JOY. It’s a PILLAR in my life…well one I work at, but a goal none the less. The Bible talks about Joy over 200 times.
Read More
When you’re running on fumes, instead of berating yourself for failed attempts at “spirituality” one writer says its time to “tie a tourniquet on the wound of busyness…(or) we’ll bleed a spiritual death. Doing more, and doing it faster, isn’t taking us to a place of peace. The distraction is nothing more than a momentary escape. Sooner or later we have to stop.
Read More
Ruth Haley Barton coined the phrase “dangerous tiredness.” Her theory was featured in christianwomandaily.com and then re-written for our Life Church Devotional Day: Nov 6, 2014. I just HAD to share it yet again because it is psychologically insightful and spiritually deep.
Read More
Joy is the product of Contentment. Happiness, on the other hand, is a result of Happenstance. When something is HAPPENING TO US, we allow our circumstances to get between God and us instead of putting God between us and our circumstances.
Read More
I have asked this question, been asked this question and seen this question posted on social media more times than I can count. I loved my husband Shawn’s response to this very question to a man he counseled recently. It wasn’t stated in the exact words; “Why do bad things happen to good people”….but close.
Read More
Prayer is Personal: The term ‘I kneel’ was uncommon at this time. And getting on the ground was like bowing down to royalty. This shows us that prayer is about personally acting, and that action must involve submitting and surrendering to God.
Read More
We aren’t thinking people who sometimes have emotions. We are emotional beings that sometimes think. In that case, I would be wise to get healthy emotionally. I can’t change other people in order to guard my emotions. I can only fix me…..
Read More
On the eve of the crucifixion, Jesus was in Gethsemane praying hard. His disciples were supposed to also be praying but they were sleeping instead. You can hear the disappointment in Jesus voice when he asked them, “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?”
Read More
Last year, at our Merry & Bright Women’s Christmas event, I spoke on the concept of being “Merry” ie; Joyful. By definition “Merry” is: Cheerful; In Good Spirits; High-Spirited; Bright; Light-Hearted; Bubbly; Lively; Carefree; Joyful; Joyous. Joy is internal. Happiness and joy are not the same…
Read More
In the (920) we have become known as the “friendly church” because we love people! People matter to us because they mattered to Jesus. People mattered so much to Jesus that He died for them.
Read More
Some of us may realize this already, and for some of us, this may come as a shock: “you won’t win anyone over by your ranting”. We can get so caught up in focusing on the little things, that we miss the bigger picture. The Sadducees and Pharisees in the Bible did this. They were busy debating over the Sabbath day and technicalities, all while Jesus was getting ready to die on the cross.
Read More
I’m a mom in the middle… this means I’m right in the middle of raising my kids, and honestly, I don’t know if this will all work out! :) I have the benefit of being through some stages of parenting and the benefit of still having time to get other stages right!! I feel fortunate to not be done…
Read More
Did you know the Old Testament closes with a verse on legacy and the New Testament opens with a verse about on legacy? How intentional! The very last verse in the Old Testament: Malachi 4:5-6 says, “But also look ahead: I’m sending Elijah the prophet to clear the way for the Big Day of God—the decisive Judgment Day! He will convince parents to look after their children and children to look up to their parents. If they refuse, I’ll come and put the land under a curse.”
Read More
In my last blog, Jesus Thinks in Families & Legacies, I talked about how God thinks relationally and generationally. God plants a seed of himself into us in the hopes that we will pass that blessing on from one generation to the next. But where there can be this “generational blessing”, you can imagine that likewise, there can be a “generational curse”. Guess what! Failure is never final.
Read More
Often we ask the question: "Am I even eligible to have a mission or calling on my life?“ We might not even know what a calling looks or feels like. Shawn and I explained it to our daughter Aubree this way: ”When God puts a dream in our heart or tells us to do something for Him, that’s a calling.“
Read More
During a fast God reveals things to us that we were either too busy or not sensitive enough to see before. One visual I got, during our 2018 twenty-one days of fasting, was of a huge black pot of green “yuck” boiling.
Read More