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Sharing Our Prodigal Story
Just a week or so ago, my daughter and I had the privilege to share our “prodigal” story on Leighann McCoy’s new podcast. One thing I’ve experienced over many years of teaching women is how God encourages ME when I get to remember what He has done and tell others of His work. I’ve witnessed His faithfulness in every single tough situation He has allowed into my life. One of those stories was the topic that Leighann asked me to share on this podcast, The Power of Praying Momma’s: Praying your Prodigal Home. I asked her if she would like for me to ask my daughter to also be on…
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Peter’s 3’s
Numbers are important in Scripture. The numbers 3, 7, 10 and 12 indicate completeness. Most of us who have read the Gospels, remember the 3 times Peter denied Christ after His arrest, even as Jesus was defending his own identity to the authorities. And this was after Peter swore he would follow Jesus anywhere. Peter told him, “Even if everyone falls away because of you, I will never fall away.” (Matthew 26:33) And many of us also remember when Jesus restored Peter on the shore in (John 21:15-19). He asked Peter if he loved him, not once but 3 times. And each time Peter was told to “feed My sheep”.…
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The Silence is Broken Part 2
Last week we looked at how God ended the 400 years of silence. If you missed that post, first read Part 1 here. How did God speak to you last week? Did He reveal something about an issue you’ve been praying about? Did He remind you of something you had stopped praying about and had even maybe forgotten about? Has He been speaking and maybe it was so different from what you expected, you just ignored His words? As I focused on Mary’s response to her Lord, I started thinking: how obedient am I when I hear Him speak? Perhaps I’m finally hearing from God after a long period of…
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The Silence is Broken! Part 1
Each year when I read chronologically through the Bible, the period of 400 years of silence makes me so sad. I’m always so ready to open the New Testament and hear his voice speak again. But I did not have to wait as the Israelites did. The Old Testament ends with Malachi 4:5-6 telling us: “Look, I am going to send you the prophet Elijah before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes. And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers. Otherwise, I will come and strike the land with a curse.” Jesus is that promise of…
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Thankful in Hard Times
I had another post ready to go this week, but decided instead, to share a message I was asked to teach at a women’s event this past Saturday. I realized it was timely for this week of Thanksgiving. I even taught this last minute to my Sunday women’s life group at church the following morning. I’m so grateful I got to share God’s truth alongside my own journey of faith. As I prepared for this message, I had such a sweet time of reflecting on how faithful God has been to me all my life and how much I have to be thankful for. Teachers always learn more than their…
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Prayer, Not Outrage
I’m somewhat on a roll on this issue of praying for revival and restoration rather than responding with frustration or even anger at the lost world around us. Feel free to read the two previous posts here and here. As I’ve committed to pray an hour each week for revival (2 Chronicles 7:13-15) for myself, believers and the lost, I’ve wondered about how to focus my time. In my chronological Bible reading plan, I’d already read through Daniel and Ezra, then today read Nehemiah. So, I chose three prayers from the Old Testament, each focused on restoration for the people of God…the place to begin as we admit our own…
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Doing Battle
I’m mad and I’m doing battle! Last weekend I got really ticked at the enemy! I know better. I know his tactics. But sometimes I still fall prey to his lies. Heading out to teach at a weekend women’s retreat I was not at the airport long before seeing my flight was going to be a little delayed. Not a problem, right? I have an hour at my connecting airport to still make it, don’t I? But, this is Atlanta, so, well, hmmmm. When the delay grew, my fear was that there was not another flight into the smaller city where I was to arrive. So, I asked the gate…
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Reconciliation Joy
In my chronological Bible reading this year, I just read again the story of Jacob and Esau in Genesis 33. I love when Jacob and Esau reconciled and saw each other again for the first time in many years and Jacob said, “For indeed, I have seen your face, and it is like seeing God’s face, since you have accepted me.” (Genesis 33:10) Jacob deceived both Esau and their father Isaac (you can read all about that in Genesis 25 and 27). And that meant he had to hightail it out of town to avoid Esau’s anger. Now after years apart, they reconnected and it was sweet. At least in…
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Joy Restored
Have you ever witnessed an old rusty, beat up car being restored to an earlier version of beauty? I love seeing the new ones on the road but if I saw it before it’s restoration I might turn away and not even notice. Or I might comment on how beat up it is! I’ve been doing the Bible study by LifeWay, The Faithful: Heroes of the Old Testament. Each week is authored by a different Bible teacher and this week I’ve been studying Jennifer Rothschild’s portion on Hosea. I’ve been challenged to take a look at Hosea’s wife Gomer at her worst and at her best. Kind of like the…
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What is THIS?
Have you ever said that? “What is THIS?” You feel blinded by the situation as though a veil covers your eyes and everything you once saw clearly is dimmed in a strange fog that is your new reality. Something happened that completely took you by surprise. Something that you could’ve NEVER prepared for ahead of time. Something you think is impossible to live through or even figure out how to navigate. I bet you can say yes to that. Probably more than once you’ve felt this way as I have. Maybe so many times you’ve said it that you’ve lost count. If you are like me, your first thought is…
