I was raised in the church, my family attended services twice on Sundays, every Wednesday night and sometimes every night for a week. Our church was like a wonderful extended family and I loved the way it became a warm and comfortable social circle for me.
The center of that circle was the shared desire to serve God in all areas of our lives. We were taught to read our Bibles everyday, attend church as much as possible and spend time in prayer everyday. As a teen I can remember starting one Bible-reading system after another, marking my calendar with my assigned Bible passage to read that day.
Continue Reading »
Seasons change. If I had it my way, I would forever live during Spring, where there is new birth and the promise of the warmth of Summer. But with each passing day, I see signs of Fall, as the leaves change color and are making their way to my driveway in record number. And although I don’t mind the Fall, I will turn a corner and walk straight into Winter. And with Winter comes storms. And when the storms come, you will find me inside, under a blanket, sipping a hot cup of cocoa and enjoying a warm fire. I will do everything within my power to avoid a storm.
Continue Reading »
One of my dearest friends was on the platform and one sentence she said in her message changed my life.
“Sometimes you have to do it scared.”
Almost every time I have said yes to God I’ve had to do it scared.
Scared of the “what if’s.”
What if I’m wrong?
What if I fail?
What if I succeed?
What if I totally mess everything up?
What if this is more than I can handle?
During my last two pregnancies I wasn’t a happy pregnant person.
In fact, it was one of the most difficult times in my life.
I fell into a pit of depression and sadness.
Continue Reading »
Sometimes you don’t know why the Lord is calling you to read a particular book in the bible. In recent months I felt like God wanted me to know the gospel from John – like a pro! Not sure if I am a professional anything, maybe with God’s grace and mercy I am a decent writer but I am not a theologian or bible scholar by any means! But God is good. He speaks to everyone through his Word, especially those who seek after him with their whole heart (Jeremiah 29-13, You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.)
Continue Reading »
I remember as a child waiting in anticipation for my birthday or for Christmas to arrive. Time moved slowly and the waiting dragged on forever.
As an adult, that time moves much more quickly. It seems like Christmas is around the corner again before last year’s gifts are put away. And birthdays…well, each one is not quite as exciting anymore. The anticipated wait doesn’t drag anymore. Now it flies by.
Waiting for the calendar page to turn—that’s not so hard. Unless time ends, one month will flow into the next, guaranteed.
But waiting on God? It. Is. Hard. Some days waiting on God feels impossible.
Continue Reading »
Have you ever been tempted to think of Jesus as one who was so spiritual that He didn’t need to pray?
Surely He had a special connection with God, an influence because He was God’s son. Right?
Here’s what the Bible has to say about that:
“In the days of His flesh, He offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His piety. Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered” (Hebrews 5:7-8 NASB).
We have a glimpse of the depth of Christ’s heart as He prayed.
Continue Reading »
I have a confession I would like to share with you today. I have a hard time with the domestic side of life my life. OK, I’ll just say it. I really Stink, with a capital S at the whole domestic side of life. I am convinced my mother has a gene that just did not get passed down to me. It’s the one that rejoices in ironing. I am not joking. The woman finds ironing therapeutic. Meanwhile my husband knows that asking me to iron would require us both to be in therapy. OK, that is a bit dramatic but you get the point.
Continue Reading »
We have committed the Golden Rule to memory; let us now commit it to life. ~Edwin Markham, American Poet
We memorized the words as children:
Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
Have you ever wondered about the origin of those words?
They were spoken by Jesus as part of the “Sermon on the Mount.”
“Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you. This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets.” Matthew 7:12 (You can read the whole sermon in Matthew chapters five through seven.)
We know the words, but have we committed to live them?
Continue Reading »
