Encouraging.com

Are you hindered? I am…or at least I feel like it. A lot! Webster defines hindrances as things that impede, stop or prevent…to hold back, to delay action…to interfere with activity or progress. Yep. Seems like I live there!

Aug 5

Aug 5 Walk Worthy

Jill Hardin

I love this action verb “walk.” In fact, I love a good walk…..one that awakens my senses and gets my blood pumping. I love a walk in the early morning hours when darkness becomes light and I can think through the day ahead. But the best kind of walks are those sweet evening walks with my beloved better half….how I love him and enjoy every moment in his presence. I particularly cherish time alone with him, hand in hand, discussing the day or our plans and dreams or our concerns for the children. That brief get-away sustains me, nourishes me. It reminds me of his love for me. It makes me feel secure and tenderly cared-for. It renews and refreshes my love for him, and my heart is open to his words, instructions and longings.

Aug 2

Aug 2 Unexpected Blessing

God's Character

Before leaving East Texas, I had a dentist appointment. When I shared the details of our move with my dentist I found out she had taught at the dental school in Houston. Without hesitation she recommended a dentist she knew and had as a student. I quickly put the contact information in my phone so as not to lose it.

Aug 1

Aug 1 Be Prepared

I am learning all sorts of lessons by living in a huge metropolis in South Texas. Of course, most of these lessons come by trial and error. One such experience happened while driving back in from out of town.

Jul 31

Jul 31 A Good Example

Serving

Amid the feverish unpacking of boxes I heard the chime of the doorbell. When I opened the front door I discovered our teenage neighbor standing there with cookies, flowers, and a card in her hands.

Jul 30

Jul 30 Right in Front of Me? Or not?

Faith/Trust

Seeing a church right down the street from our house delighted me. I could not wait to go there. After our visit, I had no doubt about the “God-centeredness” of it. Friendly members, ministries reaching out to the community and the world, great worship, I could go on and on.

Jul 29

Jul 29 Called

Obedience

Living in a new area, I was excited when a lady from a church we had visited calledand asked me to attend an event there that night. At first I had some excuses why I should not go, but then I thought, why not, and off I went.

Jul 26

Jul 26 Feed Faith, Starve Fear

God's Word, Spiritual Growth

Every spring a battle rages between grass and weeds. As a child I watched my dad care for our yard. The grass was still brown and dormant from the winter, but speckled with bright green patches of weeds.

Jul 25

Jul 25 Fixing Our Eyes

Amazing. The baseball field is mowed to perfection, I thought, as I waited for the game to begin. Straight lines mowed into a flawless checkerboard pattern captured my full attention. I secretly envy professional mowers. I’ve practiced “striping” my lawns and have learned a few tips on how to achieve the straightest lines possible.

Jul 24

Jul 24 But . . . But God

Comfort, God's Character, Hope

“But, you don’t understand my problems.” “But, I can’t help it. That’s just how I am.” “But I…” “But…”

Jul 23

Jul 23 The Least and the Greatest

God's Character

It’s as big as a school bus, weighs up to ninety thousand pounds, and eats about one thousand pounds every day. And, yet, the humpback whale is able to thrust itself out of the water in incredible displays of power. They frolic and breach in the warm waters by Hawaii where they travel to every winter to breed.

Jul 22

Jul 22 How Will The World Know?

Adversity, Challenge

We rounded the corner of the road that led to our church. As it came into view, I let our 5-year old granddaughter know we were almost there. “Does your church talk about God?” What an odd question for her to ask. “Yes,” I replied. Of course it does! Then she added, “We can’t talk about God at my school. We can only talk about God at church and at home.”

Jul 19

Jul 19 Ruminating Cows

God's Word, Spiritual Growth

My daughter recently discovered a synonym for the word ‘meditate’—ruminate. When I casually mentioned that cows ruminate when they ‘chew their cud’ she burst out laughing. She said she’ll always have the association of meditating on God’s Word with cows chewing their cud!

Jul 18

Jul 18 Light in a Jar

Adversity, Anxiety, Comfort

They’re back! There’s one. There’s another. Look over there. I see it too! The lightning bugs had returned to brighten the evening hours. The girls squealed with amazement at the sight, and my own mind went back to childhood days when we ran to catch them in Mason jars then marveled at the twinkling container.

Jul 17

Jul 17 A God Who Searches

God's Character, Salvation

Jesus told a short story to a group of grumbling religious leaders to illustrate a poignant point—God will intensely search for those who need His love and salvation. He used a desperate woman, of all things, for his story. She’d lost a coin worth a day’s wage. She had only ten and one was lost. She lit a small oil lamp, the only source of light in her small windowless home, and searched carefully until she found it. She then invited her women friends and neighbors to rejoice with her. Jesus adds in verse 10, “I tell you, in the same way, there is joy in the presence of God over one sinner who repents.”

Jul 16

Jul 16 When Anger gets the Best of You

Forgiveness, Encouragement, Spiritual Growth

I met a man from Mosul, Kurdistan, an elegant godly man. That’s when Nineveh and the story of Jonah and the whale became real to me. Mosul is the modern-day city of Nineveh. The gentleman grew up there and told me Jonah’s Tomb was located there, though recently desecrated.

Jul 15

Jul 15 The Golden Thread