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Relentless
Sunday was all about celebrating “The Strength of a Woman” during our annual women’s day. And oh, what a time we had. Service culminated with a power message of resilience. We unpacked what it means to be relentless in our pursuit of God. The message was taken from Matthew 15:21-28. A woman of Canaan comes crying out to Jesus. Her daughter is demon-possessed. Actually, not just demon possessed. Severely demon possessed. There are levels to the power that Satan holds over lives, and her daughter suffers from an extreme case. The woman knows that there is nothing in her power that can change the situation. She wisely cries out to…
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The Three Mice
My friend asked me how my book writing is going. I had to be blatantly honest with her and tell her that it is not. Between daily blogs, work, and the 1,000 other things that I am juggling, writing my book has taken a distant back seat. I opened it up the other day with the intention of continuing to write, and my attempt fell flat. The book has a totally different rhythm than the blogs and pulls at a different part of me. It requires me to be more vulnerable. I closed out of the book and went on about my night. And then…I got a reminder of who…
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A Fresh Start
Well, my phone gave up the ghost. It went right on up to that electronics heaven in the sky. When my new phone arrived, I said a special prayer that all my information from the old phone could be retrieved. I did not even realize what special treasures that old phone held until the information was transferred. My phone has been my note keeper for years. Before I started using the YouVersion Bible app, I would take sermon notes using the notes feature on my phone. If I was in a meeting or workshop, I would add my notes in the notes feature. Prayer requests…notes feature for that too. Scrabble…
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God is Good
May your struggles keep you near the crossAnd may your troubles show that you need GodAnd may your battles end the way they shouldAnd may your bad days prove that God is goodAnd may your whole life prove that God is good “God is Good” by Jonathan McReynolds Tuesday was one of those days for me. Although I love the rain, the grey skies set the tone for the day. I had one road bump after another. Have you had days like that? I wanted to be at home snuggled under a quilt watching the rain instead of going in and out. As soon as I made it home from…
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Did Someone Call Hoarders?
I am somewhat of a hoarder. I come by it honestly though. My grandma holds on to things too. You never know when the thing that was in that box for all those years may come in handy. Seriously. I fight against that hoarding instinct at times. Not often but sometimes. I mean, you can get in my house and walk around without fear of towering piles of my precious collectibles falling on your head. But behind these closets and closed doors…well, let’s just leave those things where they are. I have a closet full of boxes that I did not unpack after my home renovation two years ago. I…
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The Art of Balancing A Checkbook
When I was in the fifth grade, I had my first taste of adult life. We were learning how to be responsible members of the community. A fake town was established. We all had roles to play in this town. As a functioning member of the community, we each had salaries. Our money was used to purchase essentials. However, we were not given paper money. That would have been too simple. We were given checkbooks. The teacher showed us how to write a check as well as how to balance the checkbook. Writing a check was serious business for me. I remember the example that she had on the board. …
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Finish The Story
Bible Study Brother and I have a tradition of reading book series and discussing them as we read. We have read the Percy Jackson series of books, the Divergent books, and the Hunger Game books just to name a few. Since I am a faster reader, I read the book of the series first before I pass it on to him. I do not like to have to wait to get to the ending. I was the first to discover how Hunger Games ended because of this. I was in shock. I did not see it coming. Bible Study Brother kept asking for hints and trying to understand why I…
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Merry-Go-Round
Life can be so complicated. Or maybe I just make it that way sometimes. Ya’ll I will think myself into a tizzy. Go round and round with my thoughts until I am dizzy. (That rhymed but I was not trying to do that…LOL…see what I mean?) Bless my heart. It makes me think of being a kid. It reminds me of my days on the playground. Do ya’ll remember merry-go-rounds? Not the fancy electronic kind that you ride during the fair or at an amusement park. I am talking about the kind that you could use your feet to start the circular motion. Or maybe you had that one friend…
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Lighten the Load
I come from a poor family. We did not have much. But the Lord has been good to us. (If you are real churchy, you just sang that song. It goes hard, don’t it?!?) Although those are song lyrics, they really are my testimony. Now, I had no idea we were poor. I had everything I wanted. Ate well. Had toys. What we did not have was a dryer. As an adult, the thought of living in a home without a washer AND a dryer just does not appeal to me. Lugging my laundry home while I was in college was a chore. When it was finally time for me…
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Faith Over Fear Remix
Faith over fear. Easy to say. Hard to really walk out. We know how Jairus’s story ended, so we can applaud his faith. We can tout him as an example of persevering despite the facts presented to him. Wednesday night’s Refresh Bible study focused on the practical application of Sunday’s sermon. You know…the walking out of the faith that we have. But before we get to the walking out of the faith we have, we need to have a real talk. Sit down. If you are a super saint, this may knock you off your feet. We are in a pandemic. You may be alone when you read this, so…
