I relish meandering through hours of recorded decades of my littles growing and then having littles of their own. A more difficult time to relive was our granddaughter’s stay in the NICU after birth. We are grateful that our little Princess shows no signs of her early difficulties with her lungs, but it is painful to see the videos of her hooked up to IVs, breathing tubes and oxygen tents. Read about this journey and what it taught me about receiving healing from the Presence of the Lord!
We have all heard how the Lord can do wonderful miracles for people, can thrust them into their Promised Land and the giants simply let them in and hand over the deed to the land. It happens. But then there are other times, the majority of times, when blessings come at great cost or after great battles in which nothing came easily. Does that mean God wasn’t in it?
My Dad was working with me one evening when I was little to learn to ride a bike, holding onto the back of the seat as I tried to coordinate pedaling and steering. Suddenly, I noticed a football-sized boulder to the right of my path. It scared me though it wasn’t on my path, so I kept my eyes on it as we approached. But somehow, the more I stared at that rock, the more I diverged toward it! Finally, I hit the rock and fell. That’s when Dad said something that has always stayed with me...
I was a frilly little girl, and yet, I would stand for a whole match at my Grandpa’s elbow as he sat watching boxing on TV. The saddest thing to watch was a man up against the ropes, getting smacked relentlessly, his gloves at his face, bent, cringing from the blows. That image keeps coming to mind in this last couple of years. Many of you can relate. Read the full story at amiloper.com
My Dad was otherwise the picture of health when, at the age of 59, he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease. When he told us, it hit with a shockwave, a numbness cultivated by denial and ignorance. I was barely in my 30’s and had no inkling of the devastating ramifications he was facing. Dad’s ways of coping with the diagnosis were… unique. Come read how Dad coped, from the odd to the brilliant.
"Dear Ami, Does the Bible explicitly prohibit sex before marriage? I believe that Biblical sexual purity means abstinence before marriage, but my cousin brought up this issue as a challenge, and he uses it to justify premarital sex. Signed, Perplexed"… Come see how I answered this intriguing question at amiloper.com
Everything in the process of developing and refining seems to take much more time and effort than I had bargained for. But my Abba Father, the Potter, knows what He is doing..... Read the full blog to learn about the essential journey of process and how we can trust the Potter in the midst of it.
After 30 years of marriage, the Hubs and I both have had wonderful days and some exceeding trying days. The other night, we were reminiscing a bit, reminding each other of the beauty of our love story. He mentioned regretting one particular shortcoming of his. I mirrored his statement with a regretful statement of my own shortcoming. He shrugged. Then he said the most profound thing....
Maybe you’re a flexible person. I’m not. I have gotten much better at rolling with it. But it has been a process. Relinquishing control is hard for some of us. Trusting is hard for some of us. I began learning of the destructiveness of control in my teen years. After all, if you want something done right, do it yourself, right? Wrong. My attempts at controlling life led to a life out of control.
Dear Ami: Recently I have been reading through Jeremiah. Chapter after chapter talk about the judgment coming to Israel. Then, it turns, and chapter after chapter predict the destruction of the nations around Israel. Why does it matter to hear about that when they aren’t God’s people. Signed, Curious {Come read my reply!}
What started as a common illness with the doctor’s admonition to rest for a few weeks has become a two-year battle against a fatigue that has tethered me to my home and drained me of energy. Yet in God's great redemptive power, He’s let my heart grow and learn, even while my physical body has been battered and weakened. Come read three of the things the Lord has taught me through ongoing illness and fatigue.
This year has kicked me in the teeth. It has ripped my heart out and stolen my breath away. It’s been hard to see the light of day. But, like a Divine appointment, a book with wisdom for the broken came into my life this year and has given me a tool that has helped to keep my head above water.
What is unique about the towns of Santa Barbara, California and Solvang, California? Both are beautiful towns, singular in their style, but neither one started out that way. These two gems in central California were transformed into what they are today by surprising circumstances. Come read what transformed them and why the same things can also transform your life!
One cozy Fall day, I was snuggled in, watching “Persuasion,” a Jane Austen novel set to film. I was struck by a line in the movie that a young woman says to a young man. It goes something like this, “I’d rather be tossed in a ditch by the man I love than to go steadily along without him.” (Caveat: “tossed in a ditch,” was not referring to abuse, but rather living a thrillingly adventurous life alongside her husband.) It made me think of my own adventures with God.
Each of us has a nearly gravitational pull, urging us toward what can make us whole. And yet, we seek out less fulfilling sources that tantalize us with empty pledges of wholeness. But why would a loving Father create us with a hole in our hearts that causes such longings that we seek to fill it with painful things? How can this be considered loving?
I don’t know about you, but sometimes I genuinely feel like I’m failing, like I’d be better off if I just bowed out. The tears flow for me some days. I question if the Lord has changed His mind about His promises or if I heard Him amiss. But as I watched one season of "The Great British Baking Show" for the second time, the Lord spoke something profound to my heart.
As a recent situation in my life drove me to my knees – in pain and in prayer – I poured myself into prayer beyond the norm. I decreed and declared and renounced and repented. All of those things were good. However, I began to realize that a tweak, a reprogramming, of my brain desperately needed to happen when it came to how I did spiritual warfare.
Here I am, once again, mulling over a current pain until I’ve injured my heart. I may lay it at the Lord’s feet momentarily, but within the blink of an eye, there it is, its full weight in my hands as I preen the beast with a fine-toothed comb. What makes it continually come back to mind and heart? I’ve found two major barriers that keep my mind wandering back to handling the beast of pain.
