Andrea O. Freeman

“He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.”-Hebrews 11:6 If I seek earnestly after anything less than Christ first, I’m a fool. I am wasting my best on things that are quite simply ashes, dust, rust, waste. I am in the midst of a season of my life this year, that has proven to be a greater sifting of my soul than any I've experienced so far. It most certainly won't be the last or the worst, life is unpredictable and absolutely unbearable much of the time. Ryan and I have experienced a depth of disappointment, sorrow, frustration and sometimes outright anger over some of the situations that have transpired around us. It’s an incredibly stressful and helpless feeling to come to the realization that only God can take care of a situation. I don’t let go very well, because I want to help, I want to fix it. I found myself just weeks ago on the floor of my closet, in need of a meltdown in the presence of the Father only. Sometimes, we need to be broken on a far deeper, uglier...

Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name. 1 Chronicles 29:13 NIV I’m not a fan of going to the dentist, but it’s necessary. I went in for my routine semi-annual cleaning this week and forgot again to take some pain reliever in preparation for the poking, scraping and having to hold my mouth wide open for an extended period of time while my hygienist and then my dentist both do what is needed to ensure I have had a thorough checkup. I had a lot of work done in my mouth over the years-fillings, crowns, root canals. So it was no surprise to me to hear my dentist inspect and update me on the current condition of 2 of my back molars that we have been “watching” for the past 2 cleanings, are not in good shape and will require that I get a crown and a new filling. As you can imagine, I was less than enthusiastic to hear this. But honestly, I was not surprised. We are human. We are not built to last. Our muscles, our bones, our minds, our bodily functions, are...

“But I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might show you my power and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth” (Exodus 9:16) Early morning riser-I am not. If you know me well, then you are very much aware that mornings are not my favorite. First place my feet land when I get up is in my fuzzy slippers, and I head directly for the coffee. I remember growing up, I loved sleeping in and as a teenager I know it drove my Dad nuts to walk by my room and it could have been 10:30-11:00am and I was still in bed. He is an early bird, up early every single day without fail because in his opinion the day is half over if you are still in bed after 9:00am-ha! I haven’t slept that late in years, not since late in college and into my marriage. But there is a correlation in my life between this preference to sleep in and cover my head with the covers, and my approach to the world around me. “Yet you, LORD, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; ...