Maybe I should have a sign around my neck: Don’t poke the (mama) bear. I love peace. I hate drama. I don’t like to stir the pot. But we are living in perilous times. Sometimes silence is a luxury we can’t afford. While it takes a lot for me to stick my nose into controversial … More In All Things … Love
I went to bed sad last night. Sadder than I’ve been in a long time. That is saying something because there has been an awful lot of “sad” going around lately. It was just the straw that broke the camel’s back. I felt helpless. Like no matter how I (we) pray, no matter what steps … More Choosing Trust
See this cute little rose tree? It looks pretty healthy, right? And it is. But what this picture doesn’t show is that just last month (as in a couple weeks ago) it was pretty much dead. It literally had two tiny leaves left. The hot summer got to it. Plus it had some persistent little … More Where the Dead Things Come Back to Living
There are a few stories in the Bible that bug me. Hezekiah’s story is one of them. Hezekiah was King of Judah during the time of the prophet Isaiah. He was a good king. In fact, according to 2 Chronicles 31:20, Hezekiah did “what was good and right and faithful before the LORD his God.” … More From Generation to Generation
Right smack in the middle of a huge document filled with a bazillion words and tons of legalese, was an unexpected sight. A huge blank space. It looked like a mistake. The creator of the document must have anticipated that response because there was one simple line written at the top to ensure no one … More This Space Intentionally Left Blank
Over a five day period, I saw them everywhere. Soaring eagles. Near a prayer house I was visiting. Up by Shasta Dam. Over the property of a retreat/equipping center in Central California. The grand finale was a spectacular display of their in-flight finesse near Bass Lake. During that short five day period, over a geographic … More Eagles Arising
The invitation was quiet. It was so quiet I could have easily missed it. I walked downstairs for coffee and intended to take it back upstairs to my little prayer corner—a frequent morning routine. But there, standing in the middle of my kitchen, I felt a faint but distinct shift in the atmosphere. I stood … More Quiet Invitations
I’ll admit it, I’ve been frustrated with the Church lately. For a long time, really, but especially this past year. At a time when we should have been shining our brightest and offering hope to a world in crises, we showed our worst. We argued publicly about who’s right and who’s wrong. We strained out … More Build Your Church
When it comes to God, no really isn’t in my vocabulary. Besides pretty much giving Him a blanket yes before I know the question, there have been many very specific yeses, in regard to very specific invitations. Usually, the invitation seemed weighty and came with a specific assignment. Usually, there were many confirming words, much … More Every Yes Matters
I used to pray big prayers. The “I’ll do anything, give up everything, go anywhere” type of prayers. The “I must decrease, You must increase” type of prayers. I meant them. Because I did, Jesus answered. But He answered in a surprising way. He answered by alluring me … Straight into the wilderness. To a … More Full Circle
In case you hadn’t noticed, the role of prophetic ministry in the western church is going through a bit of a shake up. With good reason! There are all kinds of voices out there, saying all kinds of things. Some are from God, some almost certainly are not. But how do we know what’s what? … More The Testimony of Jesus
I took quite a fall the other day. But in my weird and wonderful life, sometimes the things that happen aren’t just things that happen. Instead, God often uses my specific circumstances as metaphors to give insight into things happening on a broader scale. On the morning of January 6, I went to see a … More After the Fall (it’s going to be okay …)
I was having a bad day. It was over 20 years ago but I remember it like it was yesterday. I was facedown on the floor in my bedroom. That’s a great position for worship, but let’s just say that isn’t what was happening. I can’t say I was even really praying—mostly I was whining. … More Don’t Ever Forget …
Incarnation. Imminent. Illuminating … IMMANUEL God with us. Yesterday. Today. Tomorrow. Forever. In every season. In every situation. Always present. Always faithful. Never failing. Immanuel. God has so many marvelous characteristics. His nature has so many facets. He is … Father Friend Bridegroom Savior Healer Lord of Lords, King of Kings And so much more … More Alliterating Advent, wk 4: IMMANUEL
Illuminating: 1. Giving or producing light; used for illumination. 2. Providing insight, clarity, or understanding, highly informative. “Let there be light!” These are the first words recorded from the voice of Almighty God. God spoke these words over a dark and formless world. And there was light. He has been speaking light into the darkness … More Alliterating Advent, week 3: ILLUMINATING
Last week, we pondered the wonder of the incarnation. This week, we’re adding a new word: IMMINENT Imminent: ready to take place; happening soon From the beginning of time, the incarnation was imminent. Although Jesus’ coming was imminent, it took a while to come to pass. Clearly our definition of “soon” and God’s definition are … More Alliterating Advent, week 2: IMMINENT
I love words in general, and I love alliterations specifically. I also love this time of advent and the opportunity to ponder the wonder of Christmas. So what could be better than combining these passions by doing a short four-week advent series. Each week I’ll press into a different word associated with the true wonder … More Alliterating Advent, week 1: INCARNATION
For a very long time, I have believed without seeing many of the things I have believed. In fact, despite persevering through the years in praying, declaring, waiting, resting, standing, and basically doing everything I know to do to partner with God’s promises, often I have seen quite the opposite. But even when I couldn’t … More Knowing
“This isn’t your tomb, it’s your cocoon.” I’m not sure where I first read this quote, but when I saw it again recently, it hit my heart immediately. Here’s to hoping it is true. Things have been weird for a very long time. The pandemic and our corporate lockdown didn’t start any of it—at least … More In the Dark…
Many years ago, I had a transformational encounter with Jesus. One of the analogies I made at the time was that I felt as though I had gone from the black and white beginning scenes of The Wizard of Oz to the full vibrant technicolor the film shifts into once Dorothy lands in Oz. No, … More Adding Color
Cindy Powell 