Discouragement. We all have those times in our lives. Our kids do the opposite of what we’d like. We get a failing grade. We are passed over for a job. Sometimes life just doesn’t go the way we had hoped. During those times, God wants us to trust in his sovereignty. The Bible tells us that his ways are not our ways (boy, do I…
This week in class, there has been a lot of talk about the value of mentoring. It has caused me to pause and reflect on my own life. My campus minister always encouraged us that we should have someone pouring into us, and that we should always be shepherding someone else. I’ve tried to take that to heart over the years. In seminary, I was…
My heart grew heavy as I read about the double suicide of the radio hosts in New York City last night. So many people were shocked – especially because the woman was a former psychotherapist. We tend to think that certain “types” of people are immune to suicidal ideation – counselors, ministers, teachers – but the truth is, there are times when we are all…
Several years ago, I stood aghast as I watched my friend’s house go up in flames. She had left her home with her family only thirty minutes earlier. Now I stood in front of the raging fire, staring at her infant in my arms. What would happen now? The book of James tells us that the tongue is like a small spark that starts a…
I’ve been teaching the book of James in my New Testament classes and several things have jumped out at me. I want to use the next few posts to highlight a few of these thoughts. The first is found in James 1:2, where we are told to consider it pure joy when we encounter various trials. Now I don’t know about you, but joy is…
It’s been a few weeks since my last entry, because I got married last weekend and so I took a hiatus from blogging. My new name is Natalie Ford, but I’ll continue to write as Natalie Flake so my website will stay the same. Our wedding day was perfect! The weather was absolutely gorgeous. We were so humbled by the number of guests who came…