A yearly focus word is a great tool to help us grow in our faith journey. One year, my word was “joy.” It reminded me to reframe the way I viewed difficulties. I learned to see them not as hindrances but as opportunities to experience God’s presence and promises in new ways. Another year,… [ read more ]
Posts Tagged: Mark
Prayer: What Works, What Doesn’t
God’s Word tells us to pray. Thankfully, it also gives us insights about what works and what doesn’t. What Doesn’t Work? Jesus has just finished telling the disciples about His immediate future: the Romans will mock Him, spit on Him, flog Him with a whip, and kill Him. But three days later He… [ read more ]
Why Our Thoughts About God Matter
The older I get and the more life experience I gather, the more I’m fascinated by the power of the thoughts we habitually entertain. In short, they influence our behaviors, and those behaviors determine our destiny or outcome. Let me give you a personal example of what this looks like. When Sailor-Man and… [ read more ]
Learning to Say No
The devil will do anything to derail our devotion for the Lord. One of his tactics is busyness. If running from one thing to the next to the next eliminates quiet time spent in God’s Word and presence, then we become more vulnerable to temptation, discouragement, and self-deception. Satan knows this, so he wastes no… [ read more ]
4 Truths to Remember When the Wind and Waves Rage
Living and traveling on a sailboat has given me a whole new appreciation for anyone who makes a living from the sea. Some days the water barely ripples and I’m able to sit in the cockpit and work on my laptop as Sailor Man guides us through BC’s islands. Other days, the wind and… [ read more ]
Listening to the Right Voice
My focus word for 2020 is “listen.” Yesterday as I scrolled through my past blogs, I fell upon this one written three years ago. It was, for me, a jaw-dropping moment. I smiled at how God brought this reading back to me as a gentle reminder to keep my ear tuned to His voice… [ read more ]
Seeking Wisdom is Good, But Loving God is Better
How many “aha” moments can a person have in a short period of time? I feel as though they’re coming at me from every direction. Each time they hit me, I wonder why I haven’t noticed these truths earlier. Learning never stops, nor should it! The speaker at the family Bible camp I attended… [ read more ]
To Which Voice Should We Listen?
Sometimes I hear voices in my head. I know, I know–that sounds a little sketchy. But I’ll bet you hear them too. When I travel by air, I sometimes feel the Holy Spirit’s nudge to strike up a conversation with the stranger beside me. A voice inside says, “No—don’t bother her. She doesn’t want… [ read more ]
Why Does Soul Care Matter?
As I write this, I sit on a white wicker bench in a gazebo built over a saltwater marsh. Egrets, herons, and sanderlings are searching for their lunch in the low tide. Other birds perch atop pilings nearby, basking in the sunshine as they survey their surroundings. I’m on Edisto Island, South Carolina, and it… [ read more ]
What Difference Does the Word “All” Make?
The gals in my weekly Bible study recently enjoyed a discussion about the word all in the context of —“And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.” What an eye-opener to realize how often I love God half-heartedly. … [ read more ]
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