COVID Thanksgiving: Why Be Thankful?

Thanksgiving looks so very different this year. But, let's be real, everything about this year has been different. Most family traditions have been thrown out the window (or adjusted). Everything has changed. How we grocery shop, how we celebrate, how we worship...so very different. COVID19 has managed to tempt me to complain and yet, simultaneously …

The Burdens He Bears

The more burdens we put on His shoulders (Charles Spurgeon) "God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in times of trouble!" Psalm 46:1 Scripture promises are not meant to be looked at only--but to be appropriated. Even our Lord Jesus is given to us for our present use. Believer, you do not make …

Why I Love Easter So Much

I love Easter Sunday. I love the celebratory music we sing at church. I love the passages of Scripture we read during worship. Most of all, I love the visual image of the Empty Tomb. In one culminating and specific moment in history, Jesus Christ summarizes and finalizes the salvation narrative. There are six things …

Is My Lot Pleasant?

The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot. The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance. - Psalm 16:5-6 As my school was planning my high school graduation they asked all of the graduates for a life verse. At the time I thought …

When God Detours Your Life

I don't remember much from when I was 3, but from as long as I can remember, I've always wanted to be a mommy. Long before I understood or wanted to be married, I wanted to be a mom. Specifically I wanted a bunch of boys and one girl. As my single years extended, the …

When My Body Fails

I think most people would consider me a fairly positive person. I try really hard keep my complaining to a minimum. Yesterday I took a sick day from work. Later on in the day, my sister called and asked if I was feeling better. My response, "Well, I don't feel like digging my ovaries out …

Who But Christ!

Think of GOD a moment. Your thoughts cannot reach Him. He is infinitely pure--the heavens are not clean in His sight. He even charges His holy angels with folly! That is one side of the picture. Now look at YOURSELF--a worm that has rebelled against its Creator, loathsome with sin, defiled through and through! When …

When the Cross Eclipses

What a marvelous power does this cross of Jesus possess! It changes the Christian's entire judgment of the world. Looking at the world through the cross--his opinion is totally revolutionized. He sees the world as it really is--a sinful, empty, vain thing. He learns its iniquity, in that it crucified the Lord of life and …

Alone

Breadwinner. House payment. Utilities. Car Upkeep. Yard Upkeep. House Upkeep. Making Meals. Cleaning the House. Making Decisions. Serving in Church. Participating in Church. Going to Events. Going to Parties. Putting Gas in the Car. Grocery Shopping. Sick Days. Doctor Visits. Vacations. Family Gatherings. Shopping for well, anything and everything. Sounds like the typical life of …

Jo’s Home

For the past month and a half I have been planning on writing a tribute to one of my heroes. This woman has had a lasting and life-shaping impact on my life. But, if I'm honest, I've put off writing this post. One, because words cannot encapsulate her; I truly don't know where to start. …

Need Help?

Hide not your face from me. Turn not your servant away in anger, O you who have been my help. Cast me not off; forsake me not, xO God of my salvation! Psalm 27:9, ESV His promise is that when we go, he goes with us. He will never call us to do a task without giving us what we need to do it. He is unshakably committed to meeting the needs of his people. He is unshakably committed to the success …

Just Do It. Just Do One Thing.

...the primary message driving James; letter is that Christians' faith in the gospel should work itself out in a life of obedience. As he says in 1:22, believers in Jesus should not just hear the word and believe it, but they should also do what it says. The gospel of Jesus - which James understands …

You Are Talking To Yourself

I find myself saying it all the time. When people hear it they laugh, but actually I'm being quite serious when I say it. Here it is: no one is more influential in your life than you are, because no one talks to you more than you do. You are in an unending conversation with …

He Will Deal Graciously

Tenderly and graciously does He deal with us! (Francis Bourdillon, "A Psalm of Blessing!" 1864) "For He knows how weak we are--He remembers we are only dust. Our days on earth are like grass; like wildflowers, we bloom and die. The wind blows, and we are gone--as though we had never been here! But the …

Weary Mariner

"My son, do not despise the Lord's discipline and do not resent His rebuke--because the Lord disciplines those He loves, just as a father disciplines the son he delights in." Proverbs 3:11-12 To the children of God, afflictions are sent in mercy. They are directed by love. They are designed . . .   to …