When Everything Changes… “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” – James 1: 17, NIV Sharon has been going through a season of change in her life. There have been positive changes like the start of her online business and the news that she’s pregnant after years of infertility. Now, she and her husband are in the middle of buying their first home.  But along with these changes, there have been some losses, too. Her mother passed away after a lengthy battle with an illness and her best frien ..read more

Shift Your Focus with Gratitude “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.” – 1 Thessalonians 5:18, NIV It’s easy to give thanks when your day is going well. You’re wearing your favorite t-shirt. You got a great parking spot. Your coffee is the perfect temperature with just the right mix of sugar and creamer. You get lots of likes on the selfie you posted to Instagram. But what about those moments when things aren’t going so well? You spill your coffee on your jeans. You have to wait in a long line of customers at the bank or grocery store. You realize ..read more

My House is Your House “…Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” – Joshua 24:15 Shannon sat in her women’s group meeting, listening to the week’s announcements. Near the end the speaker paused, “We also have a special request this week. As many of you know, Cammie is moving so we can no longer hold the tween’s meetings at her house. I’m hopeful that someone will volunteer a space for Thursday nights.” Shann ..read more

Peace in the Unexpected “The Lord gives strength to his people; the Lord blesses his people with peace.” – Psalm 29:11 When Arielle noticed her normally active toddler was beginning to sleep for long stretches of time and seemed slow to heal, she took her to the doctor. The pediatrician checked the girl’s vitals then sent the mother and daughter to the emergency room. In a white room, a physician entered and smiled kindly at Arielle. “We don’t know anything yet and we’re hopeful that she has a minor illness. But we need to run more tests tomorrow to make sure she’s not seriously ill.” Ariell ..read more

ove Covers All “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.” – 1 Peter 4:8, NIV Nobuo Fujita was a Japanese aircraft pilot during World War II. One of his missions was to drop bombs over the coast of Oregon. After dropping two bombs, he flew back to his military base. Thankfully, the forest area where Nobuo dropped the bombs had an unusually wet season. The ground was saturated and while one bomb sparked a fire, it was easily contained and no one was injured. Despite the fact that no one was hurt, Nobuo felt deep sorrow over what he’d done. So, he visite ..read more

FATHER'S DAY IS RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER - SHARE THIS WITH "DAD"! Beloved Child “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!” – 1 John 3:1, NIV Denise grew up feeling unloved and unwanted. Her mom was a drifter who abandoned the family when Denise was in first grade. Her father, a man already prone to rage, began to drink heavily. He would scream at her each night when he came home drunk. He pelted her with words that might as well have been stones. Ugly. Worthless. Stupid. Unwanted. Useless. Though Denise tried hard to please her dad, nothin ..read more

The Best Land “But the land could not support them while they stayed together, for their possessions were so great that they were not able to stay together.” – Genesis 13:6, NIV God told Abraham to move to another country. But Abraham didn’t make this journey alone. His nephew, Lot, also came with him. Both men had so much abundance that there simply wasn’t enough space for the two households in the new country. Eventually, fights began breaking out between Abraham’s servants and Lot’s workers. So, Abraham went to Lot to discuss the matter. He explained that he didn’t want the disagreements ..read more

Never Let Go “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” – Romans 8:38-39, NIV Paula Cichan was traveling with her husband and two kids in August 1987. The family of four was returning from a family reunion in Philadelphia. But they never made it home. Flight 255 crashed, killing all of the passengers but Paula’s four-year-old daughter, Cecelia. The seconds ticked d ..read more

JUST IN TIME FOR MOTHER'S DAY - SHARE WITH MOM! Defiant Mothers “The midwives, however, feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do; they let the boys live.” – Exodus 1:17, NIV The Israelites had lived in Egypt since the great famine. But as the years passed, a new Pharaoh came into power. He watched the Israelites multiply so he sent a decree to the mid-wives in the land. Any baby boys born to Israelite women were to be killed on the spot. But two mid-wives, named Shiphrah and Puah, chose to defy Pharaoh and allowed the Israelite children to live. Eventually, word ..read more

A CONTINUATION OF OUR EPISODE ON GIVING! Generosity Starts with the Heart As Jesus looked up, he saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. “Truly I tell you,” he said, “this poor widow has put in more than all the others.” – Luke 21:1-3, NIV Valerie clutched her last five dollars tightly in her sweaty palms. Since being widowed a year ago, every dollar went toward keeping food on the table for her growing sons. She worked two jobs and each night, she crawled into bed exhausted. She could hold onto her last bit of ..read more