Most of us move throughout this Christian life weighing out a list of dos and don’ts, fearful of those missteps that take us far from the God we love. We take stock of our thoughts, words, and actions. We weigh and measure our moments, and for many of us, we feel like we fall short of where we should be.
Read MoreWe put freedom and constraint on opposite ends of a spectrum, and the world seems to push us to one extreme or the other. It seems as if it is impossible to feel free when dealing with the responsibilities of everyday life.
The gentleness of Christ does not push and break as he knits us back together. He is not an arrogant bull in a china shop. He is willing to take time, to make an investment, to move slowly, and to wait for us to grow. He will restore us to the glory He always wanted us to have! And, He is willing to do it at a pace that fosters trust and builds a relationship with us.
As I looked at Christ and saw this truth of Gentleness, it changed me!
Read MoreIn four days, both my husband and I found out that we were suddenly without jobs. My mind and heart went on a roller coaster ride. I felt the whole spectrum of emotions: anger, sadness, disappointment, fear, hope, despair, confusion.
I cried out to God in prayer, God, what are you doing? Where is the good in this?
Read MoreThe story of Jonah and the whale is a classic Biblical tale. But do we know more than the fact that this man spent a few nights in the belly of a big fish?
Read MoreWalking in the life we’ve been given is not for the weak or weary. It takes strength and courage to grapple with the mundanity of daily routine, the happiness that seems to be overshadowed by circumstances, and the hard things that always seem to catch us by surprise.
Read MoreMost of us want to come to the end of our days with a life well lived and well loved. But how do we accomplish this feat? How do we take what we have been given in life and position ourselves for success?
The answer is Wisdom! And it can be ours.
James, the brother of Jesus, lived long ago, but he left us with a guide to understand Faith in this epistle with the same name. He communicated in his letter that Faith isn’t just an internal idea, but a concrete, visible state of mind that is evidenced by what we choose to do with our lives.
Faith leads to Action.
Read MoreIt’s Christmas-time and the holiday season is in full swing!
Have you noticed that Christmas has become a very in-your-face holiday? It seems like everywhere I look there is red and green, lights, jingle bells, and cheer. There are 24 hour Christmas radio stations, racks of Christmas attire in every store, and enough Hallmark and Netflix original Christmas movies to fill up a whole week.
Read MoreBut how did we go from two sided politics to the depth of angry rhetoric that is defining each election cycle in our country? Everywhere I look, it seems as if people are trading the common decency of treating others like themselves in order to point fingers, vilify, and hurt. The examples are endless, from our national leaders right down to our neighbors across the street.
Read MoreI had a friend the other day tell me I should read a book he was reading about the Bible, but his recommendation was encapsulated by a warning:
“You’ll probably hate it. It will make you mad,” he said. “But you should still read it.”
Read MoreJoin us in this seven week study of the books of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd John, and we will learn: That God wants us to be assured in our salvation and eternity. To identify light from dark, sinfulness from righteousness. How to be a confident believer. That God is love, and He wants us to love others. What it means to have a testimony. To look out for deceivers and their lies. How to walk in the Truth of the Gospel.
Read MoreFor me it is comfortable to rely on myself, my successes at work, my family and friends, my home, and all it holds. It’s comfortable but also fleeting. My confidence in myself can feel as solid as steel one moment and then slips through my fingers like that sand on the beaches of the Gulf.
Honestly, I get tired of the fleeting. The unreliability of my own flesh is exhausting in a way. That’s why trading my perspective to that of Paul’s has been an exercise in freedom.
Read MoreI don’t know about you, friend, but I tend to approach my life like I’m living through several movies back to back. As the hero of course (ha), I’m living life, and then a difficult circumstance hits like the climax of a film. I’m then thrown for a while. I may wallow in my emotions, complain, search for an escape, live in denial - you name it, all the bad ways of reacting.
Read MoreIt may be a bad day or week or year at work. Or I might get some terrible news about someone I know - sickness, death, loss, rejection - it all comes. Or maybe I am just in a time of personal suffering, where I don’t know what to do or where God is in it all.
It is then I begin to question my place and time in the world. Why me? Why now? Why this? And I lose sight of the idea that I am here on purpose, that God made me exactly for my right now.
In fact what I would rather do is abandon my right now and run in the opposite direction towards anything else. The last thing I want is to be made “for such a time is this”.
Read MoreOur resident creative genius Sarah Kate took over our blog today! Watch the video below to see how beautifully she conveys truth about the book of Esther!
Read MoreHave you ever found yourself at the brink of decision? Maybe you’ve felt pushed and pulled by the demands of many, and confusion and fear have paralyzed you from action. Or you’ve felt the pressure of having to have your life totally figured out, while, ironically, your expectations keep being unfulfilled.
Read MoreThere was a horrific school shooting two weeks ago in Florida, the details of which are hard to swallow for even the most desensitized or indifferent.
It was extremely hard for this teacher to hear as well. I found myself reading every article I could find, pulled into the black hole of the internet, scouring every detail.
Read MoreOur resident creative genius Sarah Kate took over our blog today! Watch the video below to see how beautifully she conveys truth about this incredible passage in Nehemiah.
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