The Goodness of God
My family and I just returned from a trip to our hometown in New York. While we were there, we were fortunate enough to visit with many loved ones. It had been a few years since our last trip so there was a lot to catch up on! Our conversations went late into the night and involved reminiscing, sharing updates - the highs and lows, and giving thanks to the Lord. Needless to say, it was time well spent - laughter, tears, and all. The resounding theme of every conversation was how God has been faithful - in our families,
Freedom
My kids were waiting patiently for the alligator to roar and open its giant mouth to reveal gnarly white teeth. We were outside a jungle-themed restaurant, so fortunately it was just a replica of the reptile and not the real thing. As soon as its jaw opened, the kids giggled with delight. Trust me, had we been at a real swamp, our reaction would have been way different. As my kids have grown, I’ve realized that protecting them from REAL predators gets harder and harder. The enemy doesn’t always show up with scary teeth and slithery skin. He shows up
Obedience
“Delayed obedience is disobedience.” Dad has a lot of one-liners that are catchy, but meaningful. We heard a lot growing up. “Cleanliness is next to godliness” (Clean your room!) “Do your best and try to be the first!” (Dad’s mantra on the way to school) “Stop coming and come!” (Get in the car. We are late for church!) Short and sweet. But packed with power! The obedience one has me thinking lately… As king, one of Saul’s assignments was to completely kill the Amelekites. Here’s the assignment: ”Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy all that belongs to them.
Stay Strong
I credit my mom for teaching me a few raw and real-life lessons about the mind of a man. Mom is a godly woman who raised us using biblical principles. She is no-nonsense and tells it like it is. There’s no wondering what she means. Early on, I learned the importance of how to talk, dress, and behave around boys and grown men. As a teen, I admit the rules seemed strict. However, now as a mother, I realize the wisdom she was speaking over us. Over the last few months as I am studying the Old Testament, I am
If you are not signed up for our Old Testament reading plan, I would encourage you to do so! Taking the entire year to read just the Old Testament has been really great. Every time I read the Bible, I "find" something different. Earlier this year, we read through Exodus. In Exodus 19, the Israelites have completed their march out of Egypt and are in the wilderness of Sinai. Moses goes to spend time with God, and God tells him to tell the people "If you obey my voice, and keep my covenant, then you will be a peculiar treasure
Diligence
It’s easy to look at someone who is really good at what they do and think that they are just so gifted, or smart, just a natural at it. While that can be true to a certain extent, I believe there is a larger portion of the population that excels in things not because of talent, but because of diligence. Diligence is a steady and earnest effort. I think of it as working towards something every day, even though at first there are no visible results for that effort. A few years ago I started to bake homemade cakes for
Tough Times
This year has been a challenging journey for me. There have been unexpected detours that felt overwhelming and stressful. Truthfully, they left me feeling weary. Some days all I could see was everything that had gone differently than I imagined. Some days the temptation was to just camp out in the land of discouragement. But God. During the moments I felt I was stuck at a roadblock, I was reminded of how God’s hand has been evident in each circumstance. Yes, there had been tough news BUT God provided. Yes, there were some tough realities to face BUT God covered
Look at God!
My sister and I made a few adjustments to our schedules, got the green light from our husbands and off we went. A four and a half hour road trip to Houston to encourage our friend, Shyni. Her father (I call him Uncle) had been in the hospital and our friend was going through a bit of a rough time. But by the time we reached his home in Houston, Shyni’s father had made a miraculous recovery! In fact, before we could put our bags down, Uncle began to share his testimony with us and all that the Lord had
Beauty in My Chaos
I love Christmas. (I know it's April, but bear with me!) I am usually ready to start decorating the house in October- as soon as the first flash of cold breeze hits. My husband has a hard and fast rule that we don't decorate until after Thanksgiving, and since I need his muscles to drag the tree out, I abide. So, the Friday after Thanksgiving, I am like an eager puppy waiting for all the treasures to be pulled out of storage. Growing up, we didn't have a Christmas tree for a long time, and when we finally did, it
Traits of a Godly Leader
Humility Empathy Patience Self-reflection Wisdom That’s quite a list, isn’t it? For the past ten years, I have seen these traits evident in our visionary, Anu. In fact, these are among the many traits that have made her an amazing leader to our ministry team. Let’s face it: leading a team, especially one comprised of women, is no small feat. Everyone has different ideas. And everyone has their own way of doing things. But we have seen how Anu prayerfully seeks the Lord for a plan, shares it with our team, hears our thoughts, and prayerfully hands it back to
