Being a people-pleaser is not something to be proud of. It is based on fear of rejection, punishment, or abandonment. Not until recently did I realize that I work to please people more than I want to please God. Ouch! That’s a hard reality to face.
All in Relationship with God
Change Within My Heart
Purifying. Refining.
These are godly words that sound good and they are good… in the end.
But have you been through it?
I have.
Refining can… hurt.
Aging With Gratitude: Because of God’s Purpose and Grace
God’s purpose or ours. Which do we most want?
Christ rescued us and invited us to live set apart for His sake—not because of anything we could do for Him. He accomplished this because of what He set forth before us by His matchless favor. This is true at all stages of life.
Aging With Gratitude: God Perfects My Way
Walking is one of my favorite activities, but. . . one misstep years ago and I fell straight down into the dark, dirt basement. I was thirteen and foolishly walked onto thin sheet metal—placed to prevent accidents—that covered the opening for our future brick fireplace. Fortunately, one deep gash on my shin was the only injury I suffered.
Aging With Grace: Never Too Old
God, the Father, is sometimes called “the Ancient of Days”—a title of respect, honor, and wisdom. I don’t know about you, but I’d prefer not to be referred to by age!
Praise from the Heart
She sat in my lap admiring the stars and the moon—my three-year-old granddaughter. She claimed the moon as her moon then burst out singing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star*. Little Caroline was awash with wonder, and her soul burst into song.
Loving God with All-of-Me!
My granddaughter introduced me to I Love You to the Moon and Back;* a children’s book so popular that the title has become a common phrase in the American culture!
Be a Psalmist
Why be a psalmist? Are you struggling with dark thoughts and troublesome feelings? I strove this way for over forty years. I prayed but wasn’t honest with God about my feelings.
When My Plan Doesn’t Work Out
“What if I can’t have a baby? What do I do with the rest of my life? That’s my purpose in life!” That was my prayer at the altar that day. My husband and I were facing the heartache of infertility.
Only a few times can I say I heard, without a doubt, the inaudible voice of God speaking to my heart. This was one of those times.
Our Heavenly Father’s Patience
“Hold your horses!” Though I did not understand the phrase, I did know Mother intended me to settle-down-and-be-patient. I still struggle with patience, but God does not. It is part of His essence as well as His Son’s and His Holy Spirit’s.
Getting What You Want
Have you ever thought your life would be better if you just had one thing? I have dreamed that a bigger house, a different job, a changing family situation, or more time would make me happy.
Freeze Warning
After the unexpected bad weather we experienced a couple of years ago in South Texas, people took the anticipated freeze warning seriously. The forecasted eighteen degrees definitely fell below any normal winter temperature in the South.
How Well Do You Multitask?
We used to think we could get more done by multitasking, but the latest research shows this to be false. According to numerous studies, multitasking causes more errors than focusing on a single task.
Connected
I am a beginning gardener, and though my goal this spring was to start a cutting garden, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity for a few homegrown tomatoes. Yum! I did my part: I prepared good soil; I planted a healthy plant; I watered it and provided fertilizer; I even put in stakes for support. And I watched and waited. As the plant grew, I was fascinated with the tiny blooms and subsequent fruit growing. I was disheartened when one of the branches grew so heavy with new fruit that it broke from the vine. Did those tomatoes continue to mature and ripen? No! Did the vine continue to produce new blooms and fruit? No. Disconnected from the source of all its needs, the vine and its fruit withered and wasted away. I tossed it into a pile of yard rubbish destined to be burned.
The Great Shepherd
Micah carries on the shepherd theme. By implication Israel will no longer be abandoned (5:3). In the meantime, the Good Shepherd not only lay down His life for us, for the sheep (John 10:11). The God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, (wishes to) equip you with everything good for doing his will, and…work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ. (Hebrews 13:20).
The Score at Halftime
Wow! Gideon’s 300 men soundly routed the Midianites. Amazing what God can do with the man He calls in the strength He gives him. To God be the glory! And the enemy stayed far away from the people of God for as long as Gideon lived: During Gideon’s lifetime, the land enjoyed peace forty years (8:28).
Heaven on Earth
Do you ever wonder if your prayers make a difference? It can be tempting to leave the task to the heavy hitters—those prayer warriors with a gift for praying.
A Talking Cloud?
New Testament references to clouds typically appear in settings involving Jesus. In fact, He even said to the crowd “When you see a cloud rising in the west, immediately you say, ‘It’s going to rain,’ and it does…. Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky. How is it that you don’t know how to interpret this present time? (Lk. 12:54, 56).
God in a Cloud
Our car’s glove compartment bulged with roadmaps. Mother would mark our vacation route in pencil and navigate Dad from pit stop to pit stop. And, I can still envision her attempting to refold those maps once we safely arrived.
“Forever” It’s Hard to Imagine!
I’ve allowed an “at-my-fingertips” resource to change my world. It’s quieted the angst of temporarily boxing up my favorite commentaries and study resources—old friends indeed. I knew this “world” existed, the world of digital Bible commentaries, but my books and familiar ways held me captive! I’d compared scripture translations using Bible apps for some time, but a shockinging fruitful resource hid behind the “Commentaries” tab. Forty resources awaited me to shed light on the phrase I was examining in the Lord’s prayer, the power and the glory forever.