-
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…
-
The Difference Connection Makes
Unless we plug our blow dryer into the socket, it flat won’t work, Right? It must be connected for the electricity to flow. I have a visual picture of what a tree connected to its roots looks like compared to what one looks like that is separated from its roots. You can see a redbud in bloom on the left side of this photo. If you look close to the other side, you see a broken trunk sticking up in front of the house behind us. In front of that, you can see a dried up, dead tree. What a contrast. As we’ve been social distancing, this redbud has been…
-
I Fell For It….Again!
What an interesting week this has been…not to mention a challenging one. After staying home, and all services and groups at church being cancelled because of the coronavirus, our discipleship staff began providing podcasts and information on how to get our life groups on line digitally. I decided to use Google Hangouts for my group since I was most familiar with leading meetings using that platform. But after getting my group familiar with that, I discovered it has a limit of 10 participants. Our life group normally has 20-25 attendees on campus weekly. Sooooo…Hangouts won’t work! So, on to plan B! What about Zoom? I’ve used it before for meetings,…
-
I Have Everything I Need!
Do you ever wonder if you have what you need to make it through the day ahead? Early in our marriage, I remember wondering if we would make it to payday without running out of money. Would we have enough for groceries and gas that month? And you know what? We always made it! One month we spent the last $5 dollars in our bank account on a steak dinner out (yes, it was a LOOOOONG time ago!) since we would get paid was the next day! In fact, the first month that God convicted us about our giving financially to our church, we tithed what was then a HUGE…
-
Rome or Bust!
I love Paul. I love his love for Christ. I love his faith in God’s calling and promises. I am challenged by how faithfully he walked out his leadership role for the Gospel. He was a man of integrity who could be confidently followed. Having recently completed the book of Acts in my Foundations: NT260 reading, and in reading many of Paul’s epistles as well, I am encouraged by Paul’s faithfulness. Several passages mention how he “must go to Rome.” He knew it was important to share his conversion story in that city and before leaders who were indifferent to or who opposed Christians walking out the Gospel. And God…
-
Why Church?
I love my church and look forward to attending weekly. When we miss for some reason, we REALLY miss it. In fact, we normally join the live stream or watch later if we are out. But especially if we have been out for more than a week, I cannot wait to get back. Recently I read a blog post by Carey Nieuwhof, whom I read regularly, whose title, 10 Reasons Even Committed Church Attenders Are Attending Church Less Often. I understand the responsibility on both the church and the attender to this dilemma. But it also made me think, “why do I love attending so much?” So, I made a…
-
Do I See?
God is continuing to refine and add to my focus for 2020. One way is through a study by Christine Caine that I just happened to be doing this January. You can read more about my 2020 focus in my first two posts for this year: Focus 2020 and Settle In. It’s both exciting and frightening (in a good way) to see how God is refining and speaking to me in this overall topic of having a heart for Him. In the first day, Christine labels the first week’s study, “When We Feel Hidden in Plain Sight.” She asks if we have ever felt hidden and unseen by others and…
-
Do You Really Know How to Forgive?
I’ve written on this topic before and you can read Embrace God’s Forgiveness here, but I believe this true life experience written by one of my daughters, Alycia Neighbours (see bio below), will touch you deeply. Our girls get a love for animals from me, except theirs includes menageries of all kinds of animals, while my husband and I are a one dog at a time kind of pet owner! My grand animals have included not only MANY dogs, and a couple of cats, but also bearded dragons, guinea pigs, hamsters, goats, horses, donkeys, pigs, lizards, a snake, and all kinds of fish! Be blessed by reading Alycia’s post and…
-
Settle In
I’m not sure how you feel about our country, or our global world, right now. With elections in the future, crime and violence, anger and hatred all over the news and filtering into whatever we watch, read or hear, we could just decide to go live on a tropical island somewhere away from it all! Tempting isn’t it? Definitely for this beach girl. The thing is, God has not put us here to run away. He has placed us here to make a difference. He actually has a plan for us, for our lives and He wants us where He has placed us. I read a post by Noe Garcia…
-
Focus 2020
This time of year I am always watching for direction from the Lord on a theme or passage of scripture He wants to develop in me for the year ahead. As I was reading and preparing for teaching at an event in 2020, the topic for the weekend grabbed my attention. It’s based on Kay Arthur‘s study, “Lord, Give Me a Heart for You.“ Our key passage for the event is Ezekiel 36:26-27: I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. I will place my Spirit within you and cause…
