Walking With a Friend Facing Divorce

Paula Masters
1 Dec 2015
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You and your husband sit broken hearted staring at an empty booth in a restaurant where you once shared sushi and laughter with friends who are now divorced. There is something very sad and disorienting about remembering two people in your life being together — who are now worlds apart. Because there is often so much heartache and division that happens within divorce, friends often feel compelled to pick sides, so the trial expands. Divorce does not just affect the immediate family; it becomes a trial that the extended community endures as well. One divorced person shared that even her […]

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Rescue for the Bitter Heart

Paula Masters
2 Sep 2015
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  Here is the scenario: a person who has been wounded in heart seeks counsel on how to handle bitterness. As an antidote the counselor offers the Scripture Proverbs 10:12: “Hatred stirs up conflict, but love covers over all wrongs.” The already emotionally weighed down counselee sets out to perform this spiritual directive. But, now he or she is not simply weighed down with bitterness; guilt and pressure to “love” has been added to the load. The result…fake smiles, fake acts of kindness with a heart still blackened with bitterness. Eventually, the counselee explodes both internally and externally. This comes […]

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Bitter Heart

When The Theology Of Grace Is Challenged

Paula Masters
1 Aug 2015
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  The message of grace has been a sweeping movement in the Christian world and is gaining traction. No matter what background a person happens to come from, it is shaking things up in a good and big way. Yet, recent scandal in the life of one of “graces” biggest proponents, Tullian Tchividjian, (former Senior Pastor of a Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church) has caused many skeptics to question the message’s validity. While controversy may be difficult, it’s benefits may be many. One being that God often uses conflict as an opportunity to remove dross from the silver of our faith. […]

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The “A” List Women of God

Paula Masters
9 Jul 2015
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Is it just me, or have you ever noticed that successful Christian women in the church generally have really great hair? Of course I’m jesting, but in all honesty I might not be that far off in projecting a fairly accurate profile. Every arena of life has politics and the church is no exception. As such, it is not uncommon for the woman with the vibrant personality and confident abilities to rise to the top. She also might be married to an influential man, have beautiful children and most importantly possess “A” list talents. I remember walking into church one […]

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women of god

How Division Can Ruin Relationships

Paula Masters
4 Jun 2015
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Division Can Ruin Relationships

Scripture tells us that “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and a house divided against itself falls” ( Luke 11:17). Is it any wonder Satan would attack families, friends and neighbors in this very way? He knows the way to collapse or undermine something is by ultimately dividing it. His strategy is subtle, and in stages, so he doesn’t overtly implicate himself in the matter. He starts off by eliciting strong opinions, which can be the beginning crack in his plan of division. It is interesting to try and trace a conflict’s origin. Have you ever tried […]

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Over Spiritualizing Every Conversation is “Juking” Others

Paula Masters
2 Apr 2015
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I first came across the word “juking” several years ago when my college-aged daughter brought it to my attention. On a visit home she explained the meaning of this interesting term. I was floored when she defined it as Christians “over spiritualizing” every conversation. In fact, juking is just that, somehow turning every piece of communication into a spiritual principle, direction or cliche. When she expounded on the subject further, I realized I myself had been guilty of juking. After all, that was the Christian culture; everybody juked. It was expected, especially from those in leadership. Adding a fitting spiritual platitude […]

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over spiritualizing

Giving Your Heart to the Wrong Person

Paula Masters
2 Feb 2015
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wrong person

“Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life” (Proverbs 4:23). While trying to find the one you will marry, giving our heart to the wrong person is a heartbreaking experience. It is not unusual for people to find themselves in a relationship with someone who initially presented himself one way, but in time revealed a hidden side. If we have fallen for a person who has turned out to have a false persona, feelings of shock are quite natural. How does one begin to mend from this kind of broken heart? Believe it or […]

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Making A New Years Dissolution

Paula Masters
30 Dec 2014
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Instead of coming up with yet one more resolution, maybe this year it’s time to add a “dissolution” to our New Year’s list? This is where we make a conscious effort to “dissolve” our own efforts towards ridding that stubborn thorn in our lives that simply will not change. Certainly change is good when appropriate, but not all things are going to change. Maybe the first order of business in the New Year is to consider the difference. There is an old saying worth looking at that goes like this: “God, grant me the serenity To accept the things I […]

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Holiday Blues

Paula Masters
9 Dec 2014
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holiday blues

For some of us Christmas represents one of the most heart-wrenching times of year. As it approaches there is often impending feeling of dread. The lights and jolly songs that fill the streets only increase the ache that reverberates in our hearts. Whether it is the death of a loved one, the end of a marriage, difficult childhood memories, complicated family relationships, empty nest, loneliness or anything else, Christmas can bring on an overwhelming sense of sadness. The fact that the marketing world capitalizes on Christmas plays a big part in the anguish that some experience. Everything being perfectly presented, […]

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A Thankful Heart in Difficult Times

Paula Masters
3 Nov 2014
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Thanksgiving is drawing near and for many finding reasons to be thankful can be a bit challenging. In fact, trying to come up with just one noteworthy circumstance or event can even be a chore. It doesn’t help that many of us are feeling a loss of the initial heart and zeal that once shaped our spiritual lives. How do we manage when the passion that was constant and fervent becomes fleeting and flat…let alone be thankful? I’m not referring to the normal ebb and flow that is a natural part of the Christian walk but rather the darkened season […]

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