Week One: I didn’t grow up celebrating Advent and if I’m honest, I only recently realized what it meant. I had heard the word before but assumed it was a denominational tradition. It’s actually a beautiful reminder of why we celebrate not only Christmas, but our Christian faith. For those that might be like me, let me start with an ...

For me, turning on Christmas music before Thanksgiving isn’t about the season as much as what it produces. My husband teasingly rolls his eyes, but I literally smile from ear to ear listening to the melodies of old and new songs of the season. So much so, that I recently put in my earphones and did my entire two hours ...

10,000 Reasons is the title of a song by Matt Redman. And I love it because in a world full of 10 million excuses, it’s good to be reminded that we have more than 10,000 reasons to praise and thank God. The Psalmist said: Bless the Lord, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, ...

When my Grandma passed away, I read the verse in 2 Peter which says, “Dear friends, don’t overlook this one fact: With the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day” (2 Peter 3:8). As I meditated on this verse, I thought to myself, “I could live one hundred more years and walk ...

Throughout God’s Word, we find natural examples to help us understand spiritual principles. One such example is found in Hebrews, Chapter Six. The Bible says if the earth drinks in the rain and then produces a good crop or healthy plants or trees, then it is blessed. But if the earth drinks in the rain and produces weeds, thorns, and thistles, ...

In this season of love, it’s not unusual for 1 Corinthians 13:13 to come to mind: “And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” Faith is defined as a firm persuasion; something God has given to each of us in measure (Romans 12:3). Faith is also the substance of things hoped for. And ...

This article first appeared on The Christian Broadcasting Network | It was an utter failure — a sin that couldn’t have been predetermined, something he didn’t know he was even capable of doing. And afterward, the realization of his failure brought instant regret and bitter tears, but he couldn’t take it back. It was done and now it seemed he ...

There’s a certain scripture in the Christmas story that has always intrigued me. You know the story… an angel visits a young girl named Mary and announces to her that she will become pregnant with God’s Son (Luke 1:26-33). Her fiancé Joseph learns of her pregnancy and secretly plans to break the engagement when an angel appears to him in ...

This article first appeared on The Inspired Woman Blog | Like many of you, I have lots of “favorite” scriptures– not to sound cliche. There’s the one that changed everything in my life (and unknowingly thrust me into the ministry as an author and speaker), then there’s those powerful “ka-bam” scriptures that remind you God is on His throne and ...

I am thirty-one years older than my daughter. I recently told her, “The world you are living in is much different than the one I imagined for you.” But I don’t want her (or any of us) to underestimate faith. Because isn’t that what Paul tried to warn Timothy? He said, “But know this, that in the last days perilous ...

Have you ever been in one of those moments when, unexpectedly, the tide turns, good news suddenly appears, or the thing you were praying for actually comes to pass? We like to think we’re in faith all the time, but the truth is, we’re not — in fact, sometimes we’re caught by surprise and our only response is, “Wow, that ...

What a blasted word. Or a blessed one. Again. To repeat. To mimic a former behavior, instance, or circumstance. Paul said, “In [this] freedom Christ has made us free [and completely liberated us]; stand fast then, and do not be hampered and held ensnared and submit again to a yoke of slavery [which you have once put off]” (Galatians 5:1). We have a choice. ...

I was an 80’s girl. As a senior in high school, I chanted with my peers, “We’re gonna party like it’s 1999” and in 1987, future years like “1999” and “2000” seemed like a time-warp to the space age. But here we are, beginning 2018, and those space-age years are nothing more than history now. Thankfully, my understanding changed quite ...

No matter how many years pass, I still see it coming… that marker in time— the sign in the road that says, “God is faithful.” There are some who want to go around it, avoid it, and forget it ever happened. And to some degree, I understand. But God says otherwise: “So this day shall be to you a memorial…” ...

Throughout God’s Word, we find natural examples to help us understand spiritual principles. One such example is found in Hebrews, Chapter Six. The Bible says if the earth drinks in the rain and then produces a good crop or healthy plants or trees, then it is blessed. But if the earth drinks in the rain and produces weeds, thorns, and thistles, ...

Before you tune me out or call me sappy, let me explain. My heart was rescued from despair the day I got saved. And then, like a perfect gentleman, God kept wooing me, showing up at the door of my heart with sweet flowers and invitations to walk with Him. You know the feeling… there isn’t a person in this ...