Live Boldly
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Priorities
You’ve heard it said that there is a time and place for everything. When Jesus was speaking with Martha about choosing the ONE thing that was important, He was demonstrating that very truth. Each of us are uniquely made with different gifts and talents to use for God’s purposes in our lives. Some have the gift of hopsitality, some teaching, some cooking and others organization. Whatever your giftings are, they are important and are given to you by God. But regardless of what our giftings are or the positions that we fill with our talents, we need to remember that God should always be our first priority and always make…
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Comparison
In the first story of Martha in the Bible, Martha is comparing herself to her sister Mary. She is doing all the work and her sister is lounging about and Martha is frustrated with the unfairness of it all. As women, we tend to do this a lot. We compare ourselves to the other ladies at church, in our jobs and in the check out lines at the grocery store. We use others as a measuring stick for our own self worth. When we look at others and feel like they have it all and we are stuck with the short end of the stick……resentment starts to build. “Why does…
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Be Humble
The name Martha is translated, in Hebrew, as lady boss, mistress or land lady and it kind of helps me get a mental picture of her. She was a woman who was in charge and making things happen. A woman focused on her to do list and didn’t appreciate what she perceived as laziness or dilly dallying. Martha wanted recognition for her good deeds and her hard work. She wanted Jesus to brag on her and praise her for her cooking and preparing the meal. Can you relate to her? I’m sure we’ve all at some time or other, wanted someone to notice our hard work and maybe even give…
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Hi Darlin
Have you ever had one of those days or weeks that you just didn’t feel like yourself. Tears come easily, your hair won’t go right no matter what products you used on it and everything you wear, in your mind, makes you look fat. And you have no explaination for why you feel that way, you just do. Years ago a friend of mine told me she called those days “The Molly Grubs.” When you were having one of those days you could simply say, “I’m got the Molly Grubs,” and everyone understood. Most often it would just take time for those feelings to go away. Other times a simple…
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Sufficient
Martha is a woman in the bible that I can relate too. She is a hard worker who, at times, feels overwhelmed by her commitments and worries about things that she feels have great importance. Although I’ve never spoke to Jesus face to face, I have exhibited the same attitude in my requests and prayers as Martha did. “Lord, don’t you see how hard I’m working. Can’t you make them help me?” Most often when I make those requests of the Lord, His response is, “My grace is sufficient.” For the longest time I understood that to mean that He would give me the strength, energy and wisdom to accomplish…
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Holy of Holies
A message I recently read really challenged my attitude about my quiet time with God. I look forward to it each morning and I know that my whole day starts better when I make sure that I have this time. But often my attitude can slip to the mindset of a to do list rather than the intimate time with God that it is intended to be. The writer of the article said that she viewed her quiet time as her time of entering the Holy of Holies. In the bible the Holy of Holies was a place located deep within the tabernacle and eventually in the temple and was…
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Path to Peace
I love the feeling that those words bring to my soul. It makes me believe that it is possible to have true contentment, calmness and peace in this crazy and hurried world we live in. But where do we find that path? After Martha spoke her mind, Jesus offered her the path to peace. He said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 19:41-42) In that statement Jesus reminded her – and us – what to be concerned with, where to focus, and what…
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Busy
For the last few months I have tried not to use the word busy. I think it is a word that has lost its value from over use. Busy doing what? It was a busy day. I have to much to do, I’m so busy. Busy at first appears to give us value and is often seen as a status symbol. But the truth is that it robs us of any real interaction. Martha was a very busy woman. So much so that she was worried and upset over what she felt like was unfairness where Mary was concerned. When I avoided using the word busy in my conversations I…
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Give Me One Day
I was so encouraged by the Soul Retreat prayer. It was like someone had taken the thoughts from my mind and desires of my heart and put them on paper. That’s what I want, intimacy with God. I felt empowered by the words and by the first set of studies that I had reviewed at my retreat. It was time for a little nap and when I went inside to relax I made the mistake of checking my phone. Three new travel requests were in my inbox plus a text message about a ministry issue. I had left an out of office message on my email, but my mind began…
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Distracted
As Jesus and the disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem, they came to a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what he taught. But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. (Luke 10:38-40) There He was, the Savior of the world, at her front door and Martha welcomed Him in. The story begins in the best possible way but then takes a turn because of distractions. Can you relate? I can. Within just a few moments of arriving at my Soul Retreat with God the distractions began. My email was filling up…