Mother’s Day is quickly approaching. A mother has incredible influence in a child’s life. I’d even go as far to say that she is the most influential. She has a bond like no other

How can you be joyful in the face of grief and sorrow? It doesn’t make sense. The world definitely doesn’t offer or understand this, and even many Christians are perplexed by this thought. The world tells you to hate, reject, or identify with what has grieved you. The Lord instead says that it is a tool in His kingdom to produce endurance and maturity in you.

Having a relationship with Jesus isn’t easy. It comes with a big sign that reads, “Get ready for rejection!” Jesus clearly told His disciples in Luke 10:16, “Whoever listens to you listens to me. Whoever rejects you rejects me. And whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.”

Maria looked up at the three large crosses hanging in the front of the sanctuary. She knew that two of them represented thieves and murderers. She remembered her mother telling her that the middle one represented her sin and the death of a God man that erased them all for her. But why a cross? She found herself deeply concentrated on the middle one, almost like nothing else was going on around her. “Why the cross?” She thought to herself again.

It’s easy to get caught up in the numbers (a lot or even the lack of), and wanting success. It is good to be diligent and want to see your business, ministry, and so on grow. The true measure of success isn’t in the results of whether it does or not – it’s your heart in the process.

Many Christians have heard the reference of God’s kingdom being an “Upside Down Kingdom.” Things the Lord does can seem backwards or contradictory to how it should work in our minds. We can’t fathom how suffering is good for us or why God calls us to be humble when it hurts.

Your story of God’s work will inspire someone else to hear from Him in her own life, and be courageous to follow what He’s leading her to do. It can help save lives, bring people out of sin, and encourage others to keep fighting this good fight.

Do you ever wonder which stories in your life the Lord wants you to share and which ones you should keep quiet?

Have you ever heard a story of someone overcoming hardship that inspired you to make changes in your own life?

Which passages of Scripture do you remember most? The stories like David and Goliath, Noah, and Moses parting the Red Sea? Or are you more of a fact-finding person, remembering the details of what every elder, husband, woman, child, and slave were commanded to do?