Live Boldly
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Creative Provision
I was recently working on a project, that I felt led by God to do, when the financial cost became more that I expected. My mind swirled with thoughts, some of which were doubts if I should continue with the project and others a bit more selfish. For a brief moment I thought of the money in my bank account as my own. Then just as quickly, I was reminded that all I have is a gift from God and it all belongs to Him. I prayed for forgiveness and resolved to trust that God would work things out, both financially and especially in my heart. First thing the next…
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Night Seasons
Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. – Psalm 20:7 A dear friend of mine was telling me about a bible study she was participating in with her friend called Faith in the Night Seasons, by Nancy Missler. Many times she has shared at prayer group about the faith and relationship that has developed between her friend and God over the last several months. Her friend is battling a form of cancer that is eating her bones. Her life has become a beautiful testimony of a woman who trusts God regardless. At some point in our lives we will all experience…
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The What If’s
May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. – Psalm 19:14 I have often been caught in the vicious cycle of the what if’s. Wondering and worrying about what might happen, what someone might say or how they might respond. If those type of thoughts are not taken captive they will lead me away from the peace and truth of God. In my study bible notes, regarding today’s passage, was a question. Would you change the way you live if you knew that every word and thought would be examined by God? This Psalm was written by…
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Light Up My Darkness
You, Lord, keep my lamp burning; my God will light up my darkness. With your help I can advance against a troop; with my God I can scale a wall. – Psalm 18:28-29 Don’t you just love it when you read a bible passage and it completely captures your heart and encourages you in ways that you didn’t even know you needed. That’s what I experienced when I internalized His Word for me today. As I thought of this verse I could imagine God fanning the flame within me. Sometimes the flame is barely flickering and I feel the heaviness and darkness of this world surrounding me. Other times I don’t even recognize…
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If it doesn’t challenge you, it doesn’t change you
That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever. -2 Corinthians 4:16-18 I have had a sign in my workout room for a long time that reads; “If it doesn’t challenge you, it doesn’t change you.”…
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I Choose to Be
Your faith will be like gold that has been tested in a fire. And these trials will prove that your faith is worth much more than gold that can be destroyed. They will show that you will be given praise and honor and glory when Jesus Christ returns. – 1 Peter 1:7 You’ve heard it said, “Be careful for what you wish for, you just might get it.” When you put that in terms for a believer it might look like asking for patience and getting opportunities to develop patience. It doesn’t just happen, it is practiced, tested and continually in the process of being perfected. There are many passages…
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Confirmation of Your Calling
You are young, but do not let anyone treat you as if you were not important. Be an example to show the believers how they should live. Show them with your words, with the way you live, with your love, with your faith, and with your pure life. – 1 Timothy 4:12 I have been working on the Royal Records book for next year and have enjoyed diving deep into God’s Word for what He would have me write. At the same time the enemy has been attempting to distract and discourage my efforts. Many times as believers we face challenges of the enemy meant to derail us from doing…
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What might have been
Where I live we occassionally have transients and homeless people pass through. The other day a man stopped at our house because he recognized the name on my husband’s work trailer. It turned out to be a past friend of my husband. They had hung out together during a rebellious and free spirited time in my husband’s life when they both had excessively used drugs and alcohol. My husband had the opportunity to talk with his friend for an hour or so and later shared the man’s story with me. The man had continued to use drugs and alcohol and eventually, his entire family had enough of his choices and…
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Mighty and Magnificent
When I gaze to the skies and meditate on Your creation— on the moon, stars, and all You have made, I can’t help but wonder why You care about mortals— sons and daughters of men— specks of dust floating about the cosmos. But You placed the son of man just beneath God and honored him like royalty, crowning him with glory and honor. – Psalm 8:3-5 (Voice) On one of my last nights at our summer retreat I had the priviledge of being awakened by God to take in the scene of the endless starry sky that displayed His mighty and magnificent creation. Thousands of stars painted the sky as the bright full moon shone over…
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A Servant’s Heart
“Walk across the floor of your upper room and wash the feet of your Judas.” – Max Lucado When I read the quote above the word that caught my attention was “upper.” My week had been full of comments from different people about the privileges that their social and financial statuses should give them, as well as my own prideful thoughts of the value I was placing on my time and paycheck. How often we strive for some resemblance of significance that we hope to find in what the world defines as important. Prestigue, sofistication, wealth, influence and appearance are nothing more than steps leading to our “upper” room of…