Recently, my husband, Tim, and I began leading a small group with our church. Both of us have led groups by ourselves, but this is our first time leading a group together. We often share what God is doing in our lives, but sharing what God is showing us as we lead others is different and ...
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hope
5 Ways to Get an Infusion of Hope
We work our bodies hard to build strong muscles. We eat the right foods to keep our body systems healthy. And to stay spiritually fit, we feed our hearts and minds a healthy diet of God’s Word. But we are still human, not immune to one of the most common maladies: a sense of hopelessness. Sometimes ...
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When You’re Stuck In A Muddy Pit
Living on the Gulf Coast affords lots of opportunities to enjoy things that are uniquely Texas. Galveston Island is less than an hour away and a favorite family get-away. On one such trip many years ago, our family took the ferry across the ship channel to Bolivar Peninsula. As lovers of Texas ...
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We Are NOT WITHOUT Hope
We don't talk about hope when all is going well. When things are cookin' along smoothly, there is no reason to. There is no expectation that things will take a nose dive. But they will--eventually.
I'm not trying to be fatalistic. It's simply a fact of life. We live in a fallen world. As a ...
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Hope That Does Not Disappoint
My kids figured me out.
When they asked me something like, "Mom, can we .... ??"
My answer was, Maybe.
A couple of years ago, one of my daughters finally said, "Mom, don't say Maybe anymore. Because what you really mean is No. If No is the answer, just say it, and then I don't have to wonder, ...
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It’s NOT ok!
When someone I love is experiencing pain or frustration of any kind, my first words to them are usually something like, It’s OK. It’s going to be OK.
Well, you know what? When someone is hurting, it’s not OK!
A couple of years ago, my MIL had her first major hospitalization. Congestive Heart ...
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Daybreak!
It's Five Minute Friday! As usual, I need some time to think before I start writing. It took a while for a breakthrough, ;) but then it happened in the middle of my errands. Now that things are settled, I shall start!
Daybreak--my favorite time of the day. It's the time of new beginnings and ...
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![This week in our small group study, I felt the Lord’s gentle chastisement.
We looked at the promise in Luke 11:28, “He [Jesus] replied, ‘Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.’”
At first glance, the promise of blessing comes from obedience. But it’s much more.
In the preceding verses, Jesus had cast out a demon that caused a man to be mute. The crowd accused Him of casting out a demon with Satan’s power.
Jesus explained how ridiculous it would be for Satan to drive out his own demons. Then a woman cries out, “Blessed is the mother who gave you birth and nursed you,” (v 27).
This is the sticking point. Jesus was in the middle of an important discourse when this woman interrupts Him. He corrects her with this:
✨ Blessed are those who HEAR the word of God and obey it.
That word HEAR means to LISTEN with FULL ATTENTION.
✨ We cannot truly obey God if we don’t know what He’s saying to us.
Basically, Jesus told this woman, and the others in the crowd, “Pay attention!! Don’t get distracted from my voice. I have important things to tell you. You won’t know what they are and what I want you to do, if all you’re thinking about is what you want to say or how you can gain attention. Put your attention on ME.”
It’s never fun to be Jesus’s object lesson.
The questions I’m asking myself …
✨ What keeps me from spending time alone with Jesus?
✨ When I finally get alone with Him, what distracts me?
✨ What keeps me from focusing on God’s Word?
✨ What causes my kind to wander when I’m praying?
➡️ Eliminating distractions …
➡️ Exercising discipline …
… to bring every thought captive to the obedience of Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5)
… brings true blessing.
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