What is peace to you? Maybe you thought of a young mom when her babies are finally laid down for the night. Or the quiet after all the house guests have left. Or the sigh of relief when bills are paid and there’s still money in the account. Each of those are definitely aspects and benefits of peace. And like ...
Not all noise is audible. But even inaudible noise can be loud and distracting — especially when the goal is to quiet the soul. My morning routine is up early, about 5am, fix my cup of coffee and sit in my “quiet” place for time with God. That’s what I call it– my “quiet time.” It is honestly my favorite ...
A lady in my church once told me, “Pastor Tod shouldn’t get upset if he sees us fall asleep in church. Some of us live in such chaos that we just can’t help but nod off in the peace and presence of God.” I laughed when she said this, but then realized how true it really was. Our world has become ...
“Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscious seared with a hot iron…” (1 Timothy 4:1-2). The Passion Translation of this says: “…at the end of this age, many will depart from the true faith one ...
Jesus spoke in parables. God spoke through stories. The point was to illustrate a truth. Stories and parables paint a picture of a principle. And as I was reading through Haggai this week, I saw an amazing illustration of our righteousness in Christ. To set it up, the Book of Haggai revolves around God’s command to rebuild His house. The ...
I was born on February 13, 1969 — so if you do the math, this is the big 5-0, a birthday most would dread. I’ve chosen to embrace it. As a friend of mine said, wisdom and revelation come with age; so, why wouldn’t we be excited to learn more about God and grow closer to Him every year? I ...
When you develop your relationship with the Holy Spirit and maintain a steady diet of God’s Word, the Lord will speak things to your heart. For example, I was praying and thanking God for a new day (one I desperately needed after feeling unnecessary pressure from the previous one) when this scripture rose up in my spirit: The blessing of the ...
You and I control our peace. No one else… One morning, while on a pre-dawn walk with my husband, I felt a little grumpy. Mainly because it was early! I had been trying to find the perfect time to exercise because I know I need it, but my schedule (by my choice) limited my options. So as we started out, I ...
“Be still and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10) CONSIDER THIS Recently, my emotions got the best of me. I was more than a little frustrated. But very quickly, my spirit yanked me up by the collar and said, “Reel that in…” and I did. A short time later, my husband and I drove an hour to our son’s ...
I don’t remember why I was there, since we had a washing machine at home, but I have a faint memory of a being at a laundry mat as a child and watching the swish, swish, swish of the old glass-top washers. On the outside, the constant sloshing of water could almost lull you to sleep. But on the inside ...