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Great Success to Great Fear
Ever had the experience mentioned in the title of this post? One minute you feel good about something, you see God work, you think something was accomplished…then the next minute, fear creeps in? Why is that? I’ve shared God’s message with a group of women, and believed in my heart I said what He wanted. Then, after it’s over, I wonder if I said anything I shouldn’t. Did I distort the Truth, or take it out of context? I fear ever getting another opportunity to share with women! Even God’s prophets experienced this. This past week, my daily Bible reading plan took me to 1 Kings 18-19 and the story…
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Where Are You Looking?
Two things in my study of the Word this week came together on one day and caught my attention. I was reading Proverbs in my daily Bible plan and came across Proverbs 4:25-27 which says: Let your eyes look forward; fix your gaze straight ahead. Carefully consider the path for your feet, and all your ways will be established. Don’t turn to the right or to the left; keep your feet away from evil. I began to consider what that looks like? I believe it means, no matter what life situation I find myself facing, I must not allow the situation to pull my eyes and heart from the path…
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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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Yet, Hope
Although I don’t always write on suffering and loss, and I certainly didn’t plan on this third post in a row on the subject, it seems that is just where I am right now. (You can read Part 1 and Part 2 here if you like.) This past week, I’ve been saddened by two friends with cancer and another who lost her husband. Since we just celebrated Easter and the resurrection of Christ, I’m extra sensitive to His presence and of “garden pain” He experienced in Gethsemane. The picture of Christ sweating drops of blood and asking for a different outcome shows us how to approach pain and loss. We…
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Transformation or Transfiguration?
I said I might post again on Elisabeth Elliot’s book published after her death, Suffering is Never for Nothing, and this is it. (You can read the other post here.) The final topic in this book is “Transfiguration.” Elisabeth said she chose this word instead of “transformation”, although they are so similar. Both words indicate a change. Both, for Christians, mean change that causes us to be conformed to the image is Christ (Romans 8:29). She thinks “transfiguration” “implies an aspect of glory that is not always implied with the word transformation.” I’d really not ever thought about that before. I love this image of a boy on a ladder…
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When You Can’t Explain Suffering
Perhaps you are in a place of suffering right now, asking God “why?”. Maybe you are in a sweet place currently, but you remember being in past crises that caused you to try to figure out the “why?” of the situation. All of us will probably face another “why?” moment, or many of them, before we take our last breath. I haven’t even finished Elisabeth Elliot’s book published after her death, Suffering is Never for Nothing. But I want to encourage you to read it! Elisabeth clearly explains in chapter 3, her choice to believe God and accept suffering as a part of following Christ. To be honest, I have…
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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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Sharp Rocks or Beauty?
Here is another post by guest blogger daughter, Alyicia Neighbours. God speaks to her in the dailiness of her life and she shares those lessons with such wit and depth. I am thrilled to share this post as I pray you will see how God so wants you and me, especially in this busy holiday season of parties, baking and family (in addition to work, home, church, etc.!), to focus on the beauty around you rather than the “what ifs” and “uh ohs” of life. May you rest in Him this “Christ”mas! God shows me a lot of life lessons when I’m with my horse, Hondo. It could be because…
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What Will I Leave Behind?
I’ve just completed reading Hebrews in my chronological Bible reading plan, F260, written by my pastor and his wife, Robby and Kandi Gallaty. Once again I am reminded so much of what we leave behind as a heritage. Yes, I’ve written on this topic more than once and you see it threaded through many of my posts as I ask: how can we take what God is teaching us (even the tough times) and pass it on to others. But reading Hebrews again tells me that we CANNOT ever get over what Jesus has done for us corporately and personally through His Gospel. Hebrews 11 lists so many men and…
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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…
