Leading Forward

Pentecost

2013-05-19T10:33:00.002-04:00

And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will. Romans 8: 26-27 I use a small electric fan to keep me cool in the

Still

2013-05-13T15:03:00.003-04:00

I am such an impatient “waiter.” I was in the checkout line at a home improvement store recently fussing and fuming about the man in front of me. He decided to wait until he checked-out to decide he needed another item that the cashier had to send an employee to get. Waiting, waiting, waiting. The line backed up behind me and we watched the next lane checkout person after person. I kept thinking

Beauty for Ashes

2013-05-01T15:51:00.003-04:00

How hard is it to give thanks to express joy in the middle of our mess? We can’t often change our circumstance but we can change how we see them. We can make adjustments. We might have to adjust our perspective on what is happening in our lives. In the middle of our mess we get to choose whether to move closer to joy or away from it. Whichever way we choose, we usually “wear” our emotional

Thanksgiving Before Blessings

2013-04-25T09:37:00.001-04:00

Jesus, on the night before he was crucified offered thanksgiving during the Last Supper. “He broke the bread and gave thanks to God for it.” Jesus was expressing eucharisteo ¬ - thanks, joy, and grace. If Jesus could offer a prayer of thanks to his Father on the eve of his crucifixion, in the midst of his suffering, can’t we do the same? What we see in Jesus’ example is that he prayed a prayer

MInd of Christ

2013-04-08T14:06:00.001-04:00

Paul writes, Let this mind be in our which was also in Christ Jesus. Philippians 2:5 How can we think like Jesus? We need to be students of Jesus to learn what he said and how he acted because of these actions began with thoughts. Paul struggled with the same thing we struggle with. After his conversion when he began to speak to others about Christ, he did it “in weakness, and in fear, and in

Positve Proactive Emotions

2013-03-31T08:47:00.000-04:00

What is your emotional cycle? We all have one? Do you have a cycle of positive proactive emotions or negative re-active emotions? In order to create more joy in our lives, we need to learn how to create a cycle of emotions that lead to peace and joy. Christ desires for us to live in joy. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. John 15:11

Scripture Affirmations

2013-03-24T10:02:00.000-04:00

Erratic - Having no fixed or regular course; wandering Have you ever observed an erratic driver? They don’t maintain a steady speed and they weave in and out of traffic, often drifting from side to side in a lane. Sometimes they accelerate in fits and spurts. Their behavior is unpredictable and inconsistent. Is your spiritual growth a bit erratic? Do you find yourself taking one step

Fluent Compassion

2013-03-05T09:48:00.001-05:00

In his book 40 Days to a Joy-Filled Life, Tommy Newberry suggests we begin to practice “fluent compassion.” I have never thought about being fluent in compassion. To be fluent means to able to speak a language effortlessly. Can I really speak AND demonstrate compassion effortlessly.? This is hard for my choleric nature to do!! Mercy, unfortunately, ranks pretty low on my spiritual gifts

Worry Time

2013-02-28T13:07:00.002-05:00

Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 2 Corinthians 9:6 Our thoughts, like our actions, reap results. If we think critically, we will reap those criticisms. If we think anxious, fear-filled, worried thoughts, we will reap that anxiety. If we want to live a joy-filled life, we must keep our thoughts fixed on things of God. It is

Traits of Mature Faith

2013-02-18T14:31:00.000-05:00

I Corinthians 13 tells us that when we were children, we talked like a child, thought like a child, reasoned like a child. But when we become adults, we are to put away our childish ways. How can we turn that childish traits into mature traits? In the book Boundaries with Kids, the authors describe 8 aspects of character that we should try to instill in children. They say that these 8 traits

Upgrade

2013-02-13T14:42:00.002-05:00

Who doesn't love an upgrade? Airline upgrades, computer upgrades, stock upgrades, telephone upgrades, software upgrades! We love upgrades because usually we get something addtional at no cost. God is in the business of giving us upgrades. He wants to upgrade the quality of our lives. He wants for us to experience his peace and his joy. While he doesn't charge us for upgrades, there may be a

Friend of God

2013-01-27T16:35:00.000-05:00

What does it mean to be a friend of God? Let’s look at some friends of God to find characteristics. Moses was a friend of God. But not with my servant Moses. Of all my house, he is the one I trust. I speak to him face to face, clearly, and not in riddles! He sees the LORD as he is. Numbers 12:7-8 God trusted Moses. Moses saw God as he is. David was a friend of God. But now your

Resurrected Soul

2013-01-21T13:30:00.000-05:00

When Mary and Martha sent word to Jesus that Lazarus was sick, they said, “Lord, the one you love is sick.” For the wordsick the message included the Greek word astheneo, which translates “to be weak, feeble, to be without strength, powerless” (New Testament Greek Lexicon). They wanted to communicate that Lazarus was suffering from a very serious illness, one that had left him powerless.

In the Meantime

2013-01-10T15:02:00.000-05:00

How do you cope with that in-between time when you are waiting for God to do something? How do you live“in the meantime?” In Bethany Mary and Martha knew that Jesus could heal their very sick brother, Lazarus. They sent an urgent message to Jesus and then began the waiting and praying and waiting and praying. They were living “in the meantime.” In the Jewish culture, a person was not actually

Grace, Gratitude, Favor = Joy

2013-01-02T17:09:00.000-05:00

The Spirit of the Lord is on me…to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. Luke 4:18-19 As I consider my “resolve” for 2013, I am focusing on the connectedness of four powerful words: grace, gratitude, favor, and joy. As I look forward to this new year, I’m vowing to live in the favor and blessings of God’s grace and to show gratitude for both during 2013. This right living will result in

Blessing Tree

2012-12-24T16:18:00.002-05:00

Christmas is a wonderful time to remind ourselves of all the blessings in our lives. I am abundantly blessed. I am blessed to have faith in a Savior who was born on earth, lived as a man, died, was buried, and then resurrected to give me eternal life. I am blessed by a family who is as close as a family can be. We love each other and like to spend time together. We laugh and play and eat

Expectations

2012-12-10T16:19:00.000-05:00

My soul, wait only upon God and silently submit to Him; for my hope and expectation are from Him. Psalm 62:5 During this Advent season one of the words I’m dwelling on is expectations. I loved reading Charles Dickens' Great Expectations in my 9th grade English class. Born in humble circumstances and poorly educated, Pip's great expectations were to become a wealthy and educated gentleman. His

Be Prepared

2012-12-02T18:35:00.000-05:00

Do you recognize the emblems in the pictures? They represent the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts. I proudly wore the uniform of the Brownies and Girl Scouts and remember each week reciting the motto, “Be prepared.” The 1947 Girl Scout handbook put it this way, “A Girl Scout is ready to help out wherever she is needed. Willingness to serve is not enough; you must know how to do the job well, even in

Thanksgiving Branch

2012-11-15T16:04:00.001-05:00

On Thanksgiving Day millions of Americans will gather with loved ones to celebrate our blessings. This year I created a Thanksgiving branch arrangement as a reminder of the blessings of friends and family. When guests come to my home during the season, I ask them to write a blessing or two on a card and then I hang it on a branch in the arrangement. It’s been a great addition to my holiday

Troubled Waters

2012-11-08T12:11:00.000-05:00

Do you remember a day you waited for with great anticipation and excitement? It may have been a birthday, a holiday, a wedding, a graduation, or a special event. You probably thought about it often, maybe you dreamed about it, and you probably talked about it frequently to your friends and family. Depending on your personality, you may have had some anxiety because of the challenges involved in

God Box

2012-10-22T12:48:00.001-04:00

A friend recently loaned me the book The God Box by Mary Lou Quinlan, and said she thought I would enjoy it. She added, "It will remind you of your mother." That was all I needed to hear. I knew that anything that would remind me of my mother would be a good read. My mother (we affectionately call her St. Mary) is a saint above saints, a prayer warrior, a model mother, and my dear friend.

Forgiveness

2012-10-11T05:56:00.000-04:00

Pencils come in all shapes, sizes, designs, and colors. One end is used to write; the other to erase our mistakes. I make lots of mistakes, so the eraser end of my pencils have worn thin. People are a lot like pencils. We come in all shapes, sizes, designs, and colors, and we all make mistakes. Fortunately, God sent his son to die for us and erase our mistakes. He wants to forgive us and he will

Sorry!

2012-10-04T09:40:00.000-04:00

I used to love the game Sorry! when I was a kid. The game title comes from the many ways in which a player can prevent the progress of another player, while issuing an apologetic "Sorry!" "Sorry!" Oh, how easily that word sometimes rolls off the tongue with no sincerity or depth of meaning. Often people think that saying the "sorry" word gets them off the hook for any sort of indiscretion.

Grace

2012-09-26T09:00:00.000-04:00

How does the Holy Spirit fit into our lives? John Wesley describes grace as having 3 components: 1. Prevenient grace From birth God's grace prepares us for new life in Christ. The Holy Spirit goes before us (prevenient) preparing us in order to bring us to faith. Consider the image of a path that leads to our spiritual house. It is on the path where God pursues us. The Holy Spirit goes

What Are You Sowing?

2012-09-19T16:40:00.000-04:00

In the Parable of the Sower Jesus (Luke 8:5-15) tells of a farmer who set out to sow seeds. Some seeds feel along the path, some fell on rocky ground, some fell among thorns, and some fell on good soil. He goes on to tell his disciples that the seed represents the word of God. Jesus is actually describing four kinds of Christ-followers and how they "sow" the word of God into their lives. The