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Why Not Today?
Ever heard God say that to you? Why does this question matter? It mattered to Paul as he wrote from prison in 2 Timothy 4:21, “Make every effort to come before winter…” He said it as well this in v. 9, “Make every effort to come to me soon...” During winter, travel in the Mediterranean usually ceased due to harsh weather. He desperately wanted to see Timothy before it would have been impossible for him to travel. And the end of Paul’s life was was coming fast. TODAY mattered to Paul. It mattered to the man Jesus healed in John 5:1-8 after 38 years of being disabled. Jesus asked Him…
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Even More Blogs!
I’ve took a bit of a vacation break and have been sharing some wonderful blogs from other writers. Then I took a break from that break to blog on our Hurricane Sally experience. Here is the third in this series, sharing some wonderful and helpful posts. Enjoy these today, as well as these and these that I shared earlier. Wait and See: What My Infertility Taught Me About Faith Having experienced infertility, I can say, yes and amen to this. Leading Better Discussion in a Group that is Meeting Online Articles like this have helped me lead an online life group…something I’d never prepared for! Savannah was in my D-Group…
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More Lessons From Hurricane Sally
I’m till processing and learning from our experience of riding out Hurricane Sally. This is the third, and probably (although I’m not promising) the last post on this. I’d encourage you to read the first two posts (Part 1: Peace Over the Storms, here and Part 2: My Cornerstone here) before you start this third post. Sometimes it takes a while to process an experience and see God’s hand in it all. I believe with all my heart God is sovereign and not one thing happens without His permission as well as His purpose. So I’m warning you, this is not a short post since I process God’s lessons partially…
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MY Cornerstone!
Photo by Joel Filipe on Unsplash As I write this series following Hurricane Sally, I’d love to encourage you to read the first post, Peace Over the Storms, here before you start this second post. When a building is constructed, it has what is called a cornerstone to make it secure and give direction to the building. It unites two masonry walls and is the starting place for construction. It’s absolutely essential, or indispensable, to the building. Personally, I am so grateful for the cornerstone in the 18 floor (we were on 16) condominium we were in while on vacation in Perdido Key when Hurricane Sally chose make landfall in…
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Peace Over the Storms
Normally, by now, during our extended time at the beach each fall, I’ve had a number of “beach lessons”. Until today (September 14, the day I began this post), this year I’d not had what I consider a beach lesson, although I’ve had lots of balcony Jesus time. This morning, this was the scene I watched as tropical storm Sally was about to become hurricane Sally. This is the third coastal hurricane we’ve experienced, but it’s not something we ever look forward to by any means! Waves were crashing and, yet, I felt safe sitting on the 16th floor balcony of our condo looking down at the churning water. All…
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More Blogs to Enjoy
I’ve taken a bit of a vacation break so have been sharing some wonderful blogs of other writers. Enjoy these, as well as these from last week. Leading Well: Plan for a Successful Fall Ministry Season This fall may look different from any other this year. Are you ready? 12 Ice Breakers and Ideas to Shake Up Your Digital Meetings Admit it, Zoom can get old. Try these! Your Mental Health Matters It’s true, this year has been difficult for everyone. How are you doing? Top 10 Worst Zoom Habits. For many of us, Zoom has been a new way to communicate and build community. We could ALL use these…
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Blogs to Enjoy
During September I am taking a little writing vacation, but I want you to keep reading great blog content, so I am going to share some posts I think will be a blessing! Use Care Groups to Stay Connected During COVID-19 Here are some ways to use what you’ve learned during the quarantine that you may continue to use even after the pandemic. 5 Things Younger Leaders Can’t Stand About Older Leaders No matter your age, you are older than someone! It may hurt to hear these, but it never hurts to listen! The 21-Day Invitation: Steps to Reconnect to God We all struggle sometimes in our daily walk with…
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6 Month Check Up
In January, I shared what I felt God had laid on my heart for the new year in Focus 2020 , but during the pandemic, the Lord has expanded my focus and built on what He had already been teaching me. These themes were added to my focus this year…prayer, preparing for the return of Jesus, and bolder witness in the mean time. My D-Group finished studying the book of Revelation during the quarantine. Our isolation, along with the culture of our nation in general, made me want to say, Come on back, Lord! But what He said to me was, “not yet, more need to know me.” And as…
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Created for Purpose
We are told in Genesis 2 that God formed man from dust…of all things! Then the Lord God formed the man out of the dust from the ground and breathed the breath of life into his nostrils, and the man became a living being. Genesis 2:7 Later we are told in chapter 2 that He made woman from the man’s rib! So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to come over the man, and he slept. God took one of his ribs and closed the flesh at that place. Then the Lord God made the rib he had taken from the man into a woman and brought her to…
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The Enemy is Alive and Well…But Defeated!
Even though I am continually aware of the influence of the enemy, along with his temptations, in our world today and I even understand that this is expected, more so as Christ’s return draws nearer…but once in a while, I’ve just had enough! After one evening’s disturbing end that included a crisis, my wakeful night included anger at the enemy…again…and continual prayers for his demise! He’s just so mean and my loathing for him just gets stronger each time I see him at work! The next morning, the Lord, reminded me…again…the devil’s work is temporary and his eternal demise will come one day. It hasn’t been long since I finished…
