Does Jesus really need to be in EVERYTHING?
Every choice of entertainment?
Every encounter?
Every conversation?
Every experience?
Every decision?
If the answer is “No”, is He truly LORD of every aspect of one’s life?

As I sat and read from Psalm 49 this morning I couldn’t help but read it over and over again writing notes, underlining, and highlighting. And then - reflecting.

A new year is upon us. With that, many reflect and create goals for what they would like to see or accomplish moving forward. 

I did.

Reflection is how we grow, how we give thanks, how we analyze what we could, should, would, do better. Goals help us achieve those reflections. Goals are purposeful and help us put into motion what we hope to accomplish.

But - (click to read more)

Obedience and comfort. Two trigger words in today’s western culture.

The word “obedience” brings about triggers of “You will NOT control me.” And “comfort” says, “Let me live unruffled, without pain, without discomfort.”

We want neither to be obedient to anyone nor discomfort from anything.

Raise your hand if you have purchased workout gear, equipment, DVD’s, leotards, etc. with great anticipation, goals, and motivation to get healthy and fit?

I think it’s safe to say, most of us have. (click to read)

There are a lot of things people run to for security, for reassurance, for stability, for a sense of safety… But these things fail time and time again.

Whether they are relationships, a title, a white picket fence, a job, an announcement, a leader… they are temporary and a chasing after the wind. In the moment these things can feel and seem solid. That fickle moment of “finally.” Yet, sooner or later, the earth beneath the feet of these things begins to dissolve and erode. (Click to read more)

For the last couple of weeks my daughter and I have been having our own Bible study together on Tuesday evenings after my husband leaves for his Bible study and her brother is in bed. I have realized that if I want my daughter to know more about Jesus and the Word, I can’t just flop a 2000+ page Bible in front of her and say, “Read it and do what it says.” Talk about overwhelming. It’s overwhelming for many adults let alone an almost 12 year old. But, that is no excuse.

Creating consistency doesn't need to feel hard or like a job. This is DESIRE vs duty. But it doesn't mean that at times that desire had to be created out of created habit and training myself to first GET UP.

Change.

We all want to see it and feel it. But sadly, there is nothing we can do in our own power to create change. When our efforts for change are done in the flesh, they become about “self” and not Christ. And when that occurs, change will not come…

Unless…

I started reading the books of Chronicles a few weeks ago. If I am completely honest and transparent, I wasn’t too excited because (I thought) Chronicles was a repeat of the books of Kings. While it has similarities and shares details of the same events, it is drastically different from Kings and began to blow my mind out of the water the moment I started reading it.

Insert humbled palm in face here.

Sorry God. (click to read more)

Give thanks to the LORD; call upon His name;
make known His deeds among the nations.
Sing to Him, sing praises to Him;
tell of all His wonders.
Glory in His holy name;
let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice.
Seek out the LORD and His strength;
seek His face always.

Daniel was told he could not pray for 30 days. The mandate or decree told to him may not seem like THAT big of a deal… But the motive behind this decree was greater than majority realized. It was a decree that Daniel was not willing to adhere to and put his life at stake.

My thoughts have been on Daniel Chapter 6 this past week. But are the stories in the Bible too extreme or even relevant for today?

“Time to clean the house!!!”

Anyone ever say this and have people flocking to come help?

If you do, then you are the exception to the rule, because most people turn and run the other direction. Most people do not enjoy cleaning the house. Like REALLY cleaning the house. You may ENJOY a clean house, but when it comes to grabbing that old toothbrush and scrubbing crusty nasties off your toilet, I feel I can say with confidence that this is not anyone’s Friday night excitement. Nor any other day that ends in “Y” enjoyment.

Raise your hand if you like being told, “No.”

Whether it be from asking for something, requesting to do something, or whatever… Being told “No” doesn’t feel good. Why? Because it isn’t the answer WE wanted. We wanted a “Yes!” That’s why we requested or asked the question in the first place. And from a human standpoint, we want a “Yes” 99.9% of the time.

Now, what about when God tells us “No”?

We live in the land of memes. These word quotes, pretty sayings, motivational phrases, and laughter filled verbiage have littered social media. These memes can even be misquotes of words taken out of context to sound better than they are and misguide with half truths. They can and have distorted, confused, and misguided the minds of many.

I see this also done to Scripture.

(Click to Read Full Article)

Where are you?
I think it is safe to say that we have either uttered these words at one point in our lives or had them spoken to us.
Where are you?
God said these words to Adam and Eve. But could He really not find them? (Click to Read)

Yesterday I spent the day with a room of women listening to 7 speakers who encouraged, challenged, and deepened our knowledge of Scripture. And IT - WAS - AWESOME! The content was great, but what was even better was the fellowship and the gathering of Believers. [TOGETHER.]
(Click to Read)

I can’t believe that September is almost here! Not sure about you, but I am excited for fall! It is my favorite season. The cooler crisp mornings, sweaters, and even darker mornings are welcomed after a lovely summer. I love the cozy welcoming feelings fall brings.

I recently finished reading Deuteronomy, which is Moses’ final address to the Israelite Nation before they enter the Promised Land. For 40 years they have wandered and been refined in the wilderness. And this is Moses’ final address with an offer to either choose LIFE or Death:

I began writing this blog post on April 21st and never finished it. Then was reminded of this truth today while watching my friend Cate give a devotional on Cascade Community Church’s Facebook page. You can catch it here.

When we went through our adoption process, we experienced a LOT of waiting. The process is like this: Hurry Up! Now wait! And wait without knowing an end to the waiting. (Click to read full post)

Ending brokenness, racism, hatred, maliciousness, loneliness, hurting, sexual immorality, anger, bitterness, murder... this list goes on and on, begins with a changed heart for God. THIS is where true change begins. When we love God, we love people and truly see that we are ALL image bearers of the One who created us. But the only way this happens is when we live the Great Commission. It begins when we share WHY and HOW Jesus changes our lives. It starts with us sharing the GOOD NEW to a massively hurting and broken world. HE came to heal the brokenhearted and restore all things to Himself. If we don’t share that Good NEWS our words are useless. (Click to read full post)