Monthly Archives: June 2014

The Gift of Rest is a Sound Mind

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Parenting has the tendency to threaten our peace with fear, doesn’t it?

There are several ways the enemy can plant seeds of fear into our head, threatening to sink deep into our heart & destroy the peace that Jesus provides.

  • Fear of Failure as a Parent/Step Parent
  • Fear that our child(ren) will reject Jesus
  • Fear that our finances will collapse
  • Fear that our child(ren) will get sick or hurt
  • Fear that we’ll damage our children somehow

Fear is ugly

The Holy Spirit brings 2 Timothy 1:7 to mind, and two words jump out at me:

Sound Mind

I’ve been reading through Bonnie Gray’s book Finding Spiritual Whitespace, as well as blogging my way through my personal Journey to Rest

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The Enemy at Work

John 8.44There are not degrees of sin—sin is sin. I know that. But sometimes, when sin looks like pure evil…well, that’s harder to swallow.

I recently attended a presentation on human trafficking in the United States. The speaker, a senior criminal investigator, informed us that there are more enslaved in the U.S. today than in any other time in history. I’d already been hearing that, so I wasn’t shocked, but to hear him describe the crimes, the victims, and how the traffickers work…it was upsetting in ways I can’t describe.

I watched as he paced while answering questions and heard his attempt to temper his words.

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Love Makes Light

Catskill Fireflies by s58y via flikr

We walked back up from the river in the deepening dusk. As we rounded the bend we saw them—fireflies twinkling among the thistles and Queen-Anne’s lace bordering the path.

My daughter froze. “Mom,” she said in a reverent whisper, “Are those fireflies? I’ve never seen them before.”

We held out our hands to catch the light and watched the fireflies dance in defiance of the dark.

God has called us to be light. “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl.

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Get Ready for Summer and Refresh Your Mom-i-tude

The end of this school year has screamed by like a Jet Ski stuck at full throttle. Sucked under the wake of a busy schedule, I’m ready to get off this ride and slow down. I’m feeling frazzled and need to refresh my mom-i-tude so I can enjoy this summer with my family.

Enjoy today.

Juggling schedules and sports, homework and the countless things that mom’s do in a day, it’s easy to feel exhausted by the end of the school year.When busyness crescendos into chaos, frantic moms can feel a little nuts. I’ve been there, and I’ve had days when I was camped out next to crazy.

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So You Want to Keep a Journal?

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“Because God is a writer, it is only natural that we, created in His image, are writers also.”

Lynn D. Morrissey

I hear it often when the conversation turns to writing or journal keeping.

“I wish I had more time to write.”

or, “I’ve tried keeping a journal before but stopped.”

Another common concern is privacy. Revealing your heart’s condition and committing it to paper can be a scary proposition. The possibility that someone else might see something that you did not want to share can hinder the beautiful freedom that journal keeping can offer

So, whether you have never kept a journal before or are an on again off again journaler, I want to offer a few tips to help you find the time to squeeze journaling in and  to keep journaling on.

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God’s Masterpiece

God's Masterpiece logo for blog

What is a Masterpiece?

If you had to name some masterpieces, what would they be? Perhaps you’d name a classic novel like Lord of the Rings by Tolkein or Moby Dick by Melville. Maybe you’d cite a great sculpture like The Pieta by Michelangelo or a painting such as the Mona Lisa by da Vinci. Or perhaps you’d focus on a great piece of music by Beethoven or Bach.

Now think about why you picked what you did. In other words, what do you think makes a masterpiece a masterpiece? The Bing Dictionary says a masterpiece is a “great artistic work,” an “artist’s best work,” and that it earns recognition.

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Celebrating Our Father

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Happy Father’s Day, Dads!

I know this is 5 Minutes for Faith/Mom, but just for today I want to focus on a Father’s love.

Each of us has a father, a man who participated in our genetic make-up. And God chose that particular gene pool for a reason. Maybe you were blessed to have a wonderful man as your earthly father; maybe you were not . . . but whatever his parenting ability God chose him to form you. He was part of God’s plans and purposes for you.

So regardless of your feelings about today’s holiday, I’d like to take a few minutes to invite you to celebrate your Heavenly Father.

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Gentleness [Not Just For Handling Babies]

In recent weeks, I have been inspired by not only God’s Word but a morning devotional. It’s called “Craving God” by Lysa Terkeurst. I was drawn to it by the title itself, “Craving God.”

The devotion that has been stuck in my head is on gentleness. If you would have asked me a couple weeks ago if I was a gentle woman, I would have said yes. But now I know a little better because I know more on what God says gentleness is. I always thought gentleness was a thing to do with babies and animals, turns out there’s a lot more to it then that.

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