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Ashley talked to her siblings every day, and all of them were praying, praying with a kind of fervor none of them had known before. Not because they doubted God's faithfulness in hearing their prayers and answering. But because they appreciated her so much more now, appreciated everything she'd ever done, every perfect word or loving touch. Before they might've taken her for granted once in a while, the way kids sometimes do with their pare..
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Karen Kingsbury |
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Though it was the worst season in her life, something wonderful came of it. She found a relationship with Jesus.
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Karen Kingsbury |
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there can be no growth for today and tomorrow by remaining where yesterday lives.
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Karen Kingsbury |
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All of it was proof that God would always have the last word when it came to life-and-death situations.
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Karen Kingsbury |
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Susan and Elizabeth ran to him and grabbed his hands. "Race us, Daddy ... come on, race us." Their voices sounded almost the same as they pulled at him and jumped up and down on the sugary white sand."
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Karen Kingsbury |
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He needs the Lord, but I think right now God scares him." Jim exhaled hard. "As if he knows God's chasing him, and he's determined to run until he hits a brick wall."
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Karen Kingsbury |
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Me. The answer whispered across Cheryl's soul, and chills ran down her arms.
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Karen Kingsbury |
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Back in his dating days, a man didn't go to a woman's house if she lived alone. He might pick her up at the front porch, but he wouldn't go inside. Propriety ruled.
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Karen Kingsbury |
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Love was a decision.
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Karen Kingsbury |
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The apostle Paul said it best. For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. How could they do anything but celebrate this moment? All of them would face it one day ... in a fraction of an instant, in the midst of a lifetime it would be their turn.
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Karen Kingsbury |
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A tsunami of heartbreak consumed the landscape of her heart, wiping out all she has known or assumed or believed to be real over the last eleven years.
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Karen Kingsbury |
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The start of sin and destruction, discouragement and darkness, always happened with single thought. He couldn't stop that. Wrong thoughts were like the billboard signs on the highway of life. They were bound to come. Victory or defeat depended on how he handled the thought. "Take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ." The scripture from 2 Corinthians 10:5 came back to him now, the way it had countless other times. He grabbed the..
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Karen Kingsbury |
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Innocence was something that grew in the heart and shone through the eyes.
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Karen Kingsbury |
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The years go by too quickly to waste them in silent prisons of hate." With"
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Karen Kingsbury |
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Hold fast to your faith. Temptation is a given; look for the way out! It is possible to fall!
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Karen Kingsbury |
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Faith like a child ... that's how I want to live.
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Karen Kingsbury |
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Police caught up with him on January 22 and again
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Karen Kingsbury |
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Every time I brought a baby home from the hospital I felt that this was the reason God had given me life. So I could raise my babies and give my family a life they would always remember, a life that would teach them to do the same thing for the people they loved one day.
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Karen Kingsbury |
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And though the clapping came from the family and friends that filled the church, she was sure she heard a distant clapping, too. A clapping of all the angels in heaven and earth who knew that a moment like this could only come from one source. Their loving, faithful Almighty God.
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Karen Kingsbury |
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I'm not sure anyone knows exactly why certain things happen, but I know this. Evil doesn't come from God.
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Karen Kingsbury |
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God was in control. She had nothing to fear. No matter what happened next or how the outcome played in their lives, whatever triumph or tragedy might take place, God loved them. Nothing could ever change that.
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Karen Kingsbury |
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Somehow dying was like that. A sense of nervousness and finality and sorrow because for a season, they wouldn't be together.
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Karen Kingsbury |
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Her plan was to be so comforted by the host of blessings she'd been given that when she reached the current day she'd be able to fall asleep.
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Karen Kingsbury |
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never settle for the longings of the world.
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Karen Kingsbury |
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Christian oftentimes meant walking through dark places in the journey and living only on an unseen, unfelt faith.
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Karen Kingsbury |
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We can trust Him with the plans He has for our lives.
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Karen Kingsbury |
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After that, his faith could never be something passive, a pleasant outing to a friendly church service. Faith became everything, because heaven held one of his own. He was passionate about making sure his family all wound up together in heaven. But here on earth, winning another Super Bowl ring was important too.
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Karen Kingsbury |
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Oh, Daddy ... you're home, and look who's here!" Susan and Elizabeth reached him first, and Connor swung them around. As he did he caught Michele's eyes in the back of the group. She was crying and laughing all at the same time."
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Karen Kingsbury |
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God was a mystery ... His ways were good. His plans might be hard to understand, but they could be trusted. Even in the darkest days.
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Karen Kingsbury |
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Sometimes -- moments like this -- only a song could bridge his heart to God's, filling his senses with truth and hope.
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Karen Kingsbury |
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Love first. Questions later. Grace beyond measure. All of it unconditional.
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Karen Kingsbury |
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On their morning walks, the girls' hearts were
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Karen Kingsbury |
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How faithful God had been over the years, how full of provision and beauty. And redemption.
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Karen Kingsbury |
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This was how Christians had fallen under the umbrella of being judgmental and narrow-minded. The idea that one sin could be singled out as the worst, the area God disliked most.
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Karen Kingsbury |
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Whatever the future held, she didn't need to be afraid. Good and bad times were a part of life. As her dad always said, "This too shall pass." And through the years that had been true. Nothing stayed the same, except this: God's faithfulness, and the love they had for each other."
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Karen Kingsbury |
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That's what it comes down to." Elizabeth worked the last few buttons together. She stopped to cough, but only for a moment. "He alone knows the number of our days, and until that moment, he always has a plan for us."
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Karen Kingsbury |
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And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
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Karen Kingsbury |
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Crying is ok, you know why?.. Because if you cry a lot when you say good-bye, it means you love a lot.
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Karen Kingsbury |
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God had been faithful time and time and time again. That was the type of God the Baxters served. No, they didn't always get the answers they wanted. But they always got the right answers, even now with her cancer.
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Karen Kingsbury |
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If you and someone you love have a difference of opinion on something, maybe it's best to let it stay that way. Respect each other's right to believe what you believe. Respect each other. Agree to disagree, my dad used to say. When people do that, I've seen the most amazing result: love happens. People start finding the things they do have in common and they start loving the person for simply being a brother or a father or an aunt or a cous..
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Karen Kingsbury |
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In his heart, a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.
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Karen Kingsbury |
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True friends didn't come easily.
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Karen Kingsbury |
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Why am I doing this to myself, God? She looked into her own eyes and waited. But she heard no divine answers, nothing but the roar of shame and guilt that came with every
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Karen Kingsbury |
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God's timing is perfect.
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Karen Kingsbury |