they can come and stay, we say “Yes” as much as we can. Our vicarage is massive – and not technically ours – so we like to share this oasis in north London. Yes, in the winter it’s cold and the hot water runs…
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Weekly devotional: A plentiful harvest (7 in Jesus’ miracles series)
Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is…
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Review – A Place of Healing by Joni Eareckson Tada
When Joni was seventeen, she became paralyzed after a diving accident. The story of her accident and recovery became a bestselling book and film in the eighties, and she has been a disability advocate for decades. She has also written over thirty-five books, the latest of which concerns healing. Why does God heal? Why not?…
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Weekly devotional: Hope for the desperate (6 in Jesus’ miracles series)
A synagogue leader came and knelt before him and said, “My daughter has just died. But come and put your hand on her, and she will live.” Jesus got up and went with him, and so did his disciples. Just then a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years came up behind…
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Welcoming angels unaware
Will you open your home and heart? Hospitality is one of those sometimes messy Christian practices. When we welcome people into our lives, the smells from bodily functions might hang around in the air. Muddy footprints might mar our floors. We might drop our masks, revealing times of irritation or stress. But we’re saying come,…
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Review – sensitive memoir on mothering
In my years of running the Woman Alive book club, I’ve shied away from books on mothers, knowing that it can be a painful subject. But (writing to women here) whether or not we are mothers, we are all daughters (and yes, I know that too can be wrought with pain); not least, we’re daughters…
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Weekly devotional: Forgiveness of sins (5 in Jesus’ miracles series)
Jesus stepped into a boat, crossed over and came to his own town. Some men brought to him a paralyzed man, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the man, “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.” At this, some of the teachers of the law said to themselves, “This…
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Interview with Anne Graham Lotz – Wounded by the Church
God gives me strength and stamina every day. Over the recent months, my husband has had two bouts of pneumonia by aspiration; it’s exactly what my daddy has had. Danny is out of the hospital now, but has home healthcare and a team of friends to help. I don’t feel rested or refreshed, but I’m…
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Yes, says the Lord
In Christ, the answer is “Yes.” I was chewing over 2 Corinthians 1:1–11 recently, thinking about how God wants us to know this Divine Affirmation. Yes, he says. Yes. Yes! Do you believe in Christ’s Yes for you? God our Father God of compassion God of comfort God of love Troubles and pressure Despaired we of life…
