Posts in Encouragement
My Jesus - Nancy Shurilla

And there’s the gem.  Those two little words Trina would use so often in her conversation.  MY Jesus. The most important lesson I ever learned from Trina, though I wouldn’t even realize it until YEARS later, was that He needs to be ‘MY’ Jesus.  When you speak of your Saviour, it should be personal.  The same way you say, ‘My kids’ or ‘My husband’.  Possessive.  Loving.  Is that how you think of Jesus, or do you not really think about that relationship much at all?  We all hear quite regularly in preaching that we need to have a relationship with God(Jesus), but do we really think and ponder and try to figure out what that entails?  Oh sure, there’s the ‘read your Bible more!  Here’s a 1 year plan!’  and don’t you dare misunderstand me, reading your Bible is paramount in a Christians life, but are you just going through the motions of Bible reading so that you can check off a little chart?  You’ll be closer to Jesus than if you weren’t reading at all, sure, but would you feel that possessive love?  Trina challenged me without even saying it to get that possessive love.  To thirst for it.  And it’s so funny because, the closer you get the more you want. 

Read More
Rehearsal Time - Jessica Shipp

We have all heard someone say or have ourselves said something that we don’t intend to act upon. But why would we say something we don’t mean? Most of the time we quickly forget what we said or thought, but what damage have we caused? I have started thinking about this more and have become more aware of it after I heard a phrase in a sermon last year.  The phrase was “don’t rehearse evil.” DON’T REHEARSE EVIL.  You might be thinking it’s not that bad, it’s not evil because they or I didn’t mean it.  If it’s not Phillipians 4:8 worthy it’s evil. If it’s not righteous it’s evil. The Bible says in Proverbs 23:7 “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he…” and in Matthew 12:34b, “…for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.” What is in our hearts? God destroyed all of mankind with the Flood because “…every imagination of the THOUGHTS of his heart was only evil continually.” (Genesis 6:5b)  What is in the heart will eventually spill forth to our mouths. “Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile.” Psalm 34:13 We need to be on guard for even the tiniest splinter of evil.  How do we keep those thoughts and words of destruction from forming? 

Read More
Engulfed - Jodi Sherlin

July 3rd of this last year, 7 months ago, our family was enjoying some small fireworks outside. Nothing extravagant. Just a few that were sold around town that made some nice colors in the air. The men folk made sure that they did them in what we thought were a safe distance from our home and garage, and all was good. We were having a good time. When it was all done, my husband and sons in law were very diligent about checking to make sure everything was secure and there were no sparks or flames. We all took our time getting in the house and our extended family took their time leaving, nobody was in a hurry, it was a very relaxed evening. After everyone was gone, we were settling in for the night, my husband and I in the living room just about to get our pugs on our laps. Our married kids were all settled in their room. My son, who was at the farthest end of our home, came out into the living room, white as a ghost and said with a look on his face, that I will NEVER forget.. “THE HOUSE IS ON FIRE!”

Read More
To Be Seen - Theresa Schwenke

Then go out and PURPOSE to see others.  Look for the gold God has put within those around us, and tell them!  Make the effort.   In purposing to help others recognize their value, we will help them to know they are seen by our God.   “To the world you may be one person’ but to one person you may be the world” is a quote we should remember often.    Most importantly, share your “Thou God seest me” testimony with the unsaved.   Let them know that they too can be seen, saved, and their eternity changed forever! 

Read More
Isn't Being Married SOOOOO Good! - Amy Sapp

Work together to create a budget. When you don’t know what you are spending it can get out of control fast. Look at your budget from time to time and adjust as needed. Talk about it and make spending decisions together! (Money is one of the biggest reasons for marriage problems.) Keep your checkbook balanced!

Read More
You Will Do What You Believe - Jennifer Schwarz

Over and over the Bible tells us to be careful, to watch, to guard, those things which feed our mind, our emotions and our will- the components of our heart.

This admonition needs to be taken so seriously. 

Anxiety, depression, and  overwhelm are words we hear on a daily basis.  Meds and therapists are replacing Bible and preaching. Often a person will say, “I don’t do or can’t do the things I should do.”

Read More
Treasures In The Snow - Linda Sexton

The lesson I learned actually took more than one winter to learn.  It also took the preaching of the word of God.  It took reading my Bible more.  It took praying more and it took trusting God more.  Did I really believe all things worked for my good?  And then, I purposed in my heart that I would learn to enjoy winter.

Read More
All Wrapped Up and Tied in a Bow - Anne Marie Sanftner

Let’s be real for a minute and please let this question sink into your beautiful soul. Do you feel the need that your life must be all wrapped perfectly and tied up in a perfect bow? Do you ever feel like you don’t measure up to other people’s expectations? Do you ever feel like the expectations are too? How about an example; do these thoughts or similar ones ever creep up in your head? “Look at that perfect Christmas tree…mine doesn’t look like that.” “That family picture is so beautiful…I wish we could do that so others can see us look that good.” “They always get such amazing Christmas gifts…we can’t afford those but I’ll get them anyway.” “It all has to be perfect…I have to do whatever I can to make it perfect.” I am using Christmas time as an example because I sincerely feel that not-measuring-up can be a dominating feeling during and after the holiday season. 

Read More
Look Up - Jean Santos

I heard a sermon illustration about a bee. It was said that if you put a bee in the bottom of a glass jar, the bee will never fly out. Why? Because the bee never looks up to realize that the way out is right above him. I think that all too often, I am the same way. When I face problems, I tend to look around for answers, but forget to look up for His answer. I am so thankful that my Father is a “very present” help. (Psalm 46:1) He’s right there---every step of the way---even when I don’t realize it. He promises me in His Word that He will never leave me or forsake me (Hebrews 13:5-6). The key is that I lift up my eyes. I need to turn my eyes upon Jesus and look full in His wonderful face! When I do, the things of this earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace. When days are dreary…look up! When the long nights are weary….look up! Jesus cares! When the sun is shining….

Read More
I Thought We Were Friends - Amy Sapp

“I thought we were friends.” / “I thought you loved me.”

The hurt behind those words can overshadow years of life, love, and memories. All the good times fade away when a friendship is betrayed.

Investment, down the drain. Trust destroyed. Love questioned.

Have you been there? / Are you currently there?

Read More
What Day is it Today? - Jeanne Nichols

These years have not been easy, but I’m so grateful I have had the Lord to guide me as a mom, a wife, a caregiver, and now as a grandma. I have not faced these trials perfectly, and many times God has had to chastise me because of my attitude. However, I am thankful for a patient God who has molded my family and I along the way.

Read More
Fervent! - Liz Rogers

As the wife of an evangelist, most evenings I find myself sitting in a church service somewhere in this wonderful country of ours. I often tease that the Lord let me marry my husband because He knew that I needed to be in church every night! Because we’re in church so often, I’ll tell you a preacher’s wife’s secret; sometimes my mind wanders. (Insert gasp here!) It was one such evening, that the thing that caused my mind to wander was a word--fervent! I’m not even sure why I gave the word a second glance, but later that night, I grabbed my concordance app to see how many times the word was mentioned in Scripture. The answer is seven. Seven times the word fervent is mentioned in God’s Word--fervent in spirit, fervent mind, fervent prayer, fervent heat, fervent charity. It’s such a descriptive word, it just evoked a mental picture to me, so I looked up the dictionary definition.

Read More
The Numbing Process - Denise Roe

According to tradition, when an Eskimo hunts a wolf, the first thing he does is coat his knife blade with animal blood and allows it to freeze. Then he adds layer after layer of blood. He then puts his knife in the ground with the blade up. The wolf follows his nose to the source of the scent and begins licking it, tasting the fresh frozen blood. He begins to lick faster, more vigorously until the edge is bare. Harder and harder the wolf licks the blade. His craving for blood becomes so great that he doesn’t notice the razor sharp sting of the naked blade on his own tongue. Nor does he recognize when his insatiable thirst is being satisfied by his own warm blood. His tongue has become desensitized. His appetite continues to crave more until in the morning light the wolf is found dead in the snow.

Read More