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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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A Sweet Legacy
Many of you have never heard of Esther Burroughs, especially those younger than Gen Xers. But for many Boomers and some Gen Xers, she was a huge catalyst for women seeking to grow spiritually, share their faith, lead, and minister to others. Sweet Esther transitioned from life on earth to life eternal this past week. This is a great article on her life and ministry. It features her and another pioneer women’s leader of influence. Baptist News-Two Trailblazing Women in Ministry. Esther was a trailblazer before we knew of many Christian women’s speakers and before we even started using the term “women’s ministry” in many churches. She encouraged women’s leaders…
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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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Small Group Blog Share
The LifeWay Women’s Leadership Forum was this past week Thursday-Friday (join us sometime!!) and I have a speaking engagement on Saturday. Since time is short, I’m sharing some small group helps for you leaders! 1 This first post is from LifeWay Research. Sign up to receive their updates! This article has some great tips for enlisting small group leaders. 13 Principles for Enlisting Group Leaders 2 This next post, also from LifeWay Research, shares how to create great icebreaker questions. 6 Elements of a Good Icebreaker Question 3 The last post from Vanderbloemen is how to lead not-so-great small groups! 5 Characteristics Of Lame Small Groups 4 Whether you are…
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Leader Blog Share
This week I want to share some helpful blog posts for you as a leader. As you serve and lead teams, you must invest in your own growth and in your leadership skills to lead well. 1 This first post is from Ron Edmonson. It’s a great assessment of how you lead or whether you frustrate your teams. 7 Ways to Frustrate Your Team as a Leader 2 This second post is by Charles Stone. We all want to connect well with our team and others we lead in the church. Here’s some great tips to consider as you serve. How to Be a Likable Leader 3 This last post…
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You Must Be Looking to Find
Since I love all things “beach”, that means I love the water, sand, sunrises and sunsets, birds and fish! Dolphins are a favorite. But, if I am not intently looking for them I can easily miss their trek across the gulf in front of me. Some days I just glance once in a while, looking up from what I’m reading, and spot a fin. As I keep my eyes on the water I see more as they surface for air. On days I really spend time staring at the water, I tend to see quite a few more. One morning on the last beach trip, I began thinking how few…
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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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Joining In
Have you ever been sitting on the beach and enjoying the peace of the surf and sun? Next thing you know someone has speakers blaring out music that is not your style? And it’s ruined the peace you were enjoying. I often wonder if they think we all want to listen to their genre of music! But what can you do? Go ask them to turn it down? Give them dirty looks? Just put up with it until you leave the beach? Or, like I found myself doing, do you notice your foot is tapping to the beat? All of a sudden I realize what I’m doing and that I’ve…
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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…
