My tires were aired, my chain was lubed and the panniers were bulging. Packing was definitely the biggest challenge. Four women preparing for a five day, two hundred fifty-seven mile bicycle ride across the state of Missouri were limited to mascara, toothbrush, T-shirt dress and Chacos. I’ll admit I was a little worried. I had never been to the Katy Trail, though I had researched it extensively and compiled a detailed agenda, which included bed and breakfast reservations as well as dinner plans. I had spent four months meticulously planning the trip. To conserve space I placed my items into …
Trust and Obey
The year 2015 came with a personal triumph in the areas of trust and obedience. I learned the real meaning of depending on God. Up until 2015, I had always heard testimonies from great men and women of God telling of how they stepped out on faith and obeyed God. They told of how God provided for them or how God gave them resources for different projects that they knew were from Him. God told me it was my time to learn this lesson for myself. In October, I left my government job that I had been so comfortable with for the …
Nobody Has Time for That!
Time? I don’t have time! It often seems that time truly does fly and I find one moment I’m waking up for work on Monday morning and before I blink it is Friday afternoon. So as I think about the word time I hear God teaching about what we don’t have time for. I don’t have time for: The lies of the enemy– His cruel words say ashamed, useless, messed up, washed up, unworthy and more. You fill in whatever it is that haunts your mind. “Set your minds on things above…” Colossians 3: 2 says. If it doesn’t line up with God’s Word about us, we …
And So We Wait
Waiting: stay where one is or delay action until a particular time or until something else happens; used to indicate that one is eagerly impatient to do something or for something to happen. A few weeks ago, I was up at 4am busily getting ready to travel to a conference. I had almost forgotten about the pregnancy test I had taken that early morning, but thankfully, I happened to glance at it before walking out the door. Expecting to see only one line, I did a triple take when I saw not one, but two obvious pink lines. I didn’t …
The Lord Showed Me
A 2016 Repost from My Journey of Faith Magazine by Katie Clifton This past year, the Lord showed me that I don’t need to make plans. He showed me His ways are best and that I am strongest and most pliable when I am on my face before Him. I spent most of 2014 fighting God on church planting. I ran from it. I cried over it. I begged God to call someone else. Then, I surrendered with excitement and joy. In 2015, we launched Renew Church. It is wonderful. It is a gift. It is refreshing and reviving and …
Lessons Learned: Abide in the Vine
A Repost from My Journey of Faith Magazine 2016 by Mollie Moncrief Moore that can be applied to your life for this year. Life Can Get Hard 2015 was bookend with bad news for our family. On January 3rd, just after the start of a fresh new year, my oldest son’s good friend died in a car accident. He was 18. In December we found out that my beloved Aunt has stage 4 cancer. She is 58. I have found myself asking “why?” I have prayed for these loved ones and cried with them. I began to be fearful of …
Time to Renew
A Repost from 2016 by Rebekah Beene to My Journey of Faith Magazine. Still current today. For the past decade we’ve done a lot of travel in ministry. Almost every weekend for a while was spent either going to an event or home with family. Either way there wasn’t much time for upkeep of home or yard. Our one-acre place just didn’t get much attention. Now we have temporarily slowed down and have time to make assessments. There are things we need to work on that we just didn’t even have time to see! We’ve started repairs on the house …
Hopeless to Whole
A Repost from My Journey of Faith Magazine by Brittany Glaze. Brittany today is living proof that God has the power to change the lives of people for His purpose. Thank you, Brittany for your words of hope to those who feel hopeless. On January 17, 2014, life was jolted into a warp speed spiral out of control. Things had been bad before, but not like this. After years of exhausting relationships and funds there was no where left to turn. The friend I was staying with could no longer give me a place to stay so I was homeless. …
Unshakable Thanks
We are all on a journey. And as Paul says, we do not travel that journey as those who have no hope (1 Thessalonians 4: 13). We know that we have a Savior sitting at the right hand of the Father who delights in us. We have the Word of God that is living and active. We have the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives, giving us gifts to make the best use of our time here on Earth. And we have the fellowship of other believers to offer friendship, prayer, encouragement and council. We have hope, and …
Skipping Thanksgiving
One of my biggest pet peeves is decorating for Christmas before Thanksgiving. I did it once back in college when my friend Tiffany and I roomed together. Since we just couldn’t wait for Christmas, our decorations were up in early November. All I remember was enjoying the decorations…for the first few weeks. By the time Christmas got here, the novelty had ended. Of course, I don’t even remember Thanksgiving that year. Ever since then I made an unwritten rule that I’d never decorate for Christmas before Thanksgiving. More important than when we choose to decorate for Christmas, many of us …
Hearts of Gratitude
In looking up the word “gratitude” from various sources, most of the definitions were very similar and what one might expect: thankfulness, the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness; a natural expression of thanks in response to blessings, protection, or love, etc… One definition, however, significantly stuck out to me: gratitude is a joyful commitment of one’s personality to God. In researching gratitude chronologically in the Bible, it took me a while to find it, which was surprising to me! Although we don’t see a “thank you” in the first few chapters of …
And if not, He is still Good
The dictionary says thankful means “pleased or relieved” or “expressing gratitude and relief.” As I read over the definition right now, I ponder what it really means to me to be thankful? Am I thankful? Do I express gratitude enough in my life? When I think of gratitude or thanksgiving, the first thought that pops in my head are the people and things in my life I am extremely grateful for. Most people would agree, right? I know it was my first thought when I began to write about being thankful. I also wondered how many times a day I …