This weekend my sweet little 12 month old granddaughter and her parents came for a visit. Not an unusual thing. I’m very blessed to have my children and their families within driving distance of StoneGable. Emma Kate is so so sweet and dainty and girly and giggly! And just such a joy! And she is getting chatty. Oh, a chatty little girl. I love it! And this darling little one caused me to remember a very big precept of God while she splashed in the baby pool on our patio! Literally out of the mouths of babes……
Sunday Scripture
WHAT IS YOUR HEARTSONG?
Almost every morning… just before daybreak… I am awakened to the sound of a Mockingbird singing his little heart out near my bedroom windows. He sits on the top branches of our weeping cherry tree and shouts out his song. It’s not even that pretty! No obvious melody… just strings of squawks and calls and shrill whistles. He doesn’t seem to care at all… he just belts it out with everything his dear soul has. It is his heartsong! …
OMG… STOP SAYING THAT!
You would probably not ever want to go shopping with me. I am not a “let’s go shopping together” kind of girl! I really don’t like to shop! I shop at a handful of stores, but that’s it! If a store has the words pottery or crate or Home or vintage in it… well, bring it on! Other than that, I am a lone wolf shopper! If I have to shop, I hunt down my merchandise prey alone. That way I have time to think and strategize about the mission! In… attack… out! No fooling around. Precision and quick strikes!……
GREETING GOD EACH MORNING
When you open your eyes each morning how do you greet the day? More importantly, how do you greet God? Factoring God into our day can have a major impact on it. Let’s talk about the habit of spending time with God each morning… …
CARRYING FRIENDS TO THE THRONE OF GRACE
What do you do when illness or tragedy or troubles or anxiety or difficulties strike someone you know? It could be a friend, or family member or even a person you hear about! Let me tell you a story about a man with a debilitating illness and how his friends helped him in a time of his great need… This story struck me deep in my heart when I first read about it years ago and to this day it is still on my mind… Our story takes place in Capernaum, a town right on the……
WHAT’S SO AMAZING ABOUT GRACE?
If you ask me what my favorite song is I would say Amazing Grace. It was not until I was 33 years old that I knew for the first time how amazing grace really was. I have always loved this song and can sing all the modern verses but I often sang it without any deep knowledge or meaning of the wonderful truths I was voicing. But when I was 33 an amazing thing happened that saved my life……
HOW ALL PEOPLE KNOW GOD
Have you ever wondered why we believe in a God, or should I say “THE GOD”? And did you know that every culture, country, tribe, race, and peoples ALL believe in a god? Why is that? How does God, THE GOD, manifest Himself to each individual and woo us to Him? These are all important questions to ask. Today we will just skim the surface of understanding HOW ALL PEOPLE KNOW THERE IS A GOD….
WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU ARE WORRIED
Do you know someone that is a worrier? Maybe you are! I’m somewhere in the middle of the road. I don’t worry much except when I feel there is a real danger or problem that is far beyond my fixing. For many people, I think worry is just a very bad habit. It can be a “default setting” in life! I’m sure you know that worry is a useless and a very negative reaction to any situation! Worry never changes anything for good, it turns our emotions on end and cannot solve any problem. Let’s look at what God says about……
A FACE LIKE FLINT
While traveling in the Negev (southern Israel) our teacher took us on a “wee little walk”. Because we had been with her for over two weeks our small group knew exactly what that meant! Something hot and rocky and long and treacherous. But we also knew that this “wee little walk” would reveal sights we had never seen before and God would reveal a deeper level of His word to us as we struggled along….
FAVOR FROM THE LORD
I loved picking up my children from school. It was just a little nicety I did or them and it would spare them the bus ride home. I especially have very vivid and precious memories of picking them up during the middle school years. Middle schoolers what a bizarre and funny lot, right? So what do God’s favor and middle school pick-ups have in common? Oh, more than you might think……
12 BEST THINGS TO CHANGE YOUR LIFE IN 2018, PART 2
How are those New Year’s Resolutions going? Are you still on track? Or have you given up on some? I know making changes in our lives is much harder than just making a list. I struggle with keeping New Year Resolutions too. Today is part two of a three-part series about making SPIRITUALLY healthy changes in our lives this year. The best things we can do for our overall well being are spiritual. Let’s get started!…
PEACE ON EARTH AT CHRISTMAS
Before I spent time in Israel I imagined Shepherd’s Field, the place where angels announced the birth of Jesus to lowly shepherds, as a big open grassy plain. A place of great beauty and open spaces… like on a Christmas card. The picture below is of Shepherd’s Field today. It’s not at all what I imagined but then, most of what is true in the bible is not what most of us imagine……
CELEBRATING IN THE TRUE SPIRIT OF THANKSGIVING
I think hosting Thanksgiving is the most work intense, tiring, hardest meal of the year to pull off! There, I said it! And maybe I said it for all of us who host Thanksgiving year after year! There have been years in the past that I have worked myself into total exhaustion to put together a magical-Martha-Stewart-type-Thanksgiving. So, by the time my family and friends sat down to dinner I wanted to say, “Have a great dinner and remember to clean up after yourselves… I’M GOING TO BED”!…
ARE YOU KIND?
Who is the kindest person you know? When he or she comes to your mind what good qualities are you thinking about. This person is a rare gem in today’s world. Kindness in human terms is defined as affectionate, gentleness, warm, concern, care, and generous. Wonderful and selfless qualities to have. The Bible says that God is kind. Let’s talk about how this quality draws people to repentance and to His eternal kingdom and why we should be kind like Him….
FINDING LIVING STONES, PART II
Today is part II of my quest to find the Living God at the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem. Please take the time to read part I HERE. I turned from the hot holy stones… exhausted. I was a puddle. Melted by the heat and the emotion of being stood up by God! How do you pick up a puddle… How does it walk or continue a tour… or write in its journal. Can a puddle eat lunch or make small talk… or even breathe? How does a puddle put it’s heart back together… …
FINDING LIVING STONES
It’s been almost a decade ago since I studied in Israel. It was one of the most life-altering and profound experiences of my life. I walk in the footsteps and across the land of prophets and kings and the King Of King, Jesus Himself. I wandered and learned from the northernmost tip of Israel to deep in the Negev. And spent time in beautiful, gritty, divided Jerusalem the eternal “city of peace”. It was there that I had one of the most meaningful spiritual meetings of my entire life. Today and next week I would like to share……
A THANKSGIVING BLESSING
As we get closer to Thanksgiving I like to plan ahead and get things ready for this special All-American holiday. It’s a time for family and fun but it’s primarily a time for remembering to thank God for his goodness, grace, and lovingkindness to us. And that comes in more ways than we can count. Today I have a THANKSGIVING BLESSING you can print out and use during your Thanksgiving festivities!…
FALL SCRIPTURE PRINTABLE
Sometimes it’s good to remember that everything… and I mean everything… has a God ordained time. And both the good and the bad (in our eyes) have a season, a time that does not last forever and a purpose to fulfill because they are created by God Himself. So remember to savor the good times and give glory to our Father and know that the bad times will have an end and glorify Him too. …
HOW TO HANDLE TROUBLE, PART 1
I am NOT a drama queen! NO, NOT ME! I try to avoid stress and strain in life. However, sometimes it finds me. We have all had trouble of one sort or another in our lives… God calls them trials. The The Bible is VERY clear about how to handle trials and get through them. And not only get through them… God promises that if we go through a trial HIS way we will not only get through them but come out better and more mature… more complete… than before the trial! What a promise!!! Doesn’t that……
WHERE WILL YOU SPEND ETERNITY?
John 14:6 is a scripture that holds the very essence of the way to eternal salvation! Jesus and He alone is the way to the Father and to eternal life! Do you know THE WAY to heaven? …
WORLD PEACE AND LESSONS FROM FIRST GRADE
You may not know this about me… I am a news hound! I could watch the new 24/7. World events fascinate me. I am very political and think I could probably run the world so much better than most of today’s leaders. It’s simple really. I know this because I was a first grade teacher. Believe me, if you can teach first grade you probably can do almost anything!!!! I think before a leader want’s to step onto the world’s stage they should have to repeat first grade… at least once!…
WHAT WE SAY SAYS SOMETHING ABOUT US!
I have something my family calls my “driving word”. Although I have not used it for many many years… my children still remember it… This off-color word only came out when I was driving. It welled up from inside me and spewing out of my mouth when someone would be passing me on a double yellow line… or when an insane driver would cut me off… or when a driver was just being plain crazy! One day when my two little ones were safely strapped into their car seats and we were happily singing……
A CALL TO NATIONAL PRAYER
Our country is in trouble! Not only because of the shutdown or the impending raising of the debt limit… again… or the childish, abhorrent behavior of most of our leaders. Our country, the country I love, is sick! Our country has fallen into grave and serious sin! Most of us, if we would search the depth of our souls, know it! It stares us in the face from the tv set and the computer every day! Our ears are filled with it… just walk down the hall of almost any high school or listen to what is playing on……
AN UPDATE ON MY SON AND THE POWER OF PRAYER
I just can’t say this enough… THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART! Many of you are still praying for Christopher and asking how he is doing. I still get lots of emails and messages every week asking me to update you on my son’s recovery. So today, 10 weeks out from surgery, I thought I’d let all my StoneGable friends know how my son is doing! I am sure prayer played a huge role in his recovery and will continue to do so in the final outcome of his long road back to perfect health……
WHAT IS THE NATIVITY?
You have probably seen a nativity scene somewhere this Christmas. In a yard or church or even in your own home. Today let’s talk about what the word nativity means and the truths we can garner from the Word of God about it. Let’s also look at the customs of the day in the first century AD and see what we can find. Along with delving into the truth of the Nativity I want to share some beautiful photographs of the nativity from my studies in Israel….
GOD AND ETERNITY
When my son Christopher was about four years old he asked a very funny question… “Mommy… is Pop-Pop older than God?” I had a little giggle and answered, “No son, God is older than anything… even Pop-Pop! Christopher, God is eternal”! How do you explain eternity to a four year old. Christopher’s length of days were not even a blip on the timeline of history! Almost everything was older than him! Under all that sweet and cute innocence was a very profound question… one that has been asked throughout the ages… just how long has God……
DID MERCY MAKE YOUR TOP 10?
If I were to ask you to make a list of 10 things you could not live without, what would be on your list? Food, money, health, home? All great things to put on a top 10 but did you ever think that mercy… God’s mercy…. should be on that list and pretty close to the top? Mercy is something that we cannot live without! So, it we can’t live without real mercy… what is mercy? Let’s explore this deep and wide word… …
WHAT IS BAPTISM?
Two weeks ago I was so honored to be present as an adult member of my family was baptized in a local steam. The day was gorgeous. Church was held along the banks of the stream and a huge fellowship meal was served! After the meal, my dear relative along with 13 members of his church were also baptized. I know, in some Christian circles, there is great discussion about infant baptism versus age of understanding baptism. I thought it would be a good idea to look at what the word of God says about baptism… what it is and……
STANDING STONE
When I was in Israel I learned many lessons about God. In a way they were taught by what I saw around me. Concrete object lessons right from the very land that Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and Jesus walked. The dessert told me stories of great spiritual truths as well as the rushing “living water” that would tumble and bubbly from the base of the mountains! And everywhere I went there were rocks and boulders and stones! Even the very stones cried out their God lessons to me!…
I AM NOT ASHAMED
My bible study, AT THE BIG TABLE, begins this week and I am so excited to welcome back over 60 women! Some have studied with us for years and some are new. Some have walked with the Lord longer than I have and some are seeking what this faith is all about. We are many denominations and backgrounds and personalities. But we gather together to love God’s word and love one another!…
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