Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, (vs 1) I am blessed by God when I choose to listen … Continue reading
Psalm 1
Daily Effort
Walking in life-giving steps requires daily effort. Deliberately stepping into what God has for you is a choice. It’s rather easy to stumble, falling into death. Death? Walking into self-pity. Agreeing with rejection. Joining with unloving. Listening to fear. Satan … Continue reading
Comfort
As our Father, God longs to comfort us. Longs to comfort us, His children. Whenever I’m terribly upset, this is what I picture: God hears me. He wants to help as my tears break His heart, too. He reaches down … Continue reading
Real Life 2.0
Ever have a pity party? Honestly, they’re fun. It’s fun to wallow in poor me. Why? Because when we join our pity party, we feel comfortable. Safe. It just feels right to complain. To utterly concentrate on the ugly. It’s … Continue reading
Real Life
Life is real, folks. Messy. Super messy. Why? Broken world. Selfishness. Lies of the enemy we believe. Death. Are you aware that when God created our world, death was not yet present? The Garden of Eden was brimming with life. … Continue reading
Trust No Matter What
Is it hard to trust God when things look dark? When life seems to be hanging by a thread, and you cannot do a darn thing about it, is it harder to trust Him? Although you could argue, what else … Continue reading
Life
What is life? Something or someone that is alive. Breathing. Growing. Potential. How does life begin? God. He is the author of life. He created the world and everything in it. How does life end? Natural causes, accidents, and illness. … Continue reading
Our Job
Sometimes I say, “Really, God?” “Really?” Sometimes I wonder just what He’s thinking. Sometimes, I say, “Don’t you want to try this instead?” “Seriously, don’t you?” Sometimes I wonder just what He’s doing. Sometimes, I throw up my … Continue reading
Pure Trust
Been reading about Abraham lately. Like so many of you, I’ve decided to read through the Bible yet again this year. So, I’ve come to Abraham. Abraham’s sacrifice of Isaac, more specifically. Can you even possibly imagine simply obeying … Continue reading
Securely Loved
Are you securely loved? By anyone here on earth? Have you the pleasure of knowing you are completely surrounded by that love? Completely safe through the knowledge you are absolutely securely loved? Do you have that from your folks? From … Continue reading
Simplicity
I’m struck at how simple our faith needs to be. Just plain simple. We make Christianity so darn complicated. We become experts, insistent on our own interpretation of things. We condemn ourselves from standards of perfection. We become puddles of … Continue reading
Hope
What is hope, really? Knowing the situation will improve. Seeing signs of improvement. Signs of hope. The dictionary defines hope as believing, desiring, or trusting. Do you have hope? Doesn’t matter what situation you are thinking of. Can be big … Continue reading
Be Still
Lord, what are Your thoughts this morning? Be still. Be still and know that I am God. I am above it all. Everything, big or small. I am above your children. I am above your husband. I am above your … Continue reading
Focus
What is your focus? Yourself? Your needs, wants, and desires? I get it. It’s totally natural. When you focus on your own self, nothing else matters except for your happiness. Satisfying your needs. Children naturally look out for number one … Continue reading
Cobwebs
Feel as if your mind is stuck? Wound up with who knows what? Feel immovable? So overwhelmed you have no idea where to begin? When we become so consumed with life, our connections to God become clouded. Cobwebs begin … Continue reading
Belief
Believe Me. You are loved. Valuable. Unequaled. Perfectly formed. Made in My image. Believe me. I am here for you. Always. Continually by your side. You are never forsaken by Me. Ever. Believe Me. I have ordained your steps. Your … Continue reading
True Thankfulness
Are you thankful? Truly thankful? For all of it? Good things are easy to list. Health. Joy filled days. Grocery stores brimming with food. Meaningful jobs. Secure homes. Fuzzy socks. Steaming hot coffee. Loving husbands. Precious children. But… How thankful … Continue reading
Will You?
Will you keep trusting God when all looks wrong? Will you keep your faith as it looks like God has turned His back on you? Remember Job? Job kept his faith even as his entire life fell apart. Life as … Continue reading
The Other Side
The devil is laughing. Literally full of glee. People are so dumb and we give him plenty to chuckle about. 8th grade boys writing about how dumb serving the less fortunate is. A daughter who ignores her parents and sneaks … Continue reading
Proof
You want proof God exists? You want proof He is here? Open your eyes. Look around. Really look. Before God, Your life was a mess. Before His salvation, Your life was a wreck. Your life after God has had many … Continue reading
More
There will always be more. More teacher books to read, lessons to try, activities to save. More recipes to try, nutrition to evaluate, exercise methods to investigate. More decorating shows to watch, websites to pursue, ideas to glean. More … Continue reading
Open House
It’s open, come on in. Whose there, you ask? Fear. Doubt. Jealousy. My house is open, so they walk right in. Unknowingly, I invited them. How? Through believing lies in my head. Honestly, I thought they’d leave. But they don’t … Continue reading
Fear
That one. I’ll take her. She looks like an easy target. I’ll whisper a lie into her head and wait for her response. Should I tell her no one really likes her and she’ll never measure up or should I … Continue reading
Doubt
Where is my next victim? I’ll pick him. Over there. The one looking at his phone. I know… they are ALL looking at their phones, but I mean the one over there. The kid wearing a striped shirt. I’m going … Continue reading
Disappointing People
Ready for a bombshell? Mind blowing reality check? People are not perfect. Shocker? People will fail you. Regularly. No, really? We often become disappointed in people. Could even say all the time. It’s almost like we expect them to be … Continue reading
Letter from God
A few days ago, God impressed upon me to encourage my friends at school. I believe God wants to remind all of us who we are when placing our lives into His hands…when we become a child of the … Continue reading
Psalm 46:10
Be still and know that I am God. Be perfectly still. Unmoving. Motionless. Silent. Stationary. Ready. Waiting. Confident. And know that I am God. Realize God is God. Recognize God’s ultimate power. Fix your eyes on things above. Resolve your … Continue reading
Toxic poison
Are you affected by poison? I know we never knowingly ingest the stuff. I’m talking about subtle poison. Toxic people. Toxic situations. Lies from the pit. Poison like that is all around us. It infects us frankly easier than literally … Continue reading
Literally
I ask again. Why are any Christians down? Why do any of us ever loose hope? Because we’re human. Because we are forgetful. I could say dumb, but I won’t. Whose are we? I’ll tell you Whose. God’s. Literally, we … Continue reading
Psalm 27:14
Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD. David wrote the phrase “wait for the Lord” twice. Think it was because he was having trouble himself? It’s easy to view Bible characters as unusually … Continue reading
Stop
Stop agreeing with your thoughts which tell you you’re not good enough. Stop listening to the lies inside your head, telling you you’re not loved. Stop believing the future is hopeless. Stop turning to the easy road that puts you … Continue reading
Horribly Disappointed
When you are horribly disappointed at something in life… When there is not a thing you can do about it… What then? What is your response? Wallow in self pity, relishing the mood of despair hanging over your head? While … Continue reading
Clothed in His Love
As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love.” John 15:9 Abide in God’s perfect love for you. Reside. Stay for a long, long time. Rest. When you are abiding in God and … Continue reading
One Step at a Time
Ever face a giant situation? A large project, perhaps? Or a looming life event? How can we possibly remain calm at the prospect of a new baby? Or starting a company? Or a church? The answer lies in one step … Continue reading
Clinging to God
Life is mostly wonderful, isn’t it? Filled with so many good things. But there are many moments when your mind can slip into despair. Or grief. Or just plain irritation. Each of those moments can be opportunities to cling to … Continue reading
Today’s Choice
Oh Jesus, I’m so sorry. But I’m super mad. Really mad. Is that alright to be mad at you? You are like my Father, and I’ve been known to get mad at him (sorry, dad!), so I suppose, yes, I … Continue reading
How did He?
When did You know? When did You know how You would ultimately die? How were You not completely overcome with anxiety at almost every moment after? When did You know You were the Son of God? When did You grow … Continue reading
Attitude
You will never NOT have trouble. Let me say that another way. There will always be something. Some irritation somewhere. Why? Because nothing is always perfect. Sounds like a downer, doesn’t it? Sorry! Just bringing us into reality, folks. Taking … Continue reading
Voice of God
How do you listen to God? Are your hands open, always ready to receive? You can listen to Him during prayer, not merely filling every moment with your voice, but also sitting still in His presence. He can also speak … Continue reading
Relax
Uncertainty filling you up? Brain overwhelmed with what ifs? Good. What? Yes. It’s good. Why is it good that I am filled with angst? Because you are human. Not capable of knowing the future. It’s good to be reminded of … Continue reading
