Read MoreI was a little frustrated that he wasn’t letting me pick the place to eat. I wanted to say, No… it’s my birthday and I’m hungry for Italian food and I’ve looked forward to this all day. I had not dressed for a fancy place and wasn’t prepared for this choice. After my husband kept driving toward the steak house, I surrendered my desires and decided to go along with his plan even though I didn’t understand. After all, he was the one paying for this date.
Grace is a gift – not earned and not deserved. It is given to us because God is good, not because we are. For those who are reading this who have already received this grace, we realize that our salvation depends wholly upon it. For those who may have never understood or received the grace of God, I want you to know that God’s love, mercy, and grace are available to you because of the kindness and sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
Read MoreHope…helps you smile through the trial.
Hope…helps you to keep giving even when it hurts.
Hope…helps you to keep believing that wayward soul will find their way home.
Hope…helps you hold it all together.
Hope…helps you to never stop praying.
Hope…helps you find rest during weary and hard days.
Sometimes it’s hard to hope though.
Read MoreDon’t Worry. Let God know about it. Did you notice Paul didn’t counsel us to discuss our problems to
our mom, sister, or even our husband? Bring it to God in prayer first. This would solve a majority of
problems and save us from making others the dumpster of our thoughts. I love Claudia Barba’s study on
worry in her book, Refresh your Heart. She explains, “Worry is not an emotion. It is a thought process- a
process that you can, and must control, because worry is sin.” There is a difference between worrying
and thinking through a problem. When difficulties arise, Claudia Barba explains that “disciplined thought
moves in a straight line through a tangle of difficulties to possible solutions. Worry is a swirling tornado
of thoughts centered on a fear. They repeat themselves over and over, making you dizzy but
accomplishing nothing else.” Learning to control our thoughts is vital. Remember that your mom, sister,
or friends can’t change the situation, but God can!
Read MoreRead MoreAnyone who knows me well, knows that I struggle with my tongue more than anything. I tend to be a "straight shooter", like my Dad. I've often wished I was more like my Mom, whom I've seldom, if ever, heard say a cross word to anyone.
I love God. I believe that you love God or you would not take the time to read this article. However, do I love God the way He deserves? That is a work in progress and, if I’m completely honest, some days are better than others.
The first step to loving God the way He deserves is to KNOW what the Bible teaches on this subject. Once we understand what God wants, then it’s just a matter of having the character to apply it to our lives every day.
Perhaps you are reading this today with a broken heart, hurting heart, shattered heart, crushed heart, bitter heart. Let me encourage you to keep on going. God's word says He healeth the broken in heart.
Read MoreOne of the first things a person does when they can’t see is get closer to the object. How can we get
closer spiritually? Compassion. Jude 1:22: “And of some, have compassion, making a difference.” Learn
to see things from another’s point of view. We do not all think the same or react to situations the same;
our problems are all different. When someone has a bad day, or acts in a way that’s hurtful, try to see
what is going on in their life. We don’t always know what is happening; we don’t see everything in their
lives, and we need to have compassion. When someone is hurting or grieving or struggling with a habit,
we need to try to understand; to look through their eyes.
Read MoreWhat happened in 2020 that you can glean from, learn from, and—if you HAVE to talk about
2020—what can you talk about INSTEAD of all the negativity?
In 2020 we got a puppy! He is so precious. His name was going to be Stimulus, but we decided
to go with Justice. ��
In 2020 I got to complete lots of projects I always put off doing! I also learned how I tend to put
off things because I just don’t want to do them not because I really don’t have time. Can I get a
witness?
Read MoreGod gives in the Word of God, the greatest judgment when he says in verse 31c; “their own way have I recompensed upon their heads…” This is when God withdraws His Presence, His power, and His leading from us. He is giving us what we want, and that is to live as we want, to live without the commitment of service.
How many times have we read this verse and thought we need more great preachers, more evangelists or more missionaries! Have we ever looked at ourselves to see how we could be the one God is looking for to stand in the gap: to be a part of that hedge?
Read MoreIt started out as a fairly small project, we were going to replace our countertops, paint, and replace the flooring and we were going to do the work ourselves with some help from others where needed. The more we looked around and talked about what different rooms needed, our list of improvements began to grow! We found a contractor that said he could do the work and began our three-week project!
Read MoreHaving a thankful and grateful demeanor is not always an easy thing to maintain, especially in 2020 😊 . While we have many things to be thankful for, we are constantly reminded by the world of all we are “missing”. We begin to focus on the material and temporal, and our immediate needs come to live at the forefront of our minds and hearts. This begins to strip us of our grateful spirit and the peace that comes from giving thanks. But lets be honest, the circumstances we often face are not always easy for our human hearts to find the good in, are they? Finding the parts to complain about is much easier, and friends may even seem to listen more intently when we are going through tragedy. However, if we are not careful, we will find that going to that friend, or creating that social media post with all our woes and heartaches,(serious though they may be), becomes our first line of defense over stopping to take anything to our Savior.
Read MoreMy husband ran a 50 mile race! Yes, you read that correctly. 50 mile trail race. Who in their right mind runs 50 miles? But that wasn’t enough for him. You see, there are these races that are 100 miles long. Seriously. Why? I’m really not sure, but he set his mind to it and signed up for one. Let’s be real… I was not (and am not) running 100 miles. That race was not for me! But do you know what was for me? Helping him. I could encourage him. I could support him. I could go on training runs with him, I could make sure he had all the tools he needed… Shoes, socks, clean running clothes, food, water, electrolytes, salt tablets… I could pray for him. And for months that is what I did. I was training for my races and he was training for his.
Read MoreDo you ever feel like you are just merely “surviving”? Have you ever heard of the statement “survival of the fittest”? Although I am well aware of the statements origin, and I am in complete dis-agreement with the thought process behind its meaning, the statement has always intrigued me. Years ago I began taking the original meaning of the coined saying and have often used the expression but I added my own “twist” to it. I developed a spiritual application for myself.
Read MoreI've struggled with my weight my entire life! I can remember being overweight at the age of nine. I was teased at school for my weight and my lack of coordination. Throughout my teenage years and as an adult, I eased into a sedentary lifestyle. Combined with my love of food, my lack of physical activity caused my weight to balloon to just over 300 pounds at the age of thirty! My mother passed away at the age of 42 because of her lack of self care and not being a good steward of her temple. However, it still took me almost eleven years after her death to "see the light!"
Read MoreI think as women in general it is in our nature to give of ourselves in almost everything we do. We have a tendency to put everyone else’s needs before our own, especially in family life. If you are like me and chose a serving profession (nurse), then your job requires a lot of self-giving. So I give all day at work, then I get home and give the rest to my kids, and sometimes it is hard to have the motivation to fill myself back up again by spending time with the best Giver of all, my Heavenly Father.
Read MoreOh how I wish that was my life! I have wandered for much of it. Brokenly. Every repeat, reconciled moment with the Lord, I would rejoice in feeling close to Him, yet I would continue sojourning – spiritually never settling down, putting down roots with a home church, developing deep fellowships with other believers – and therefore never getting God's best for me. My growth was stunted, limited to solitary bible study and the occasional chat with a brother or sister in the faith, for much of my adult life. And I longed for the Lord, painfully so.
Read MoreBe faithful to all church services and soul-winning times, BE ON TIME, even be early, nothing shows love like being there! If you are a leader in your church, do better than average, there is a good chance that others will do a little less than what you do.
Read MoreThere’s an “expected end” to loneliness. I had a friend ask me a while ago if it bothered me that all my friends were dating and I was not. Being honest, sometimes there is that insecurity that says there won’t be an end to this season in my life. Then I remember I have a promise from God. Does that mean I will get married? Not necessarily. But the “thing that I long for”? The things that every human being longs for? Belonging and mattering? Oh yes, my friend, it’s coming. If not in my own family, then in the work that God is preparing me to do.
Read MoreThe only good in us is because Jesus Christs righteousness and the Holy spirit that dwells in us. This past fall I went to a ladies craft day at a church camp with the ladies of our church. They go to this event every year, but this was my very first time attending. As I entered the room I saw four different craft stations set up, and at each station was an example of what we were about to create. Stacked neatly in piles on the tables were all the supplies needed to make that item. There were no written instructions on how to put it together but there was a leader stationed there if you needed any help. Guess who needed help?
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