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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 2: Circumstances
Last week we looked at how comparison keeps us from being contented. If you missed it you can read that post here. Today we will look at a second big issue that causes us discontentment: our circumstances. If only…what if…iif I had…if I lived…if I was….THEN I would be content with my life. Have you ever said, “it must be nice…..”? In her book, Lies Women Believe and the Truth that Sets Them Free, author Nancy Leigh DeMoss Wolgemuth says we believe this: “If my situation was different, I would be different.” We always seem to be searching for that elusive state of bliss in life. In the scripture we looked at last week in…
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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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The Next Step
Are you in a place of struggle today that seems useless and wondering what the next step is? Are you just biding your time, waiting for the next big thing to happen? Are you always looking into the future and forgetting that the sovereign Lord is in charge of your right now as well as your future? I am LOVING Priscilla Shirer’s Bible study, Discerning the Voice of God. Although I did the first version of this study many years ago (and it’s always been one of my favs), this is a subject I need to study again and again. If you’ve never done this study, I HIGHLY recommend it! If you’ve…
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Your Memorial Stones
I wrote last week about stepping into the water and told you I wanted to follow up this week talking about memorial stones. So read that post first if you didn’t see it last week. In Joshua 4, after the Israelites had stepped into the water, saw the waters part, and walked across on dry land, God gave Joshua a directive. He said to choose a person from each of the 12 tribes to go back into the dry river bed and choose 12 stones (boulders, actually, that had to be lifted onto their shoulders) to build a memorial. What were these stones for? Why did God tell them to do this?…
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Grow Through What You Go Through
I saw this sign in Target recently and stopped to look at it for a while: Seems like this is the story of my life. As I stood there thinking about the message painted on the glass, I remembered how many times, when I’ve faced something really hard, I do not want to learn anything. I just want it over! But at the same time, when I think back to all the tough experiences I’ve lived through, I wouldn’t change any of them because each one has matured me and taught me more about God. I can’t imagine how I would’ve made it these “growing” seasons without Christ. He was…
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Perfect, Broken or Perfectly Shaped?
How often do you hear someone say (or perhaps you have said it), “I’m broken and unusable.” Or “I can’t be forgiven for what I’ve done.” Or perhaps, “I know God has forgiven me, but I know He can’t use me after what I’ve done.” Maybe even you have thought these things. As I’ve mentioned, I LOVE beach time. And I love what God teaches me when I’m at the shore. One of the sweetest messages He’s given me relates to how I look for big, perfect, whole shells. Perhaps like this shell I found. It was big and perfect. I wanted to find more! Then I came across this one…
