Have you ever planned to talk to someone and in your mind, you plan out how the whole conversation is going to go? I’m going to say this and then they’re going to say that, and then I’ll come back with the other thing and on it goes. Then you get into the conversation and the other person goes completely off-script and you can’t understand what happened! That was not the way it was supposed to go! The conversation didn’t meet your expectations.
Read MoreThese people wore masks only when specifically asked to, didn’t pay any attention to the arrows in the grocery isles, hugged their friends and family without second thought, and will only get the vaccine over their dead bodies. They watched “other” news outlets, read “other” articles, and watched “other” videos that exposed the apparent lies and mis-information the mainstream media was spreading. They were miserable being in quarantine and believed they were having their constitutional rights ripped away from them quicker than anyone could ever imagine.
Read MoreHave you ever been overwhelmed? I think there are times we can all think of when life has seemed a little (or very) overwhelming. I can think of a few instances in my life where that has been the case. We’ve had hard ministry days, we’ve gone through unexpected moves
Read MoreWE are called to love as Christ loves, and this often means stepping outside our comfort zones. Luke 6:32 reminds us: “For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them.” The true test of our faith is how we love those who may not love us back, who may challenge our patience, or who may even wrong us or may have already wronged us.
Read MoreI can’t even imagine how God feels about our normal. I imagine tears in His eyes and a broken heart when I think of Him seeing how we live. Sadly, we give God so little when He has given us so much!
Read MoreWouldn’t it prove absolutely pointless if you were to go to the cardiologist- he diagnosed a problem then sent you home with nothing remedied? You left his office with the problem you went in with?
Read MoreRecently, I was reading in my personal devotions in the book of Leviticus. Now, I don’t know about you, but Leviticus is a hard book of the Bible for me to read. I prayed and told God, “Lord, You wrote Leviticus. You know what’s in there. 😅 You know that it can be hard for me to focus on this passage of Scripture. Please help me to learn something today. Amen.”
Read MoreTough times can be many different things: health issues, money problems, relationship problems, and marital problems. All of these problems can leave us overwhelmed! What do we do when we have one of these problems? Do we try and solve them ourselves? Usually if we do, we only make them worse. We need to go to the best problem solver we have, our Lord Jesus!
Read MoreI remember my brother having a toy snake...you know the rubber ones that little boys like to use to scare people. Well, my younger brother had one, and I was terrified of it. I don't recall that he had it long, but I do recall that particular day, he had it out. I was petrified. I remember being uncontrollable, and standing in a corner in the living room, screaming at the top of my lungs because he had touched me with it. My mother tried to get me to calm down, and explained there was nothing of which to be afraid. I wouldn't listen, or stop screaming! I would not be consoled.
Read MoreAs I was healing from my fall, I thought of some truths and lessons that events like this can teach us. In our spiritual lives, all of us have fallen more than once, and suffered varying injuries as a result. The key is to heal from the injury in the proper way.
Read MoreEarly on a Thursday morning, I began to feel bad with a terrible headache, nausea and my vision became blurred. I endured the symptoms for two days before deciding to go to urgent care for some relief. The doctor there seemed perplexed and prescribed an antibiotic deciding that it may be an inner ear infection. He advised me to see my primary care doctor on Monday. On Monday, my doctor sent me to an ophthalmologist to determine the cause of my blurred vision. The eye doctor told me the dreaded words that I never thought I would hear. He said I had a stroke.
Read MoreWe give and take when it is convenient for us as well as beneficial. We forget about expecting nothing in return. We forget about simply doing. Giving and receiving must be for me and only me.
Read MoreOh how often I feel IT'S NOT IN ME ---but God shall give an answer of peace! Life can be so pressing at times and I don't have an answer. I'm thankful that I can run to Jesus. Psalm 86:7 In the day of my trouble I will call upon thee: FOR THOU WILT ANSWER ME.
Read MoreThere was an old saying about trusting all one’s goods to one ship. It was replaced with the phrase “Don't put all your eggs in one basket,” which is a proverb or idiom first recorded in 1710, that means you should not risk everything or depend entirely on a single thing or course of action. It advises against investing all your resources, time, or efforts in a single venture, as it leaves you vulnerable to failure or loss. If you gather all your eggs in a single basket, there is a potential danger of dropping the basket and losing everything you have worked diligently to obtain. In contrast, the proverb advises considering different options and distributing your eggs across multiple baskets, so you don’t find yourself in a desperate situation if one of your endeavors fails.
Read MoreStriving to remain humble. Realize that all we are and all we have is because of the Lord. Having a humble attitude as we go through a trial will allow the Lord to teach us things that we need to learn in that trial.
Read MoreI 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 MoreI never realized how hard it must have been for God to send Jesus to earth for those 30 years. Until I lost my daughter to heaven. I loved being her mom, best friend, and serving Jesus together for so many years.
Read MoreThere are times in life when it may feel like you have so much going on right now and you feel overwhelmed by what’s going on in your life, you have classes, work, things to do at home that it can feel like an endless list of things taking up your time.
Read More“For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” Philippians 1:21
Read MoreA few months ago I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease. The diagnosis came as a surprise as no one in our family ever had it. Although not life-threatening, the disease is and will continue to be life-altering. The “what about? what abouts?”set in. I have given my condition to God for whatever He wants to do with me. My doctor referred to my Parkinson’s diagnosis as “later in life onset.” In fact, the day this article is due to come out, September 5, is my 75th birthday. Therefore, I may not live long enough for the symptoms to get real bad. So, instead of saying”why me?” I say “why not me?” I am not a young mother with small children. Of the many side effects of my medicine is a desire to spend money! So, now I can blame it on the pill.
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