Studies, Lessons and Devotionals
Four Ways to Stay Refreshed in the Lord
Let the scriptures refresh you
Really refresh you. Don't just read them. Write them out. Read out loud. As a bath is refreshing and calming...take a bath in the scriptures.
Moments of Gratitude: "Joyful, Prayerful and Thankful"
"Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstance; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." -- 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Finding joy in all circumstances is our way to experience God's blessings. We can have faith through the storms when we are able to focus on God's blessings and not on the negative aspects of life. Sometimes, in the major storms of life we are forced to trust in God's blessing, yet through the daily, minor trials, we find it easy to doubt God --resulting in negative thoughts and feelings. In my first gratitude article, I talked about how God desires to help turn our trials into times of thanksgiving. This second article is about God's will for our lives as it pertains to gratitude.
Five Year Old Me
When I was five and one-half-years old, my father was committed to a psychiatric hospital 50 miles away from my home. Mom was left alone to care for five little children; my oldest brother was 7, I was the oldest girl, and the youngest three were in diapers (3, 2 and 8 months old).
Mom did not know how to drive. Although she was a Registered Nurse, there was no place to work within twenty to thirty miles of our little town of 900. In later years I asked Mom how she got through those chaotic times. Half-jokingly she said, "I was planning to have a nervous breakdown, but he beat me to it."
Faith in the Gospels
The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, "Follow me." Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. Philip found Nathanael and told him, "We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote--Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph."
Huldah: The Woman Who Inspired a Nation to Repent
Before Scripture was canonized, a woman named Huldah proclaimed God’s judgment on Judah, inspired King Josiah’s reforms, and became the first person to formally verify a written book as being the divinely inspired word of God.
Burden Bearer
“Come to me all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest…..rest for your souls.” – Matthew 11:28-30
Soak that in, mediate on those words.
Imagine spiritual rest. What does it looks like for you? Spiritual rest is what Christ desires for us.
The Right Conditions
The first part of this new year has been overflowing with reflections, learning, practicing, and understanding victory through surrender. I've read some great books and spent time in deep conversations about spiritual warfare, victory, and surrender.
At 39,000 Feet
I still get those jitters. I have had them since taking my first plane ride with my twin sister since when were sixteen years old. There's nothing between the plane's wheels and the ground but thin, invisible, air. Butterflies move around in my stomach. I say a prayer, and then....take off! Flying in an airplane is awe-inspiring. God has actually given us the capability to take a machine and manipulate it to move through the earthly heavens to get from one destination to another.
I Am Enough
Have you ever woken up and your first thought is, "I didn't get enough sleep?" At the end of the day, have you ever thought, "I didn't get enough done...there aren't enough hours in the day?"
Does God Have Your Attention?
"But God saves those who suffer through their suffering: he gets them to listen through their pain." --Job 36:15 (NCV)
I told God the other day, "OK. I hear you. I will listen. And I don't need migraine pain anymore. Father you have my attention." I don't actually believe God was giving me the migraine, it's just that I deeply believe He can take it away right then and there. But I also believe there is something to be gained by this suffering – by this pain.
