Mid-Days with Doug

Is God able? Is he able to take the broken pieces in your life and put them back together? Yes, he is and he often does. But rarely does the healing process of those pieces happen neatly in my experience. Sometimes life still looks broken after the healing. It looks scarred. Like Jesus.

I'm so glad today that weak faith is still real faith.

Hospice tells me it’s quite possible my mom just has days left. Only the Lord knows. These are hard times, but God has been good to us. Thank you for your prayers for our family. I would not wish Alzheimer's on my worst enemy. --Doug Hannah

Something I've learned along the path of my life (maybe you have to) is if you focus on the hurt, there's a good chance you'll just continue to feel the sting of that hurt. But if you can focus on the lesson, you've got a chance to grow.

If you find yourself in a tough season of life, I can relate. You learn in the tough seasons and difficult trials that like side mirror, God is closer than he may appear. He's with you.

I should have known this day was coming, but it doesn't make the reality any less hard.

Maybe you need to hear this today: Mistakes happen. It's okay. Sometimes you try your best and things still can go sideways. It means your human. In my experience, it's not if mistakes happen because that's not really in my control. What I do have control over is my choice to ask God to help me learn from my mistakes.

It seems like I get to talk to alot of people who are in the frustating time of waiting and there's not many things more frustrating that waiting, is there? But you can take comfort in this today: just because it feels like nothing is happening doesn't actually mean that nothing is happening. In fact, God is never still.

Just in case you have your doubts today, I don't think there anywhere in the Bible that you'll a example of Jesus being disappointed in you.

I think we could all use a lesson in the math of mercy today.

Prayer is so many things: it's a lifeline, a conversation starter, a safety net. But above all else, I believe it's our confidence as God's adopted childen.

If you're up against something really huge today, Jesus has just one request for you.

If we look back at our lives, there have been a few times where you've been up against something and, incredibly, God moved that mountain your life. But there are other times where that hasn't been the case. The mountain wasn't moved. But here's some good news: God isn't just an expert mountain mover. He's also an expert mountain climber.

It doesn't feel like a big shift, but our entire prayer experience changes when we make this one tweak.

I saw something just the other day that might as well have been straight out of super-hero movie. Incredible.

Just a moment of total honesty: As I go about the course of my day, I forget God. I'm not proud to admit that, but I do. I'm so glad God never forgets about you and me.

Because God is the ruler and judge over all, that mean we don't have to be. I don't know about you, but that brings immense relief!

Sometimes the best and wisest answer is... no answer at all.

Is there someone that you can breathe hope and encouragement into today?

If you're anything like me, then you might worry a lot about tomorrow's problems. But I've got some good news for you and for me today.

Shame can be such a burden that feels too heavy to carry. I'm just here to tell you today that God is here to carry that load for you. He sees you and he loves you.

What happens when life falls through the cracks? What happens when we feel like we're left with nothing but shattered pieces? We still have the most precious gift of all: God's love.

Everybody experiences anxiety. Not everybody knows how to overcome it in healthy ways. My friend John, who is a pastor up in Michigan, has a way. He wrote out Philippians 4:6-7 on a 3x5 card. It says, "Don't be anxious about anything. But in every situation, by prayer and petition with Thanksgiving, present your requests to God... and the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guar...

One of my favorite authors (and people for that matter) is a guy named Chad Bird. He wrote a book called 'The Christ Key' and today I want to share some words that have been particularly helpful and healing to me.

Author C.S. Lewis wrote the book 'Mere Christianity' back in 1952. But there's this quote that has stuck with me that could have absolutely been written today. Hope it impacts you the way it has me.