Women of Promise

Photo source: www.etsy.com     I t will soon be VBS time at our church! The organizing, planning and decorating will all come together as we share the Good News of Jesus in a fun-filled atmosphere with several precious little ones.  This is one way in which our church fulfills what has come to be known as the Great Commission. This charge was handed to the disciples right before Jesus ascended to Heaven.  This, along with the Greatest Commandment are the mission statements for the church and every believer.  They go hand in hand and work synergistically to  build up believers as well as build the Body of Christ (His Church).   Let's look at them both briefly.  Jesus give us the Greatest Commandment in Mark 12: 30-31:   Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.   The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.” ...

image source: biblestudytools.com      "But, Mo--om! It's not fair!"  If I've heard this once, I've heard it a thousand times.  No matter how hard we attempt to parent "fairly," there simply isn't a way to ensure that everyone gets exactly the same experiences throughout life.  It may be as simple as pieces of candy, or it may be something bigger -- like an outing with family or friends. As our children grow, they understand the situations better, but younger ones frequently still have to learn the hard lesson that life just isn't always perfectly fair in our eyes.  Choosing to be joyful for another when we feel left out can be quite difficult!      Our culture is very focused on treating everyone equally these days.  However the more they try to accomplish this, it seems that someone or some group is left out or offended. Now, I am by no means saying that this isn't a lofty goal, simply pointing out that, as a society, we haven't f...

       I absolutely hate pop quizzes, don't you?  It is so much more comfortable to take a test when you are confident that you have studied a topic.   My kids are the same.  I have the fun privilege of being both their mom and their teacher, so I do utilize pop quizzes sometimes to check up on their study habits.  If they have studied, the pop quiz is not a problem.  I can tell when they have mastered the content and accomplished the goal of a lesson.  If they haven't, we go back over it until mastery is achieved.       As Christians, are we prepared for the "pop quizzes" that will be thrown at us?  We live in a world in which everyone demands "proof" of something.  Those who have answers that are logical and well-grounded have much more credibility than those answers that are obviously unprepared and without a solid basis for their defense.  That credibility is crucial if we want to be used ...

  If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.   I Chronicles 7:14        Summer months are almost here!  It will soon be the time for campfires and barbecues.  As a child ( and honestly, even as an adult!), it was so hard for me to wait until the fire was "ready" to cook my hotdog, marshmallow, or biscuit over the fire.  When those first flames shot up through the kindling, I wanted to rush over with my food and shove that stick into the flames.  I gradually learned that that first flash flame was not the best for cooking.  Oh, it might char the outside of the hotdog, but those flames died down quickly and did not produce much heat to do a good job of  cooking my food through.  If I waited until there was a good coal bed, and the adults put some larger fuel on the fire, I cou...

        Delight is a beautiful word, isn't it?  I love it!   It quickly brings to mind anything that I love and enjoy in this world.  Restful, happy times with loved ones, a favorite coffee or tea, favorite comfy chair, the mountains, the beach, a favorite food, great music, comfy clothes, ... the list goes on of things that bring me delight.  I am sure each of us have a unique and personal list of things we thoroughly enjoy.  What we delight in typically brings us great happiness and peace to our mind and soul. What I delight in is something that I enjoy spending time with, that I look forward to with great anticipation.  When it is gone, it leaves an emptiness, or feelings similar to grief and sadness.  Our minds immediately start thinking of when the next time will be that we can experience that delight again and how to make that happen.       Multiple times in Scripture we see men and women of God stating tha...