Do you like the “sound of silence”? Do you thrive in stillness? Years ago, I could easily spend time with the only sound being the thoughts rattling around in my head. But in recent years, it seems like I’m restless when it’s completely quiet. I used to need total darkness and quiet to sleep but…
As I sit quietly in my favorite chair, my Bible is on my lap and my journal is beside me. And in the stillness, I ask the Lord to speak to me … I want to listen to the Spirit and hear His voice. I thank Him for His promises and loving words of encouragement…
The message of the world is—do what makes you happy. The following quote sums it up well… “Happiness isn’t an accident. It’s a decision to prioritize yourself and enjoy your life.” – Unknown Is it? If that’s the case, why are so many people miserable at the moment? Maybe that’s the reason why God’s Word prioritizes…
What does it take to live with peace and joy? Paul wrote the following while sitting in a Roman prison… Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! Philippians 4:4 It seems like the last place in the world where someone would be able to live with peace and joy. But…
It can be easy to remember and recite the words of the Lord’s Prayer but what if Jesus meant for us to use it as a model and pray it in our own words … personally pouring our hearts out to the Father? It’s called The Lord’s Prayer because it’s the prayer Jesus taught His…
Jesus told His disciples… “And if you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.” Matthew 21:22 (CSB) Other translations say… “Whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.” (NKJV)“You can pray for anything, and if you have faith, you will receive it.” (NLT)“Whatever you ask for in prayer, having faith and [really]…
It’s the season of Lent on the church calendar … the time of year when we focus on Jesus’ gracious and merciful sacrifice for our sins. Some people “give up” something and some add something. I want to be even more intentional about prayer. Because… One of the things that leaves a mark on my…
Hi Friends, it is hard for me to find the words right now … Rev’s struggle with ALS is over and he is safely in the arms of Jesus. I am so very thankful for the lasting love I have shared with this wonderful man. I write my posts in advance, so you will still…
Almost everyone goes into marriage believing they have found love that lasts forever. Sadly, that’s not always the case. Everyone has children believing their parent/child loving relationships will endure always. But we’ve all seen times when families fall apart and relationships fail. Marriage. Family. Friendship. Love is an attitude of the heart that requires the…
The truth is … forgiving can be hard. And the greater the pain, the more difficult it is. I think most people would say that there are times when they don’t want to forgive … times when it feels impossible. The Bible never said forgiving is easy nor does it say that we should only…
Christians have been told for years that forgiveness includes forgetting. Henry Ward Beecher said, “I can forgive, but I cannot forget,” is only another way of saying, “I will not forgive.” But… What is the truth from the Bible about the phrase “forgive and forget”? I decided to do some digging to find the Biblical…
Sin hurts! Our lives are hurt by our sins, the sins of others, and the general effects that sin has had on our world since that first sin in the Garden. Sin is a problem that requires help and change which the Bible tells us are found in the love and forgiveness that is given…
When was the last time you thought about your need for discernment? Well, maybe we should begin by asking… What exactly is discernment? Got Questions defines it like this… “Discernment is “the quality of being able to grasp and comprehend what is obscure; an act of perceiving something; a power to see what is not…
Pay attention! I can remember saying those words to my students and my children. Distractions and daydreams were frequent attention thieves that often required a reminder to focus on the things that had lasting value and needed to be remembered. Solomon wrote… My child, pay attention to what I say. Listen carefully to my words.Don’t lose…
Could you use some practical suggestions for wise and effective living? Me too! There are so many voices insisting that their way is best, that knowing how to live wisely and effectively can be both difficult and confusing. There are cultural voices, generational voices, religious voices, government voices, and probably a few more I haven’t…
Where do you turn when you need encouragement? I think we all need an extra dose of optimism and encouragement toward the end of January. We’ve had a month of winter and those cold gray skies are getting old. The hope of Spring still seems further away than we want making it easy to feel…
What does it mean to “guard your heart”? Got Questions defines heart guarding like this… “Guarding our hearts is about protecting ourselves from external and internal factors. We must be mindful of the things we think about, the things we set our affection on, and the things we give our attention to.“ Why? Because what…
Several years ago, I had a dream that I will never forget … a reminder to let God direct my life. I was in school. (Please tell me I’m not the only one who returns to school in her dreams.) I was getting ready to perform in a musical. But nothing was going right. I couldn’t…
As I’ve been thinking about God’s discipline this week, I’ve wondered … how can we know if our difficult circumstances are the result of God’s discipline or something else? And then a reader commented that she was wondering, too. How do we know if our circumstances are God’s discipline? What do we do when we…
We want to believe that discipline will help by bringing about the change and improvement we want in our children. But… It can be so very frustrating when we need to discipline them repeatedly for the same bad behavior. Right?! And truthfully, it’s hard not to wonder at times if God gets frustrated with me…
I’m having a hard time writing this. I scheduled it on my editorial calendar, but when it came time to start writing, I almost changed my mind. No one likes to think about God’s discipline and we like talking about it even less. The writer of the letter to the Hebrews shared the following truth……
