Lotus Flower Podcast

This is so true. Loss does not have to bring us pain for so long. Every time we lose, we gain something. It may take some time, but if we're patient enough, we will reap some gain—usually something meaningful, bigger, and/or greater. When we are sitting smack in the middle of pain, suffering, anxiousness, uncertainty or loss, it is nearly impossible to see any kind of good. 2020 especially feels l...

If you have low self-esteem or confidence, you may hide yourself away from social situations, stop trying new things, and avoid things you find challenging. In the short term, avoiding challenging and difficult situations might make you feel safe. In the longer term, this can backfire because it reinforces your underlying doubts and fears. It teaches you the unhelpful rule that the only way to cop...

The Biblical story of David and Goliath is a well-known parable. The story goes that Goliath, a giant and the champion of the Philistines, challenged the Israelites to send out their champion and decide the outcome of their ongoing war in single combat. None of the Israelites dared to face the fearsome behemoth…except David. Despite facing seemingly insurmountable odds – going against a well-armed...

Everyone gushes about how special motherhood is. The bond shared with a child is unlike any other, and they say this feeling is incomprehensible until it's experienced first hand. On a day to day level, being a mother means being tired, sometimes grumpy and never left alone, and then, in one funny, loving or meaningful moment with your kids, realizing that it's all completely worth it.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, you may feel grief due to loss of a job; inability to connect in-person with friends, family or religious organizations; missing special events and milestones (such as graduations, weddings, vacations); and experiencing drastic changes to daily routines and ways of life that bring comfort. You may also feel a sense of guilt for grieving over losses that seem less impo...

It takes a village to raise a child.” This African proverb seems to be even more relevant in 2021, with working parents and single parents (and the accompanying family “busyness” that has become the norm) trying to raise a family. And yet, even though it seems that the support of a “village” is so desperately needed, it often seems like this concept has somewhat disappeared from our society. Raisi...

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!” – Isaiah 6:8 They stand as four simple syllables, Here I am, Lord. They sound easy enough to offer to God, but what about the story behind those words? Are they really applicable for believers today? A churning deep within me longs to hear God clearly and walk in obedience to H...

There’s no denying that we’re engaged in spiritual battles every day and, as Christians, we often feel the effects of the enemy’s attacks. Each time we take a step forward, we’re met with resistance in the form of doubt, fear, persecution, or any number of other strategies Satan uses against us. However, God will never leave us and we’re not fighting the battles alone. He has armed us with a numbe...

Being tested by God has been misunderstood by many. It is clear in the scriptures that God does test us. However, God does not send sickness, disease, or calamity into our lives to test us. Those things steal, kill, and destroy. Jesus is the Good Shepherd who came to give us abundant life. He warned us in John 16:33 that we’d encounter trouble in the world, but then encouraged us by telling us he...

Before we can learn to trust that God is in control of all of life’s circumstances, we have to answer four questions: Is God really in control? How much control does He have? If He is not in complete control, then who/what is? How can I learn to trust that He is in control and rest in that? Is God really in control? The concept of the control of God over everything is called the “sovereignty” of G...

I have remarked earlier that these attributes are difficult to grasp because they describe truths about God that have no analog in human experience. We are limited as to place, power and personal knowledge. God is not. Thus we say that God is omniscient (all-knowing), omnipresent (present everywhere), and omnipotent (all-powerful). Theologians sometimes speak of God’s attributes in two categories—...

In recent developmental studies, masking has evolved and is now defined as concealing one's emotion by portraying another emotion. It is mostly used to conceal a negative emotion (usually sadness, frustration, and anger) with a positive emotion. At times, we wear real mask to hide our faces, mask, the kinds that other people can't see Imaginary masks hide our feelings from other people. You are we...

All of us have entered this world with some type of ailment. There are times in each o our lives when we may need a shoulder to lean on. The Hebrew word khehsed translated "steadfast love" and "loving kindness" to represent God's love.

We have experienced many setbacks and failures throughout our lives. Sometimes we allow these mistakes, these setbacks and failures to enslave us to the point that we never enjoy the full Christian life that God has given us to enjoy. We have a dead-end job and we feel stuck thinking, “I went into the wrong career and now there is nothing I can do about it.” We get married, only to find the marria...

Join Reverend Curtis and Dr. Pamela Robinson in thought-provoking conversations that will encourage you to discover purpose, embrace your identity, and engage faith tenaciously. You do not want to miss these empowerment sessions!