My husband and I sat across the table at a steakhouse from one of my best friends and her husband. She was barely able to make it through the meal due to morning sickness. I was barely able to make it through the meal due to despair. My heart ached for what she had growing inside of her. Although my husband and I hadn’t been trying for a baby for all that long, it seemed like forever. My greatest fear was that my mom’s seven-year struggle to conceive would be my heartache as well. I tried …
What Jesus Began, We Get to Continue
“In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven…” Acts 1: 1-2a Luke’s former book is the gospel of Luke. The book of Acts is essentially Luke, Part 2. It picks up where the gospel of Luke ends – -with the final days of Jesus on earth. The earthly ministry of Jesus lasted three years. During those three years, He invested in the disciples. He taught them. He lived the truth because He was the truth. And the work that He …
What Kind of Example Are You?
Not everyone has had the privilege of experiencing the many joys and frustrations of growing up with an older sibling. If you did, then you probably (at some point or another) were told to follow their example {or perhaps, not to}. Many younger siblings look up to their older brother/sister and want to be just like them, doing everything they do. Some follow to a fault and end up walking on very slippery ground because of it; some see their older sibling succeeding and obtaining praise- thus choose to do the same things in order to succeed as …
What Do You Want to Pay?
I saw one of those cute little tea towels for sale online. It had Psalm 107: 1 monogrammed on it. Then I noticed the price tag hanging from it. $16.50. Wow, one tea towel almost $20.00. For that price, I wouldn’t want to use it. I’d just let it hang in my kitchen as a wall decoration. Psalm 107: 1 says “Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.” What does that cost really? Can we afford God’s goodness and love? Do we deserve it? Truth is His goodness and love are free gifts. …
What or Who is Your BAE?
I learned that term BAE from my millennial daughter. It’s an acronym representing the phrase, Before Anything Else. And it’s a good phrase to use when doing a little self-assessment on the topic of idolatry. As followers of Christ living in the 21st-century western world, we may assume idolatry is one sin we can cross off the list – we may readily acknowledge struggles with envy, pride, gluttony, etc, but since our home is free of statues and we don’t make trips to bow to graven images, we are okay – right? Perhaps not. In our study …
What Need?
“But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” ~ Philippians 4: 19 This verse is necessary when exercising your freedom to dream in Jesus! Of course, “all your need” means all your need, not just money! And I always follow this with “and not my lack, thereof, here on Earth” I love what I saw somewhere – it said that God doesn’t give you dreams that are in line with your bank account…Praise the Lord for that! While we shouldn’t make irresponsible financial decisions, we should be willing …
Who is Your Neighbor?
Christ rarely answered a question simply. When he was asked he would answer with a question or a story. Often questions were asked to discover the minimum requirement or to look good in the eyes of those who heard. Jesus never let the asker slide. He’s answers pushed the boundaries, left hearers speechless, and infuriated leaders by putting the burden on them. One day he was asked a simple question by a religious leader, “who is my neighbor.” A simple question, a simple response. Right? Looking at Luke 10: 25, we see the question that preceded “who is my …
What’s Your Status With God? Are You ‘On Leave’?
“In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps. Proverbs 16: 9 I have worked for years in the role in Human Resources. Part of my job over the years has been to navigate employees through the process of taking different types of personal leave from work. Sometimes employees are eligible for FMLA, a leave where their job is protected for a certain number of weeks and guarantees they will have a position when they return from leave. Often times people are on medical leave for a surgery, having a baby, taking care of …
Who Am I
Have you ever thought about who you really are? Well, I am one those people who comes up with these strange questions. When my dad was about to walk me down the aisle to give me away to a man he hardly knew, he leaned over and said very quietly, “Don’t forget to be you.” It took me several years to determine exactly what he meant by the statement. But somewhere along the years I knew the answer. When I was a child I was Jess and Juanita’s daughter, Butch’s sister, Robert and Beulah’s granddaughter and down the line. …
When the Wind Is In Your Face
When the wind is in your face, keep your head down and keep pedaling. My husband introduced me to cycling 12 years ago. I was hooked from the beginning. I love cycling outside, but am definitely a fair weather rider. There have been times while riding on a windy day, that I have had to just dig in and put my head down and pedal with everything I had. As I was thinking about this, it reminds me of times in my Christian walk, when nothing seemed to be going right and satan’s attacks were evident. During these times, I tell myself, …
When He Feels Far Away
As I was getting ready for work one morning, I was thinking about how I felt congested, blocked and separated. God had been feeling so far away. I knew He was with me but I couldn’t feel His presence. A friend had recommended a Julie True worship CD to me. So, I went online and purchased it. As I began listening to the melody and words and the song “Enter In” came on. Those words began to penetrate my heart and soon this dropped in my heart ‘enter His gates with thanksgiving and praise. You must enter in My daughter. …
When There Are No Words
There was a time in my life when I was facing something that I couldn’t even pray, they were just no words. Here I was a pastor’s wife, a pastor’s daughter, and a mother and I could not even pray for my family. I was in one of the deepest darkest trenches of my life. I will never forget the feeling of being utterly alone facing the situation and having no clue of how to deal with it. I was up for hours during the night just reading aloud the word of God. I searched for …