Beach Lessons
- Beach Lessons, Leadership Lessons, Lessons, Spiritual Growth, Test, The Cost of Leadership Series, Trial
The Cost of Leadership Part 7
Please start with the first 6 posts in this series if you haven’t already. The seventh aspect in the cost of going deeper is battles. Followers of Christ have an adversary, and his name is Satan. His desire is to keep us from knowing, serving, and trusting Christ as we walk with Him. At times we will carry scars from the battles with him. Ultimately Christ has won the war, but this side of heaven the enemy still has influence on earth that we will face continually. It may come through painful relationships, failure, criticism from others, health…any number of situations in which we face spiritual warfare. Even when we…
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The Cost of Leadership Part 6
Please start with the first 5 posts in this series if you haven’t already. The fifth aspect of the cost of going deep is prayer, and the time it takes to pray. Deeper for me was when our daughter walked away from our family for 8 years. And God called my husband and me to continue walking and serving faithfully when the waves we had to cross got even bigger. We continued to pray for years that the Lord would bring her back, keep her safe and draw her to Himself. Sometimes as we serve and lead, God does not answer for a long time. But He is at work even…
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The Cost of Leadership Part 5
Please start with the first 4 posts in this series if you haven’t already. The second aspect in the cost of going deep involves laying down our fears through our faith in Him. For me, the deep, was when He first called me to speak in front of my church. If you know me, you’ve heard me say, I’d never be a public speaker. Deeper was when the Lord called me to LifeWay to continue serving out the call to disciple women, this time training church leaders across the country how to effectively develop ministries for women that help them grow deep! Laying down fear takes courage. Just look through…
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The Cost of Leadership Part 4
Please start with the first 3 posts in this series if you haven’t already. Cost 4: the cost of going deep. Although similar to cost 3, this is specifically talking about depth in our relationship with Christ. Just a heads up, I won’t finish cost 4 in one post, but will share 8 aspects of this cost. Hebrews 6:1-2 reminds us to leave the elementary things, let go of shallowness, and go on to maturity. We are warned to be careful not to become lazy in our spiritual life. Therefore, let us leave the elementary teaching about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance…
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His Love Rushes In: Fall Beach Lesson 2021
Can you handle just (maybe) one more beach lesson from our trip in September? If not, just shut this post down! So, the last couple of days we were at the beach, it was misty some days, and socked in at times with clouds. But we decided even without perfect beach weather, we really enjoyed just being by the water, hearing the waves, and reading. So we got on the beach for at least for part of those days. I interrupted my reading at times just to watch the waves continue to hit the shore time after time after time. I’ve shared previously about the constant wave action reminding me…
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The Vastness of God: Fall Beach Lesson 2021
As I sat on the beach or balcony this beach trip, my eyes continually look at the horizon. As far as I could see was water. And more water! This is one of the repeated reminders I get when we are here: the vastness of the water is like the vastness of God. At this stage of life, the older I get, the more I realize I don’t know…about life, ministry, relationships and so many things, but certainly about the Lord. I know now more than I ever have, yet I understand how very much I still don’t know. That is what keeps me coming back again and again to…
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Broken: Fall Beach Lesson 2021
A day or so after arriving at our favorite beach spot, I got up really early to hunt shells. (Read Beach Lesson #2 from our July beach trip to see why I was encouraged to get up earlier than I like to, just to find shells!) As I walked a distance I was passing up lots of large broken shells, looking for that one that was whole. Then I came across this one…palm sized, and brightly colored, yet broken. So I picked it up and added it to the other whole and unusual shells I had collected. I also began thinking about how many other broken shells I had left…
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Beach Lesson #2
As I shared my beach lesson on mentoring with Amanda (please read that post first, Beach Lesson on Mentoring) , she told me she got something totally different from that experience of finding shells. So this is her take on it. Amanda’s thoughts are in italics and my comments follow. 1 Our lives are like shells. How many come to the shore completely shattered. Only a few come whole. Most have broken pieces. Perhaps you are a broken shell yourself. Can you trust God for your healing? Maybe you know broken people, can you be a source of encouragement and healing for them? 2 Corinthians 1:3-7 Blessed be the God…
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Beach Lesson on Mentoring
This summer we took our first ever “adult only parents/twin daughters and their hubbys” beach trip. We were celebrating our 50th anniversary and their birthday. We had an amazing week and some great weather. But, not a lot of shells. If you’ve read earlier “beach lessons” blog posts, you may remember my love for shell hunting! One morning our daughter Amanda (who set up the Ninja tent each morning bright and early to get a great spot) was gone about an hour longer than it takes to set up the tent so we began to get a little worried. Then she walked in with a handful of the most beautiful…
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What’s Ahead?
Ok, we’ve turned the calendar to 2021. So what? What now? Will life “go back to normal after pandemic?” We do not know what is ahead, but we can choose to answer “so what” by how we enter this new year, even if it doesn’t yet include ditching masks for ever! Even if we still do not have a job, or family gatherings, or great health, or…… For a number of years I have sensed God giving me a theme, verse, or word to focus on for the year. Sometimes it’s just because of where I am in my life, although this past year my focus came from a topic…
