God’s Word has placed in my mind this beautiful picture of my Heavenly Father always standing at my right side with his left hand opened and waiting for me to take hold in absolute trust and confidence while He battles for me with the might of His right hand.
Read MoreThis Christmas, may our homes and hearts be places where Christ’s
peace isn’t merely admired in a picture or carol—but practiced,
shared, and made real through the ministry of reconciliation.
Psalm 84 is a psalm of longing for the presence of God and the blessings that come from dwelling in His house. Within these verses, we find a powerful metaphor about making wells in dry places—a calling for us to create life-sustaining resources not just for ourselves, but for those coming behind us. Today, we will explore how we can live in such a way that we leave spiritual “wells” for others.
Read MoreHave you ever looked at your hands and wondered what impact they could make in the world? Not just when they hold a baby, stir the soup, or wipe a tear, but when they are folded in prayer.
Read MoreThink of someone who “says all the right things” but lives a very different life behind closed doors. We all know or know of someone like that. Or maybe more than one "someone's".
Read MoreIn May of 2021 my husband, Jesse, was very sick and eventually was hospitalized. After many tears, much prayer and fasting, God’s will was for Jesse was to leave this world and enter Heaven on June 1, 2021. As the days went on after Jesse’s death I found myself getting angry with God because things did not go the way that I wanted.
Read MoreRecently, I was reminded of Philippians 4:8...again. It's not like I don't know what I'm supposed to think about and avoid thinking about, but here we are...again. I have a very active imagination and often find myself imagining in great detail negative scenarios that COULD become reality but have not.
Read MoreHave you ever been disappointed when you volunteered for an event or production, and you imagined yourself playing a significant role, only to find out that you were assigned to help clean the toilets and take out the trash? It is so easy to build imaginations and expectations of how our lives will be, and the type of role we will play. Often, those thoughts include God using our lives in ways we view as important and valued by others in our circles.
Read MoreOne of the biggest reasons we miss His plan is simple: we move without prayer. Proverbs 3:5-6 urges us, “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” But how often have we rushed into jobs, relationships,
Read MoreAs we were traveling back from a Youth Conference in Tennessee, I looked out my window and saw a sign posted on a tree that said, “Don’t forget Jesus.” When I saw that sign, I thought to myself how many times do I forget about Jesus. Jeremiah 2:32 says, “Can a maid forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire?
Read MoreAll around us is indecency, vulgarity, murder of innocent children, unrighteous living, etc. Jochebed must have faced some of the same issues that we are faced with. It is hard to imagine, but things will become even more corrupt before the Lord returns. Will we obey God, or man?
Read More“Make lemonade!” That’s cute… And a great go to saying.. but what if God doesn’t want lemonade? What if He wants lemon meringue pie?
Life isn’t always sweet. Sometimes it’s sour. And confusing.
As teens, you are constantly being asked:
“What’s your plan?”
Read MoreI have an old pair of walking shoes... That I REFUSE to get rid of.... Ladies, they may not be fancy, but they’ve walked through storms, climbed mountains, and made it this far. That’s the kind of faith walk I want.
Read MoreHave 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 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 MoreDid you sing this song yesterday? I am sure that you, like me, are still rejoicing in His resurrection following yesterday’s services, congregational singing, special music, and all the emphasis that was given to Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection. It is, after all, what the Gospel is all about!
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 MoreHave you ever seen a mom who is crying and bemoaning the fact that her child is growing up? I’m not talking about looking back and remembering how cute their chubby cheeks were or missing them when they leave home. I’m talking about literal sorrow that they will be leaving her and her life will be over. My husband and I remind ourselves (especially me!) often that our children are not ours. They are the Lord’s. The end goal is to see them enter adulthood with a true love for the Lord and a plan to serve him with their lives. That means they will leave. Parenting isn’t about making ME happy, it’s about God’s glory.
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