Lori Boucher

One of the meanings of discipline is to punish or penalize to train and control; correct; chastise. When you are disciplined for doing something wrong, it does not necessarily result in repentance or transformation. I find myself pondering the question today, what type of environment must be cultivated to yield the fruitful results of discipline? What we believe has a significant impact on the response to discipline in our lives. I remember fearing punishment as a child, yet fear wasn't enough of a deterren[...]

My word for this year is DISCIPLINE: a word with more negative feelings connected to it than positive ones. Discipline tends to remind us of what we lack, where we fall short, or punishment. Then, we bring ourselves to the other side of this word, only to be left with decisions that feel impossible, too hard, or laborious. So, we choose the path of least resistance, yet again, comfort wins over discipline, and we remain frustrated in our same habits. But I am excited for this new quest: a climb up the Everes[...]

I feel a deep conviction in my soul. There is a huge piece I missed as we launched Heartstrong season 1. Even my welcome opener video was about how you "do" Heartstrong. I got it wrong. Heartstrong is not something you do. You see, I got Heartstrong wrong. It wasn’t an invitation to come and do Heartstrong Discipleship Intensive together. It was an invitation to become Heartstrong Disciples of Jesus. A natural outflow of being is doing. Our actions confirm our identity. The things we do reveal who we are.[...]

Marks of the True Christian "Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good." Romans 12:9 Romans 12 is one of my favourite chapters in the Bible. It's full of everything one needs to live a life in Christ. The title of this part of the chapter is Marks of a True Christian, which leads us to believe that there is such thing as a false or untrue Christian. Does a false Christian even know that they are a false Christian? This very small yet packed verse comes with three instructions. Let[...]

"For I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you 'Fear not, I am the one who helps you.'" Isaiah 41:13 (ESV). God established the trustworthiness of His name. Like a loving father, he holds our dominant hand to remind us to trust Him, rely on Him, and in this position, we never have to fear: He is our help and strength. We must learn to discern the voice of the Lord. I am so thankful for the Bible that gives us everything we will ever need to know about God. It would take an entire li[...]

"Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses." 1 Timothy 6:12 ESV. Fight the good fight of faith. We are in a fight; this walk of faith that we are in is a fight to the end—a fight we are invited into every day when we wake. The moment our eyes are open, there is a fight between our flesh and our spirit, both desiring to win over the other. We must have an eternal perspective to win[...]

Enlarge the place of your tent, and let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out; do not hold back; lengthen your cords and strengthen your stakes." Isaiah 54:2 (ESV). Isaiah 54 is named the eternal covenant of peace. The study notes for this chapter say God commands his people to prepare joyfully for their future. This line so resonates with me in this moment of history. When God gives us commands, there is a powerful and beautiful space of surrendering to trust that what God asks us to do is for o[...]

Why do we despise that which is good for us? Why do we see discipline as negative, harmful, and holding us back from living our true selves? I want another donut, just one more episode, just one more drink, just one more click, scroll or post; indulgences that lead us to hate ourselves after but in the moment feel so authentically right and deserved. You deserve it, you work so hard, you’ve had a hard day, you need to rest, chill, relax, you do so much for others, you need to do something for yourself. We[...]

"You will tread on the lion and the adder; the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot. Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him; I will protect him because he knows my name. When he calls to me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.” Psalm 91: 13-16 ESV. Psalm 91 is a beautiful, tender, and intimate Psalm that describes the confidence we can have in the Lord despite our ci[...]

And he said to them, “What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?” And they stood still, looking sad. Luke 24:17 What did you see? The Road to Emmaus Story in Luke 24 is a crazy story for so many reasons.  Jesus appears to Cleopas on the day he has resurrected, but God does not allow him and whomever he is with to recognize him.  He asks about the conversation they are holding as they talk together about all that has transpired. Have you ever been in the middle of an u[...]