Trial
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The Joy You Need
In preparing for Christmas a friend and I are studying Joy to the World from LifeWay Women. The very first day of the study I was made aware of a connection between Genesis 1 and Matthew 1 that I had not ever noticed. This is also the opening of the Old Testament and the New Testament! In Genesis God created. In Matthew, the genealogy of Jesus, who existed at creation, shows the Old Testament connections to the New and reveals how God fulfilled all the prophesies about the Messiah in the Old. The writer of this day of study said, Jesus’ birth was not God’s backup plan. We see in…
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Between the Holidays
Thanksgiving is over, Christmas is quickly approaching. How’s your heart? Ticking along at a steady pace, or beating out of your chest in this holiday season. Perhaps some of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and you look forward to Christmas even though you have shopping, decorating and cooking to do. Photo by Element5 Digital on StockSnap Others may have had a very tense Thanksgiving and the thought of another family gathering is more than you can even begin planning. Maybe you are missing someone who is no longer a part of your holidays due to broken relationships, geograhical distance, or death. Does your job, kids holiday activities, or purchasing and…
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A Week of Devotions
Recently I had the honor to write 5 devotions for Encouraging.com, which I do quarterly. This week I decided to link all 5 in this post. Feel free to read one a day, all at once, or at your leisure! I pray they bless and encourage you! Breathing Worship Small Yet Mighty Tear Down to Build Up Writing the Word Your Holy Ground Banner photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash. Inset photos used from Encouraging.com
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Sun and Clouds Together
I love all beach sunrises, even gray days, because…well, we’re at the beach. But my absolute favorite is a combination of sunshine AND clouds.There’s just nothing quite like the beauty of seeing the colors as sunshine peeks through the clouds. Only a creator God can design this kind of beauty. As I watched these views, I couldn’t help but be reminded of the beauty that comes through the sunny joy filled days AND the gray seasons of life as well. Romans 5:3-5 reminds us that … we also rejoice in our afflictions, because we know that affliction produces endurance, endurance produces proven character, and proven character produces hope. This hope…
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A Reminder After the Storm
During our beach trip this year, we kept our eye on not one but two hurricanes. One landed in Louisiana (Francine), the other in Tallahassee (Helene), about 3 weeks apart. There is another one brewing that could also land on the Gulf coast, but we will be home by the time it arrives. After the eye of Hurricane Sally went right over us in 2020, we are much more cautious about any category hurricane anywhere close by. Around 36 hours after hurricane Helene made landfall, destroying so much and taking over 225 lives in several states (at the time of writing this), I awoke to the most amazing sunrise we’d…
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Getting Through the Muck
After a month at the beach, you can expect Beach Lessons in my posts! Here’s the first. This year we had a some seaweed just beyond the shore. If it’s out a ways, I don’t mind walking in the shallow water. But walking on and through wet, grassy gunk is not something I enjoy. But, what’s just beyond the seaweed? From the 18th floor balcony of our rental, I get a great look at the clear water beyond the dark mucky stuff. There is a sand bar out beyond as well. It’s shallow enough to stand on and draws many, including me at times, especially when it is clear and…
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Cast…Because He Cares
How many times has someone said something, or you read a quote, and it stopped you in your tracks? I love to read and I read a lot! I also love to listen to podcasts and attend conferences to continue to grow as a person and especially as a follower of Christ. Years ago I began collecting quotes so I wouldn’t lose them and decided to share these on my blog in a new series I’m calling Favorite Quotes. So, here is the first: If God cares for you, why need you care too? Can you trust Him for your soul and not for your body? He has never refused…
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Hope…Earthly or Eternal?
Do you hope it will rain this week like we do? We were drenched all spring, and are now totally dry! Do you have a hard relationship you hope to fully restore? Do you hope you get a big raise soon? Do you hope the doctor’s diagnosis will change when you return for follow up? All of these are good things to hope for. We should hope, and pray, for these things. But, the reality is, we may or may not get what we hope for. For a believer, hope takes on a deeper level of meaning. Complete hope is fulfilled in eternity. Nothing good will be held back. Every…
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From Garden to Garden
In finishing up my current D-group with a special celebration, we discussed the end of the Bible as we read through Revelation. I’m not surprised anymore by new things God reveals through reading His Word over and over. Sometimes it’s something completely new to me, or understood at a deeper level. Other times, it’s a timely reminder of something I already knew. That’s what happened as I read Revelation 21-22 this time. My thoughts turned to the idea of “garden to garden.” What was revealed through John’s revelation was an indescribable new heaven and earth. Similar to the newness the original garden was to Adam and Eve, the new garden…
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Texas Legacy Tour Part 2: Tearing It Down
As I begin part two of this Texas Legacy Tour Series, I can’t help but reflect back on the biggest shock I had.(Please read to Part 1 if you haven’t read.) I grew up in Houston and lived in a home from 6th grade until I married at 19. Eleven years ago, I was in Houston for a convention and drove out to the location. Thinking it might be less than I remembered, or run down, I was pleasantly surprised that it looked as good, maybe even better than when I lived in it! They even got grass to grow in a shady spot my dad never been able to…
