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Grab It While You Can
During our annual month long beach trip this year we had more cold, stormy, and windy days than normal for this time of year. But the last two days were especially beautiful and sunny. The water finally cleared up so we could see sharks and rays in the water from our balcony. And, as I walked on the beach those days, I could see the shells that were in the water. When there were strong winds blowing, the waves were crashing harder, and, of course, the water was much murkier. I’d not had many days of combing the shallow water for shells this trip, so, even though it was chilly,…
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Who Feeds You?
This year as my husband and I dropped by the office to check in to our condo for our beach vacation, we were greeted by this guy… We wondered if this heron was our welcoming committee! We inquired about him inside the office since he seemed rather tame, having never moved from his spot even as we walked right by him to enter the realty office. The receptionist said he’s there quite a bit and they’d been feeding him. Ahhhh, now I get it. Kind of like the seagulls on the beach if you throw food to them. They will be back! As always, I’m watching for God’s “beach lessons”…
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Contentment..No Matter What Part 4: Transformational Steps
This is the last of this series on contentment, and can I say that even this weekend, after teaching on this at a women’s event Friday night, I’ve been challenged to stand on what I believe about contentment. You can read part 1, part 2, and part 3 if you missed those. Then come back and let’s get practical! We must remember, we do not have the whole picture..but God does! Paul understood this. He said in Philippians 4:11-13, “I don’t say this out of need, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I find myself. I know both how to make do with little, and I know how to make do…
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Contentment…No Matter What Part 1: Comparison
How content are you right now? Be honest. Is it even possible to be content no matter what? Can we accept what Paul says in 1 Timothy 6:6, “Contentment with godliness is great gain?” Can we really experience contentment in the midst of a relationship crisis, job loss, life threatening health situation, brokenness, betrayal, etc…you fill in the blank with your discontent issue. I believe like me, you may struggle with this, at least occasionally. Perhaps our world would be much more pleasant if we weren’t always striving for something “else”. Let’s define contentment as happiness in one’s life situation and discontentment as craving for what we don’t have. We…
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Forgiving the Devil in Pew Number Seven…What I’m Reading
Forgiveness…what does that word conjure up for you? Forgiving a child or spouse for hurting you? Forgiving a driver who cut you off? Forgiving a predator or abuser? Forgiving a church member or minister for betrayal? When I think of the things for which I’ve forgiven others, I must say they seem small and petty compared to the reasons why Rebecca Nichols Alonzo and her brother had to forgive their mother’s murderer as well as the man who wreaked havoc in their lives for years. I just finished reading, in tears, The Devil in Pew Number Seven by best selling author Rebecca Alonzo. I have never seen a more beautiful picture of biblical…
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Retired Together…3 Issues and 7 Tips
Some of you may know I retired in 2017 after 22+ years at LifeWay, serving as the women’s ministry specialist. It was such a surprise and an honor to get to do this ministry. I loved my work and am so grateful for all God taught me. But, my husband and I knew that this was the year to retire. I turned 65 the September prior and God made it clear this was the time. God affirmed this in so many ways the last year I was there and my retirement was such a sweet time of celebration. I wasn’t retiring from ministry, just from serving in the capacity I…
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What’s Your Story?
Anyone ever ask you “what’s your story”? Someone who really wants to know you? How did you answer?…Honestly? Or did you hide behind a mask of who you thought they wanted to hear? Often, we just say lighthearted surface-y type of things about ourself. Maybe we even hide big parts of our lives that are embarrassing, shameful or sinful. We don’t want others to know those parts…because if they do, they won’t think well of us. There are parts of my life that aren’t fun or flowery. They were harder than I ever thought possible to live through. They were hard enough to cause doubt that God could ever bring…
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Free of Me, More of Thee
This year the Lord has given me a word for 2018. I don’t always get a word. Often I get a song whose theme is something God knows I will need that year. This year I not only got a word, I got a song to go along with it. My song is Frontiers. My word is SELFLESS. I believe God is wanting me to move from selfish to selfless as I serve Him and interact with others. Why is it to easy to put “me first”? About the time I got that word I was reading a book by Sharon Hodde Miller. Free of Me is a introspective look inside and…
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A Grace Disguised
While at the beach recently I read Jerry Sitser’s book,A Grace Disguised . This is a transparent journey with a man who lost his daughter, wife and mother in a tragic car wreck. It was a head on with someone driving under the influence. Jerry must then figure out how to seek God in the midst of trying to be both mother and father to his three other young children. As the subtitle says, Jerry shares “how the soul grows through loss”. While he never seeks to compare his loss to anyone else’s, he shares the struggle of finding a good God in the midst of such pain. The main focus of…
