Break any stronghold in your life is a part of a quote I read in Barb Roose’s book Stronger Than Stress, and I’m pondering it with you today.

For Lent 2025, I’ll be writing new blog posts every day. I’m writing for just five unedited minutes on a quote of the day to deepen our faith in this Lenten season.

Day 31 of Lent 2025 – April 4

I purchased this book last year and I’m just now getting around to reading it. The timing is perfect as I resume full-time freelance work, which can be stressful because my income is not guaranteed.

This week my stress has been triggered over and over. I spent almost a whole day trying to get a file to load, but then had to start from scratch in a different program. In that stressful period, I questioned my own abilities to perform well. This was unnecessary because the problem was with the operating system, not me. However, because my autonomic nervous system was flooded, I attacked myself – that’s my normal setting due to years of emotional abuse.

Renouncing the Spirit of Chronic Stress

I picked up Barb’s book from my big stack of to-read books last night. This quote hit me in the heart. As I recently wrote, my pastor talked about the stronghold of despair in his sermon, which I never considered to be a stronghold in my life. Now Barb points out that chronic stress can be a stronghold too. I’m glad she did, because now I can pray more intelligently about it. My pastor said he started renouncing the spirit of despair in his life, and I will do that too – as well as the spirit of chronic stress.

I am a true-blue overachiever. It’s part of my DNA as an Enneagram 1 and a firstborn, and also as a gifted student. But my natural high achievement style has also been exacerbated by other factors. These factors include being a child of divorce since age 4 who was doing all the homeowner tasks I do now by age 10. I was  I’m starting to realize just how much those heavy burdens at a very young age are still impacting me now in my work and personal life.

Learning from Paul about Stress

Barb frames her book around the apostle Paul’s life. He was a natural high achiever, just like me. However, she points out that though Paul endured many stressful situations and wrote honestly about them, he still experienced God’s peace in spite of them. He was extremely productive without letting work rule his life. I’m looking forward to learning more from Barb as I continue reading this book, and applying the examples from Paul’s life to my own.

Are you dealing with chronic stress like I am? Get your copy of Stronger Than Stress HERE.

Join me again tomorrow for another reflection on a different quote.

Find all my additional resources for Lent on this page.

Are You Looking for a Book Launch Manager or Virtual Assistant?

If you’re launching a book in 2025 or beyond, be sure to book a call with me HERE to discuss your book launch. I’ve had over 50 clients since 2022, and I’d love to speak with you soon. I’m also taking on new VA clients. You can learn more and book a call with me on THIS PAGE.

If you liked this post, I would appreciate your shares on social media!

Also, if you make a purchase from any of the links on this post, I receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support!

I send my weekly newsletter Tea on Tuesdays at 3:00 p.m. Central time every Tuesday.  I write an exclusive devotion for you each week that I share with you first.

To receive the newsletter, please subscribe below. I can’t wait to share personally with you each week!

You cannot change what you do not confront is a part of a quote I read in Craig Groeschel’s book Winning the War in Your Mind, and I’m pondering it with you today.

For Lent 2025, I’ll be writing new blog posts every day. I’m writing for just five unedited minutes on a quote of the day to deepen our faith in this Lenten season.

Day 30 of Lent 2025 – April 3

Winning the War in Your Mind is a powerful book to help you change your thoughts, which shape your life. I like Craig Groeschel’s writing because it is clear, concise, and ringing with truth. It’s also filled with humor and humility, which make the lessons even more meaningful. You can see my Lenten post about another one of his books HERE.

In the past three years, I have battled depression, which is a battle in the mind. I know that’s where all our battles begin, and it’s where Satan can whisper lies to us. Though I’ve written two books on transforming your thought life, I needed to confront lies I believed that the enemy planted. Lies like “things are never going to get better for me,” or “the shoe is always going to fall,” which are rooted in a lifetime of abuse. I had to confront the underlying traumas to change my thought life, as recommended in THIS BOOK.

You Cannot Change What You Do Not Confront

This journey of greater self-awareness in my thought life is an important part of my healing process. In a support group I joined through my church, we learned to name our emotions out loud. This practice of naming my emotions is helping me gain self-awareness. Now when a thought life problem develops, I name the emotion I’m feeling before God. It helps to say, “God, the reason I’m thinking this is because I’m lonely right now.” The feeling can be changed based on the moment. Just acknowledging it before God out loud helps decrease the negative feeling’s power. After I confess my feeling, I renew my trust in God with an audible statement. In this way, I’m winning the war because I’m not ignoring the battle going on in my mind.

Craig’s book is a powerful tool for gaining self-awareness of your thought life problems. I think it’s a good read along with my book, which is a tool to point you toward specific scriptures to help you fight back in specific areas of struggle. In fact, I know my publisher gave me a contract for my book the same year Craig’s book was published, because the topic of “thought life” was what the Holy Spirit wanted readers to focus on that year, along with this popular book too.

More quotes from Winning the War in Your Mind:

• A lie believed as truth will affect your life as if it were true.
• Who you are today is a result of your thoughts in the past. Who you become in the future will reflect what you think about today.
• The battle for your life is won or lost in your mind. Your thoughts will control you, so you have to control your thoughts.

Get your copy of Winning the War in Your Mind HERE.

Join me again tomorrow for another reflection on a different quote.

Find all my additional resources for Lent on this page.

Are You Looking for a Book Launch Manager or Virtual Assistant?

If you’re launching a book in 2025 or beyond, be sure to book a call with me HERE to discuss your book launch. I’ve had over 50 clients since 2022, and I’d love to speak with you soon. I’m also taking on new VA clients. You can learn more and book a call with me on THIS PAGE.

If you liked this post, I would appreciate your shares on social media!

Also, if you make a purchase from any of the links on this post, I receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support!

I send my weekly newsletter Tea on Tuesdays at 3:00 p.m. Central time every Tuesday.  I write an exclusive devotion for you each week that I share with you first.

To receive the newsletter, please subscribe below. I can’t wait to share personally with you each week!

The Enemy Indeed Attacks is a part of a quote I read in Cheryl Lutz’s book Securely Held, and I’m pondering it with you today.

For Lent 2025, I’ll be writing new blog posts every day. I’m writing for just five unedited minutes on a quote of the day to deepen our faith in this Lenten season.

Day 29 of Lent 2025 – April 2

Cheryl Pelton Lutz is a pastor’s wife and Bible teacher, and her husband Alan was my pastor in high school. I loved their family and even got to babysit their children a few times. I was so excited for Cheryl when her book Securely Held published, because publishing a book was a long-held dream of hers (and mine too).

Cheryl’s book reminds us that Jesus holds us in the storms of our lives. She has faced many trials in relationships, health issues, and ministry, which she details in her book. The quote I pulled from her book resonates most strongly with me. She writes about spiritual warfare with wisdom.

All of us in ministry will face severe spiritual attacks. That is true whether you are a pastor, teacher, writer, speaker, or influencer. Here is a list of some of the spiritual attacks I’ve faced in my ministry:

1. On the day my author copies were delivered and my devotion went live on a huge platform, six appliances in my home went out at once. Also, an area of abuse reached unprecedented heights.
2. When I obeyed God’s directive to post my thoughts online after watching The Sound of Freedom, a stalker approached me as a direct result of my viral YouTube video.
3. The week I published my most recent book, Hope for the Hard Days, I faced a devastating personal disappointment, and I “just so happened” to back into someone else’s car.
4. The day I bought a new Apple computer to be able to support other Christian authors in kingdom work, my dog’s other knee blew out, requiring expensive surgery.

I could list many other attacks, but this is enough to prove the enemy hates my guts. This is also the reason I’m not writing another book until I heal from the trauma I’ve experienced and build the emotional reserves I need to face inevitable attacks.

The Bible tells us to expect this:

• Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8 NIV
• For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Ephesians 6:12 NIV
• “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” Matthew 5:11-12 NIV
• “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 NIV

God never tells us to expect the Christian life to be easy, especially if we are in ministry. That’s why I always tell my clients to expect spiritual warfare to ramp up when their books are publishing. It’s part and parcel of what we do. However, Jesus securely holds us when we are attacked, and he gives us victory in the spiritual realms. This truth keeps moving me forward even when I’m facing the inevitable attacks of moving onto the front lines for God’s glory.

Learn more about spiritual warfare in Cheryl’s book HERE.

Join me again tomorrow for another reflection on a different quote.

Find all my additional resources for Lent on this page.

Are You Looking for a Book Launch Manager or Virtual Assistant?

If you’re launching a book in 2025 or beyond, be sure to book a call with me HERE to discuss your book launch. I’ve had over 50 clients since 2022, and I’d love to speak with you soon. I’m also taking on new VA clients. You can learn more and book a call with me on THIS PAGE.

If you liked this post, I would appreciate your shares on social media!

Also, if you make a purchase from any of the links on this post, I receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support!

I send my weekly newsletter Tea on Tuesdays at 3:00 p.m. Central time every Tuesday.  I write an exclusive devotion for you each week that I share with you first.

To receive the newsletter, please subscribe below. I can’t wait to share personally with you each week!

God Is an On-Time God is a part of a quote I read in Kelly Balarie’s book Take Every Thought Captive, and I’m pondering it with you today.

For Lent 2025, I’ll be writing new blog posts every day. I’m writing for just five unedited minutes on a quote of the day to deepen our faith in this Lenten season.

Day 28 of Lent 2025 – April 1

I was the book launch manager for Kelly Balarie’s Take Every Thought Captive in 2023. I read her powerful book, as I always do with my clients’ books, and it resonated strongly with me.

I’m glad I reread my highlights from it this year. This quote about God’s timing is good for me to remember. I feel like I’m in a long season of waiting for God to redeem all that the locusts have eaten in my life. I want him to rebuild goodness in my relationships, finances, and faith – areas that have been shaken in the past three years.

Kelly’s quote reminds me to trust in God’s timing. I also think about Joseph, the Bible person with whom I most closely identify. In one moment, he was lifted from prison and set into a high position of authority. The Bible even records that he took time for a quick shave (Gen. 41:14). I think about Joseph shaving off his long beard as a sign of shedding off the old when he was getting ready to step into the new. Actually, he stepped into the prophecy God had spoken over him 13 years prior to that moment (Gen. 37:5-11).

Here’s another great quote from Take Every Thought Captive:

Disappointment makes us feel blocked, but trust in God delivers hope that good can come out of bad.

As I wait for God to fulfill promises he spoke to me in the Sunbeams chapter of this book I wrote, I must intentionally fight disappointment and impatience by focusing on hope. This builds my trust in God and heals my relationship with him. I’m grateful for God’s Word which gives me hope, along with all the Christian books I read for my edification.

Get your copy of Take Every Thought Captive HERE.

Join me again tomorrow for another reflection on a different quote.

Find all my additional resources for Lent on this page.

Are You Looking for a Book Launch Manager or Virtual Assistant?

If you’re launching a book in 2025 or beyond, be sure to book a call with me HERE to discuss your book launch. I’ve had over 50 clients since 2022, and I’d love to speak with you soon. I’m also taking on new VA clients. You can learn more and book a call with me on THIS PAGE.

If you liked this post, I would appreciate your shares on social media!

Also, if you make a purchase from any of the links on this post, I receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support!

I send my weekly newsletter Tea on Tuesdays at 3:00 p.m. Central time every Tuesday.  I write an exclusive devotion for you each week that I share with you first.

To receive the newsletter, please subscribe below. I can’t wait to share personally with you each week!

The Person Waiting to Offer Himself is a part of a quote I read in Asheritah Ciuciu’s book Delighting in Jesus, and I’m pondering it with you today.

For Lent 2025, I’ll be writing new blog posts every day. I’m writing for just five unedited minutes on a quote of the day to deepen our faith in this Lenten season.

Day 27 of Lent 2025 – March 31

I ordered this book because I need an infusion of joy into my life. What I appreciate most about it is how Asheritah weaves neuroscience into her spiritual encouragement. She talks about our brain’s fear center as well as its joy center. As I’ve written about in this book, the more we focus on Scripture to reprogram our thoughts, the more joy we can have in our lives.

In the past three years, severe trauma has impacted all aspects of my life, including my spiritual health. As I’ve written before, I’ve felt a sense of betrayal in my relationship with God that I want to repair. This book is helping me do that. I appreciate both the practical and spiritual approaches in this book. She lays out the five rhythms of delight: worship, word, whisper, wonder, and walk. I’m exploring the one on worship right now. I like her suggestions for carving out personal worship time each day. This will help me heal and recapture the joy of living the Christian life.

My Bible reading has felt more wooden at certain times in my recovery process. Though I kept up with reading devotions every day with scriptures in little bites, sometimes reading the Bible itself felt too painful. But I believe that season has passed, and I’m grateful that it’s over. As the quote states, I want to recapture my delight in the personhood of Jesus through my daily scripture readings, rather than just looking at Bible reading as another thing to check off my to-do list.

Sometimes we need a friend to help us recapture our joy and delight, and Asheritah serves that purpose in Delighting in Jesus. I encourage you to get your copy HERE.

Join me again tomorrow for another reflection on a different quote.

Find all my additional resources for Lent on this page.

Are You Looking for a Book Launch Manager or Virtual Assistant?

If you’re launching a book in 2025 or beyond, be sure to book a call with me HERE to discuss your book launch. I’ve had over 50 clients since 2022, and I’d love to speak with you soon. I’m also taking on new VA clients. You can learn more and book a call with me on THIS PAGE.

If you liked this post, I would appreciate your shares on social media!

Also, if you make a purchase from any of the links on this post, I receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support!

I send my weekly newsletter Tea on Tuesdays at 3:00 p.m. Central time every Tuesday.  I write an exclusive devotion for you each week that I share with you first.

To receive the newsletter, please subscribe below. I can’t wait to share personally with you each week!