Women of Promise

     Everything worth having requires effort.  Healthy bodies, healthy marriages, or healthy lifestyles   do not just happen without intentionality, work, and cultivation. The same is true of a deep relationship with Christ.  It requires a focused, intentional effort on our part to start and maintain a lifestyle of learning and loving Him. While all of our salvation is secured in Christ, and His work only, there is an element of our faith that requires us to act.        Revelation 2:1 speaks of the church at Ephesus and commends them for their patient endurance and not growing weary in the work of the Lord.  This tells us that living out the calling of the gospel in our lives is not always easy!  Now, all along the way God offers us His strength and tremendous blessing.  We will see the benefits of this effort!  However, the church at Ephesus was doing all the right things, but had lost their "first love."  ...

       Life is so uncertain. We never know what is going to be thrown at us. All the self-help or parenting books in the world, cannot truly prepare you for that feeling  that comes when you actually experience an event. The truth is that all of us experience anxiety, fear, grief, and sorrow.  It is part of our fallen nature. Adam and Eve did not know fear or anxiety until they disobeyed in the Garden. Ever since, humanity has been crippled with the effects of sin, deeply imbedded in each heart from birth.      Satan has so many lies that he wants us to believe.  One such lie is that we will always be controlled by our fears and anxiety. He wants us to think that we will always be consumed by grief.  He wants us to believe that God is not enough.  Somehow, someway, we have to do something or find some magic potion that will help us "snap" out of our circumstances and finally have joy, money, and satisfaction.  These are ju...

   Happy New Year!      I hope you have had a wonderful time of rest and fellowship with your family and friends over the past week or two as we have celebrated the birth of Jesus and welcomed in the new year.      As we embarq on a new (or old) set of goals and resolutions for 2026, I came across a really fascinating tidbit of information I wanted to share with you.     Apparently, in Hebrew, every fiftieth letter in the book of Genesis spells out the Hebrew word for Torah. The Torah is the term for the first five books of the Bible, also known as the Books of the Law.  So the very first letter is Tav, 49 letters later is Vav, 49 letters later you will find Reish, and 49 letters later you will find Heh.  Putting those Hebrew letters together is the TORH, or in English, Torah.       This is exactly the same in the book of Exodus!! Starting with the first letter of the book, and moving by groups of 50, you wi...

Image source: getwallpapers.com        Merry Christmas!  This beautiful season is full of beautiful reminders of what Jesus's birth means to the people of God.  I have been blessed as I have meditated on the wonder of God giving His Only Son to be born in full humanity to a humble, blessed virgin girl.  The plan of redemption was set in motion with this glorious event.  This simple, poorly-written little piece is just a bit of the swirl of thoughts going through my mind this Christmas season.  Our Faithful Father, full of grace and love is worthy of our praise and thanksgiving, at Christmas and always! Merry Christmas! Promise Fulfilled To Adam and Eve In shame and guilt hidden, Grace was extended; A promise was given. The penalty: death. No sin enters heaven To rescue man's plight A promise was given. To Abram's children Count the stars twinkling gold Honoring the faithful, A promise foretold. In Providence wise Joseph, to Egypt driven. Prep...

      Our family looks forward to the day each year when the Christmas music begins playing on the radio. We have typically started listening to a few Christmas carols before the radio station begins their 24/7 serenade, but once the radio begins, it is all Christmas music in our home!     One thing I love about Christmas carols is the story of the gospel is played, sung and heard everywhere! Parades, symphonies, secular music artists, and more will be performing these gospel messages and stores will broadcast them as you shop. Of course, there is a growing secular portfolio of music as well, but you will hear so many of the traditional Christmas carols every day of the Christmas season.  So many of them have a strong Scriptural basis and it is wonderful to hear God's Word proclaimed boldly in so many places during this time of the year.       O Come, O Come, Emmanuel is a such a beautiful example of the gospel in song. It has 7 verses, ...

   Some  days we just need some encouragement, don't we?  When the trials of life overwhelm us, whether it is people or circumstances, our hearts can get heavy.  Often our minds are too muddled to even think through the issues in front of us.  There are times that the only thing that seems to calm our frustrated or hurting hearts is music.  Ephesians 5:19 and Colossians 3:16 both tell us that we are to speak to one another (Christians) in "psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs." What are these three types of music?  If you look at these three terms, they are actually all referring to the Psalms of Scripture! They refer to three different types or categories of the Psalms.  There are some Christians who use these verses to argue that the words of the Psalms are the only lyrics that should be sung in the church.       I am not calling us to "solo Psalmody" in our church.  However, I do want us to consider that we are told ...

       I shared before a few points that challenged me from a study in the book of Nehemiah. The post today continues on this theme -- please bear with me as we talk about prayer some more.  I don't think that prayer can be emphasized too much.  God has been leading me and convicting me to grow in this area more and more. I have grown up praying and hearing prayer. However, recently I have been searching out how to pray. It is not hard or complicated, but it is a discipline that needs to be cultivated and focused on.     From Nehemiah 4, God showed me the challenge to "Fight for your brethren, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses."  God gives us the responsibility to fight for our homes and our brothers and sisters in Christ!  We are not simply bystanders that have no recourse as we watch our family be overtaken by the darts of Satan.  We are called to fight! -- on our knees.  I Thessalonians 5:17 further...