Women of Promise

       Our bodies need rest. It is vital to our bodies' ability to maintain that perfect balance of well-being, physically and emotionally, also known as homeostasis. Kids need rest to grow.  We all look forward to vacations, or days off to allow our bodies and minds a time to rest and reset.  Oh, our bodies and minds can compensate for a short time of running on a low amount of rest -- but we soon crash or cause damage by ignoring signals that we should stop.  Just like those little video game characters, when our energy levels drop, we must recharge before we can continue. We were created with a need for rest.     God even gave us this example in the very beginning.  Creation week includes the Sabbath day, where God rested.  Was God tired?  Of course not.  He is all powerful and does not have the limitations of a human body.  He was, however, instituting a principle for us to follow.  He knew that we needed tha...

       I shared in Sunday School this past Sunday a few points that challenged me from a recent study in 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 Thes...

  As parents, Sam and I learned quickly to be very careful about making promises.  Kids never forget a promise made to them!  When the inevitable happens that makes keeping a promise impossible, there is nothing more heartbreaking than seeing your child's face crumbling in sadness, "But, you promised!" As humans, we cannot control the weather, illness, human forgetfulness, other people's circumstances, unforeseen expenses, etc. --- all of which may delay or even cancel a "promised" gift or experience.  Parents desire to give good gifts and desire to please their children, but at times we fail.  Even the best of parents fail. We are human.      We have the assurance in Scripture of trusting a God who ALWAYS fulfills every promise He has ever made. What a precious gift! Our God is trustworthy, and He has proven this time and time again. How do we know that we can trust Him? By looking at His faithfulness to keep His promises in the past, we fin...

It seems like summer has arrived!  With the warmer temperatures comes the increased struggle to keep our bodies hydrated.  Drinking water is essential for our human bodies.  Sometimes children do not even realize they need that water until you give them a cup of cold water and they feel the refreshment that it brings. They may be thirsty, but looking for sodas or snacks instead of water that they actually need. Plants dry up more quickly during these days of warm sunlight.  If you give them a source of water, they flourish and their leaves grow strong and green as they reach for the sun. God placed in all of us a thirst for something that will fulfill us. It is as much a part of our spiritual and emotional need as  physical water is for our bodies. It is absolutely essential that we discover that one thing that satisfies that longing in the pit of our soul.  So often we look everywhere for the answer to that thirst, except for that one place tha...