Addictions. We all have them. Some additions are healthy … some are benign … while others are devastatingly harmful. Have I lost you already? Let me explain.

It’s nearly the merry month of May … and the sun is shining almost daily now. “Spring is God’s way of saying, “One more time!” – Robert Orben The frigid clouds of winter have finally started to disappear and have made way for the glorious billows of spring. The thermometer is about to go above 60 degrees … and I just want to shout at the hope of things to come!

I live in the state of Oklahoma … where the wind comes sweeping down the plains. In Oklahoma… the spring is a stormy season. We have windstorms … hailstorms … thunderstorms … and tornados. Storms are a certainty if you live in Oklahoma. The truth is … storms are a certainty if you live on planet earth!

I’m still thinking about Easter. Although the recognized holiday has now come and gone … I am still pondering the power of Easter. You see … Easter was never meant to be acknowledged on only one day of the church calendar every year. Easter is a way of life … it is an eternal promise … it is the answer to every question.

He could have called 10,000 angels, and they instantly would have come to His rescue! He could have removed Himself from the cross, but He chose not to. He stayed there for you ... because you were the joy set before Him. You were on His mind while He hung on Calvary’s cross.

Our culture truly is broken, you know. However … there is a way … a joyful way … to live abundantly in the middle of it!

Do you know anyone who is bitter? Many bitter people choose this sordid emotion because of their childhood … or due to a failed marriage. Some people are bitter because of the economy … or due to the way their adult children treat them … or because someone that they loved dearly died too soon. Some people mistakenly believe that they have a right to be bitter just because life has thrown them a curve ball or two.

These are busy, busy days behind the scenes at Carol McLeod Ministries. We are preparing for our 20th Annual Women’s Conference in Buffalo, NY, which is aptly named, “Overflowing!” We are certainly overflowing with deep gratitude for all that the Lord has done over the past 20 years and we are simply undone by His goodness and strength.

This is LEAP week! This is the week … every four years … when we are gifted with an extra and undeserved day. A bonus 24 hours! A benefit of 1,440 minutes! 86,400 seconds that are all yours to spend … all yours.

The truth … the encouragement … and the challenges found in Colossians … just may give you the hope and direction you need for your personal journey. So … let’s dive in to just an excerpt from “Overflowing: Living Abundantly in a Broken Culture.” Enjoy … be encouraged … and be challenged!

Let me take you on a Valentine’s journey created to reinvigorate your heart toward this day of hearts, roses and gift-giving to those you love.

Are you facing a giant today? Have you more than met your match in the circumstances of life which have piled up around you and have become a mountain of impossibility? If so … you might want to read on.

Does your heart ever feel overwhelmed? My heart is often overwhelmed by commitments, expectations, disappointments and difficult relationships. Are you ever disheartened by your inability to meet everyone’s demands and expectations? Some days my heart vacillates between being raw with paralyzing frustration … and simultaneously stimulated by a thousand agitations.

From Guest Blogger, Lee Ann Mancini: In today’s culture of relativism, where absolute truth is often questioned, our children need a firm grasp of God’s unchanging truth. Humanism strives to convince them that there is no absolute truth, only subjective perspectives, and that God does not exist. We must help our children understand the concept of absolute truth, recognize it, and defend it.

From Guest Blogger, Mary DeMuth: What do you do when the circumstances of life reveal your imperfections? Hide? Cry? Run away? Justify? I did all those things—and threw in rage, denial and arguments in ample doses. But eventually, by God’s grace, I learned three valuable truths about the nature of real faith.