What I'm Reading
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Behind the Clouds
Years ago I was captivated by how God got my attention one morning as I drove to work in downtown Nashville. Reading Adore by Sara Hagerty I was brought back to that morning as she shared her own cloud story that led her to “adore”. No doubt I’ve written about this experience somewhere in the past, but I couldn’t help but relive, and write about, that morning again after Sara’s reminder! It was such a tough season for many reasons: my mom’s declining mental abilities, heavy work and travel load, family crises all piled up. This was also the week of our annual LifeWay Women’s Leadership Forum, our largest training…
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Who Really Knows You?
For women, one of the biggest issues I hear over and over is something that is connected to their identity. It shows up in many forms in the lives of women, but it stems from an understanding, or lack of understanding, of who I am, who I am supposed to be, and what am I supposed to do in life. So many women have lived all of life trying to figure it out. For some, it’s like being anonymous in a sea of people. For others, it’s questioning who their ancestors are and how that impacts them. Sometimes it’s a person seeking significance from the world. But whatever is the…
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Living in the Not Yet
Today I read Psalm 47 which seemed to connect so much with my New Testament reading of Revelation: God reigns over the nations;God is seated on his holy throne.The nobles of the peoples have assembledwith the people of the God of Abraham.For the leaders of the earth belong to God;he is greatly exalted. Psalm 47:8-11 What a comfort and hope this message is…one day this will be reality! It really WILL! Having just finished Revelation with my D-Group, (I wrote last week’s post on The Hope of Revelation) I see how very timely it’s message is for where our world is today. News continues to show pain, chaos, fear, and…
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The Hope of Revelation
My D-Group had finally made it to the book of Revelation! To get here, we are using Foundations F260 for the Old Testament, then we stopped and began Foundations NT260 for the New Testament. We began in January 2019 and have arrived at our last few weeks together as a group. One of the hardest books to understand is Revelation, so I am SO grateful this plan ends with the Gospel of Matthew! Very refreshing after trying to understand a very difficult book in the Bible. In preparation for our weekly meeting, and for my own deeper understanding, I’ve read numerous commentaries with my daily reading. But one book that…
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What’s Your “Go To”?
What is your first “go to” when you struggle? We’ve seen recently what some people go to when they are upset or angry. Violence and hatred brings even more harm to an already unjust situation. But maybe you go to something less harmful like chocolate? Isolation? Running away? Despair? A friend? Usually we all default to something when things do not seem right in our world. As a Type A perfectionist-leaning woman, I think my big default is trying to control the situation. But God has shown me over the years that I am NOT in control even when I think I am, but I can fully trust that in…
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“However”
Sometimes I am having a great season, growing in the Lord, watching what I say so I don’t unintentionally offend, and feeling really grateful in general. HOWEVER, all of a sudden, I find myself doing what I didn’t really want to do, or saying what I really didn’t want to say, or being so self-centered I cannot find anything to be thankful for. Where did I go wrong? What was the HOWEVER that changed things? As I continued through Lysa TerKeurst’s study, Trustworthy (get this study!), I watched this cycle of good kings and bad kings, those who did right in the eyes of the Lord, and those who did…
- Generations, Leadership Lessons, Lessons, Pandemic, Spiritual Growth, Test, Trial, Unity, What I'm Reading
What’s Up With All The Kings?
Right now, in the midst of something none of us expected…social distancing due to a virus we’d never heard of until this year…we are hungry for what was and, prayerfully, what will be again…physical connection with people we care about, life before the virus, recovered income, and plenty of toilet paper! But until God chooses to release us from our isolation, what do we do? Is He teaching us anything? Am I listening well? Are you? Seems like everything I am reading and studying right now has to do with kings! Normally, 1 and 2 Kings in the Old Testament is NOT my go to for Bible study. But, it’s…
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The Promise
Has anyone ever promised you something and then didn’t come through? I remember as a little girl, I was with my uncle and we came out of store that had a mechanical horse ride. I asked if I could ride and he said we’d go to a real amusement park later. Only thing is, later never came, and I was really disappointed. Now, he had no idea how much that hurt and he wasn’t intentionally lying, but to me it was a promise from a loved one. I was really disillusioned. Has God ever promised something and not come through? Personally, I can say, no, not ever. Now, He didn’t…
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Infant…Still?
Who doesn’t love a cute little baby? Ok, maybe somebody, but most of us love seeing a sweet, innocent little creation of God wiggling its toes. But, I bet 5 years after that baby’s birth, most of us wouldn’t want that baby to still be in the infancy stage. Surely, by now, this child is potty trained and about to be in kindergarten. Surely, this 5 year old can eat with a utensil rather than just sucking on a bottle filled with formula. Not so cute, now! This is what the author seems to saying in Hebrews 5:11-14 about Christians who stay in infancy: “We have a great deal to…
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Quarantine Questions
Recently when the extension to April 30 for social distancing was announced, I experienced my first real Coronavirus funk. Even though my funk didn’t last long, it reminded me that what I do during this time either draws people to Him and lifts His name high, or, it just doesn’t. The study Experiencing God calls this a crisis of belief. I either believe God or I don’t. I believe He is sovereign and will bring good, or I don’t. The day after this announcement, as I spent time in the Word (Finding God Faithful), I studied Joseph’s reunion with his father Jacob. I was reminded that, after 22 years of…
