I love the beginning of a new year. A clean calendar. A fresh start in Genesis. It always feels like a do-over for… Resolutions. Goals. Hopes. Promises. That’s typically how I feel on December 30th and 31st. Sometimes the feeling lingers a little and I can carry in through January 1st, 2nd, and maybe even…
Christmas is just days away and as I read through and lift up the prayer requests left on the Blessing Counters Prayer Page, I can’t help but notice how families seem to have two areas of pain and concern that rise to the top … especially at this time of the year. Finances and relationships….
There’s a word we don’t use very often anymore. Behold! Even in the more recent translations of the Bible, the word behold has been replaced with words like … look, see, and watch. But I think beholding something is so much more than simply looking or seeing. We hurry past things we see every day…
I absolutely love John’s Gospel. In fact, I read it multiple times each year. And every time I do, I feel myself being wrapped in God’s love. In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God.He existed in the beginning with God.God created everything through Him, and nothing was created…
I’ve spent a lot of time this week thinking about hope. You see, I’d never really stopped to think about the differences between the way secularists and people of faith perceive hope. For the secularist, hope is based solely on the strength of their inner desires and the belief that they will achieve or receive…
The dictionary defines “hope” as… To cherish a desire with anticipation: to want something to happen or be true – as in hope for a promotion or hope for things to go well. To trust. To desire with an expectation of obtaining, accomplishing, or fulfilling. To expect with confidence. So, of course, that made me wonder……
I’m taking my “all used up” feelings to the Lord. I’m taking my circumstances and all used up feelings and laying them at the throne of grace. Then I’m going get away with Jesus to a quiet place and rest with Him.
Culture looks at love as a feeling. But the Bible describes it as so much more than the way we feel. Jesus had some things to say about love … both God’s and ours.
I love praying Scripture. Each morning, I sit with my Bible and journal … writing the verses the Lord uses to speak to my heart. Then I write the prayers those verses inspire. At the bottom of each journal page, I have a section where I list the prayer needs of friends and family as…
Many of us have spent the week praying for hurting families in El Paso and Dayton while at the same time trying to get their heads around the unsettling feeling that the places we’ve always believed we were safe, may not be. It’s understandable that some of us are feeling anxious and afraid. In the…
I’m stopping today to thank God for the blessing of growing up and living in the United States. And I’m asking Him to bless America for future generations. We’re a people with conflicting ideas and a long list of things we could do better but friends, we are free! I looked up the Bill of…
When the challenge your facing feels overwhelming and it’s hard to be strong, it’s time to pray. These 5 Bible verses and prayers will help when it’s hard for you to find the words.
If you clicked on the title to this post because you wanted to know more, because you need to pray … I’m guessing you need a miracle in your life. You’re not alone … my most visited post is 5 Verses to Pray When You Need God to Do the Impossible. And if you visit…
Waiting is my favorite … said no one ever! Entire industries have been developed because we want what they want and we don’t want to wait for it! We hate waiting in lines. Traffic jams make our heads spin around. We pull our phones out to pass the time in waiting rooms and still we…
Why do I put myself out there week after week telling you about my struggle with worry and anxiety? Because I hated it! And if, by God’s grace, one or two of you might be spared the emotional, mental, and physical suffering that accompanies perpetual worry … I will shout my story from the rooftops….
Why in the world do we talk about Lent anyway? Many churches have stopped making much of this season of preparation but I’ve always found it a blessing to slow down a little and prayerfully think about all Jesus has graciously done for me through His life, death, and resurrection. I see comments out there…
Sometimes I think I was born anxious. Seriously, I can remember way too many middle of the night worry session as a child. And although I’d love to tell you that all disappeared when I grew up … you wouldn’t believe me anyway. Everyone knows there are countless things to worry about as an adult,…
Meister Eckhardt, a German theologian from the 13th Century once said, “If the only prayer you said was thank you, that would be enough.” If you’re like me, your thank you prayers are less frequent than your “please fix, heal, help, and provide, etc.” prayers. It’s so easy to set aside all God has done…
Earlier this summer I received the following email from a reader… I’ve had a problem all of my adult years. I’ve been unable to feel God’s love. He is always very remote for me. I have almost constant feelings of guilt. I try to be a Christ-like person, but too often fall short in my…
I want to live one day at a time! Really, I do! Jesus said, “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries.” Matthew 6:34 He also said, “I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow!” John 15:11 I want that too! The overflowing joy of remaining…
Welcome to the Final Week of The Summer Sizzle Blog Hop Series. Wow, it’s been fun! I hope you’ve enjoyed it, too! If you’ve missed any of the earlier posts here, check out: 6 of the Best Ways to Fight Distraction and Listen to God by Dawn Klinge Amazing Worship Songs that will Make Your…
