Coffee and a Verse
Life is full of things I have to do everyday. So I always try to make time for the things I enjoy and actually look forward to each day too. So I tend to start my mornings enjoying two of my favorite things. Enjoying time in the Word of God and sipping on a fresh cup of my favorite coffee. This is where the Coffee and a Verse came from. So grab your own cup of coffee and join me as I share one of my favorite verses for the week. Verses that have encouraged me and my hope is that they will encourage you too.
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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 year. If I was to be truly honest, I battled doubting my Christian walk with God more than I ever had before. Frustration and discouragement at times were like wolves at my heels. But My Jesus! He has kept me thus far, even amid flames, fire, and flood. Even when the…
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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 wrap my mind around. Things I admit I have wrestled with as I moved to step into 2023. I have wrestled with the fairness of the book of Job. Still, when you read the words God spoke to Job near the end, it brings you to the realization that life…
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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 rarely look up as I go about my errands on these country roads near my home, so I had forgotten that the cross was even there. As soon as my eyes landed on its commanding presence, so did my heart. For it was then I heard the Lord whisper to…
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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 of these, then you have been to Nain. Maybe in this place, you have even asked the straightforward question, “God, do you care?” Maybe in this place, you have stopped asking. Too many harsh things have happened that you now simply accept everything that comes your way as things are…
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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 visiting with John the Baptist. He reminded me of a few important things… Ladies, It isn’t about our hairstyle. And it certainly isn’t about the current style of shoes we are wearing. Our standing in society is not what will make the difference. What diploma hangs on our wall or…
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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 in my life. As I stepped off my front porch step to take my dog outside, the sky in front of me was painted with a beautiful pink-hued sunrise over the mountains. Honestly, I admit that my first thought of the day had been one of dread. Long days with…
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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 them alone. Either way in itself is not always the right way to handle things. Stuffers can easily hold misunderstandings, hurts, and frustrations inside until you are a powder keg ready to explode or allow them to cause discouragement or resentment. Blowers can lose their tempers and say things in…
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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 the middle of the road called Success, loaded to the brim of all these great things but left overwhelmed to where I can no longer move. This middle-of-the-road place is where I quietly sat deep in thought recently. As I sat and sputtered for a while and let my motor…
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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 a maximum security prison cell chained between two prison guards, the early church prayed for him. Peter’s situation looked hopeless to change, yet the early church prayed. There was no way out of his sentence. Death was imminent, yet the early church prayed. There was no way of escape,…
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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 once filled their hearts. Everything was gone. But weren’t these God’s people? Why would He allow such heartache and destruction? Don’t we blame God when everything falls apart? I’m not proud to say it but I would have to raise my hand that many times I do. It is knowing…
