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We had been trying to teach our four-year-old the importance of telling the truth.
Jokingly, Derek told Trent that his nose would grow long, like Pinocchio's, if he told lies.
If only we had known then, what problems this would cause. Poor Trent. He really believed Derek- and no matter what else we said, he was still scared of his nose growing long. He also started checking out everyone else's noses. It wasn’t a healthy fear.
Read moreWhen I was a little girl, there used to be a little plastic box (that looked like a loaf of bread) sitting on my kitchen table. It was full of cards that I would pull out and read while I was eating breakfast. Each card had a different Proverb on it. Those were some of the first scriptures I remember reading on my own. I have always loved the Proverbs. They're straightforward, practical, and all about wisdom.
I was thinking about that box of cards the other day when I got the idea to make something for you, dear readers, a free printable booklet with Proverbs. I've combined my love of designing graphics with my love of scripture in a way that I hope will be useful to you.
Read more“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.” James 1:2-3
Joy is not usually the first word that comes to mind when I’m frustrated and overwhelmed. I’m still a work in progress. Self-pity is too often something I struggle with. But I want more joy in my life. I read the words of Jesus’ brother, James, to “count it all joy” even in trials, and I know that these hard words were inspired by God. They’re true and they’re helpful. The testing of my faith does produce steadfastness. I’ve experienced it and I’ve seen it experienced in other people’s lives. By the grace of God, I trust, that as I grow and mature in Christ, someday it will become ever more of a part of who I am. I want to be the kind of person who counts it all joy, even the trials. I pray the same for you.
Read more"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. " Lamentations 3:22-23
These words of encouragement from Lamentations were first written by Jeremiah, a prophet during the last years of Judah before Babylon plundered the country and took its people into captivity. Jeremiah had a hard and dangerous job, a lonely job- but he trusted in the faithfulness of God. God had sent him to warn the people of what would happen if they continued to follow the evil ways they were living. Jeremiah was imprisoned and tortured for speaking the truth, and he eventually did witness to the destruction of his country.
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God spoke those words of comfort and encouragement in a vision given to Babylon’s appointed prince of Judah, who was attempting to rebuild the temple of Jerusalem after it had been destroyed. God’s people had spent many years in captivity, but Cyrus, King of Babylon, had decreed that the Israelites could return to their land and rebuild the temple. The man in charge of this was Zerubbabel.
Read moreJesus called himself the good shepherd. When he said this, his audience probably knew well the role of a shepherd. I don’t know about you, but I’ve never met an actual shepherd. I decided that if I wanted to know more about Jesus, I should learn more about shepherds as I studied the scriptures. What I found was encouraging- and I hope it encourages you as well.
Read moreLast Friday a gunman entered a mall and killed five people. My mind has gone back to this news, over and again, often, over these past days- more than is usual for these types of things. It happened less than sixty miles from where I live, and when I first heard the news, I had only just returned from a shopping trip at a different mall. I know people in the community where it happened. It was too close to home
Read moreI have four new books to tell you about today! One of the joys of writing a blog is that, sometimes, I get to read books before they're officially published. I was busy this summer reading advance copies of several books, written by some of my favorite faith bloggers. Finally, I get to share them with you! The fact that these books are all written by faith bloggers makes me feel proud, particularly because they're all so great!
Read moreThere are two types of rest: spiritual and physical. We need both kinds of rest if we want to be healthy. The following is about spiritual rest. What does is mean to find rest in God?
Trusting in God’s unfailing love, and believing that he will do for us what we can’t do for ourselves is how we can find rest in God. God will show us his will for our lives and he will give us the strength to accomplish it. We don’t need to be constantly striving and achieving on our own strength.
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