Linda Evans Shepherd I was furious. “They want to do what? Take another MRI of Laura’s brain?! No! I won’t allow it.” Nurse Sharon was patient with me. “You don’t…
Tracy Hester A few years ago, I went through a bitter divorce. As a woman in ministry, I didn’t know how to effectively deal with the emotional outflow—rejection, abandonment, betrayal,…
by Linda Evans Shepherd in Leading Hearts magazine In my latest book, Praying Through Your Every Emotion (February 2021, Revell of Baker Publishing Group), I created mini-Bible studies coupled with…
WHAT’S THE CRAZIEST THING YOU’VE EVER DONE TO FOLLOW AFTER GOD? Was it to raise your kids, teach the teenage class at church or read your Bible through in a year? All good pursuits, but have you ever dared to leave your comfort zone behind and dive headfirst into the unknown because you felt God put an idea before you?
Yes, I will serve you. Yes, I will go where you send me.
In those days I thought God was sending me to seminary to study how to become a youth director. So, after I was accepted into a fine seminary, I never dreamed I would face a roadblock.
When the seminary president wrote me, “Because you married an engineer and not one of our pastoral students, we are canceling your seminary enrollment.”
By LINDA EVANS SHEPHERD in Leading Hearts Magazine
I FOUND MY MENTOR IN A DARK COLOSSEUM when a young woman sat on a stool, inside a bright spotlight. In a voice that sounded like a child in song she said, “Hi, I’m Ann. I am one simple woman in the world. I have never shaken hands with the president. I cry. Sometimes I am insecure. I am only one, but I have come tonight to tell you I am one … and Jesus and I and love are out to change the world.”
In those days, I was a young college student, totally in love with Jesus, and I had never heard anyone articulate my heart the way Ann Kiemel (Anderson) did. She spoke of love and simple acts of kindness, and how she and our big God could change the world. I followed her example with my own acts of love and kindness.
I learned that everything Ann said about living life sold out to the Lord was true. It was true for me. Through Christ, nothing was impossible.
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By Linda Evans Shepherd in Leading Hearts Magazine
IT’S A NEW DAY, A FRESH SEASON. THE AIR HERE IN COLORADO IS SWEET AFTER DAYS OF RAIN. The grass is green and the crabapple tree in my backyard is filled with fluffy, pink blossoms.
After a deep season of sorrow upon losing my precious daughter Laura, I am feeling a new sweetness in my spirit. I’m letting go of grudges and pain, and joy is overtaking my fog of grief.
Can the human spirit really find this kind of refreshing? Yes, but only when we refuel by the power of God.
If you are filled with holiday stress instead of the holiday spirit, it’s time to pray for sweet release. Lord, I have bought into stress, re-gifted my worries and added…
By Pam Farrel @PamFarrel in Leading Hearts Magazine
“DO EVERYTHING WITHOUT GRUMBLING OR ARGUING, SO THAT YOU MAY BECOME BLAMELESS AND PURE, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation .“ (Phil 2:14-15). In the small group Bible study for Men Are Like Waffles, Women Are Like Spaghetti we joke: “Argument (ar*gyou*- ment) n. A discussion that occurs when you’re right, but your mate just hasn’t realized it yet.”
Once I refereed an hour-long argument over if the Chevy my dad was driving was a 1959 or 1958!!! Couples can get into a cycle of disagreement where everything becomes a point of contention. We could have repeated this unhealthy, destructive, time-wasting way of life but instead, we made a simple choice: Let God’s Spirit select our words.
By Michelle S. Cox @just18summers in Leading Hearts Magazine
The glossy magazine images, the Pinterest ideas and Facebook posts from friends sharing their gorgeous Christmas decor inspire me.
My planning began. Why, before I was done, my house would look like North Pole Central! My family would have the perfect Christmas, and I would sail through those days with joy and delight.
I tried. Oh, how I tried. But I basically plodded my way through the Christmas season with unrealistic expectations in a fog of exhaustion.
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