Has anything in your life ever gone differently than what you expected? What did you think? And how did you respond?I recently attended the Bridgepoint Breakaway retreat for solitude, reflection and prayer.  The setting was a retreat center in rural Maryland, withlots of nature to bask in, and the weather was near perfect.  My goals for the retreat were to enjoy the beauty of God’s…

A hopeful prayer is a submitted prayer. A hopeful prayer often feels naïve and audacious—even a bit greedy. After all, how long should you keep praying for something, even a good thing, if your prayers remain unanswered? Should you take the non-answer as a sign? When does prayer stray from confidence in God’s miraculous, redeeming power to self-serving…

Peter was one of Christ’s closest disciples, was with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration, and was in the garden of Gethsemane. Yet, he failed Christ. Most notably, he denied Christ three timeswhile Jesus was on trial. Yet, Jesus forgave him, and Peter wenton to lead countless people to Christ. Therefore, it is important to realize that our failures do not define us in Christ. There is a flawed…