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How Looking Back Can Help Us Move Forward
I am learning that sometimes to move forward; we first need to look back. When I asked God for a word at the beginning of 2022, I could not have foreseen how God would use a specific word and verse to sum up almost every day of my life in 2022. So many things hit my family and me last…
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Moving Into 2023 with Purpose
So many parts of the book of Job are challenging for me. There is the part where it describes Job as a righteous man, yet God allowed him to suffer. There are also the parts that deal with his tremendous loss and grief. Despite Job serving others and giving God his best, all the pain he endured is hard to…
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Taking Time to Notice God is There
As I sat at the drive-thru at a local bank, my eyes began to scan over what lay in front of me. Colorful red berries on the bushes in the landscaping, cars rushing to and fro, the local Post Office, and a gray, almost colorless sky. Then, a solitary cross on the hilltop at a church caught my eye. I…
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God Knows Where to Find Us
Have you ever heard of a place called Nain? Chances are, even though you haven’t heard of the place, you have been there just the same. Have you ever had days that you felt insignificant, unnoticed, or invisible? Days where you wondered if God really could see all that you were going through? If you answered yes to any…
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Daughter of God, You are Enough
I can get easily get caught up in appearances. Anybody? Do you ever feel the sting of the words “you aren’t good enough?” Do you feel your accomplishments pale in comparison to “her” success, remarkable beauty, or invaluable contributions? Perhaps, you don’t even try because you feel you couldn’t possibly make any difference at all. I have spent some time…
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The Lord is My Portion and My Cup
When I woke up this morning, I was overwhelmingly aware that all my troubles were still there. So many hard things had replaced carefree days. Days of leisure and rest had been replaced by days filled with responsibilities and to-do lists. I was also much aware that all the hard things were beginning to steal my expectation for good things…
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Bring It All to God in Prayer
I often laugh about the time my friend called me a stuffer and herself a blower. She was referring to how different we are in how we deal with things. She is the outspoken type that speaks up letting people know how she feels instantly. I am more the type to hold hurts and frustrations inside choosing to deal with…
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Freedom from Striving
I have a confession to make. More times than I admit, I don’t finish what I start. I generally have all these great big plans and ideas as I step out boldly to do All.The.Things. Then I get hijacked somewhere between my glorious beginning and my name in lights ending by all things called life. I am left idling in…
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Learning to Pray and Believe
Have you ever wrestled with the whole thing called prayer? Have you ever sincerely just wondered how does it work? Maybe you have prayed and prayed for something and find yourself still waiting. Maybe you see “her” prayer answered but not yours, and it has you struggling to understand. Acts 12: 1-17 tells us that while Peter was sleeping in…
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Getting to the Good Stuff of God
The Book of Joel is one of the smallest books in the Bible but it makes a powerful punch. It is not for the weak of heart but it takes great courage to tackle God’s message for Israel found within its pages. The fields had been ravished, and the fruit trees were dried up along with the joy that had…
