Not Who I Was Yesterday

Thank you, first, to everyone who was excited about joining me in the writing process of this new study! I would LOVE for you to comment and help me along with questions and comments! I will share some of the study below, and then I will share something I'm excited about including in the study - this is still in the brainstorming phase, so your feedback would really help! If you share an idea I use, your name could end up in print! Let's open those Bibles... Excerpt Today we’re going to press on and meet the first Judge in Israel. We’ll focus on the importance of witness being shared. Read Judges 2: 6-10 Right off the bat, we’re witnessing something so important. Joshua and the elders who led with him saw miracles and fought battles with God leading the way. They saw with their own eyes and experienced wonders that left no room for doubt that God IS and that He is good and powerful and   for   them. The next generation benefitted from the work of Joshua’s generation, but they w

Dear reader, guess what! After mountains of study and so much prayer, Bible Study number two is finally in the writing stage! The first week is well under way, so I am sharing the (draft) introduction with you. I do this for two reasons. First, I need the accountability to keep typing away! Second, I want to get your feedback in real time. I will continue sharing from the study each week, and I'd love to know what you'd like to see addressed, and what questions pop up in your mind.   I invite you to clear your mind of distractions for a moment, and ponder what God has to say to us today. Maybe this gorgeous scenery will help! *** *** *** *** “For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.” Romans 7:15 In Romans 7, Paul went on something of a mini rant about doing what he doesn't want to do and not doing what he does want to do. It made me go cross-eyed the first few times I read it. But the more I did, the more the sente

Retreating to the Mountain  to Meet with God I recently had the chance to do some hiking in Nevada, in the breathtaking Red Rock Canyon. I love to hike, and the mountains are my happy place. When life gets overwhelming, and the desire to step away hits, it’s the mountains I see in my mind’s eye. Those mountains are usually covered in trees, so these desert mountains were new and amazing. There is something about looking at a mountain that puts life in perspective. Perhaps it’s the size of them – it highlights just how small I am in the great, big world. I can’t look at a mountain without a flood of thoughts about God. Awe that He created them. Amazement at the beauty God placed in our world. Reverence that the same God who created them created me.  There are so many Scriptures that mention mountains... I lift my eyes up to the mountains – where does my help come from? (Ps 121:1) Though the mountains be shaken, and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken n

What it is to be a Disciple Who are we following? Last week my accountability partner, Pastor Angela France, was working on a sermon that I could tell was a big deal. She always takes sermon preparation seriously, but there are some where it’s evident that God is working on something extra special. So I called her and asked to hear what she was putting together. It was like having my own private church service over the phone! What she was working on was tackling the question : Who are we following? And the follow-up question: Whose voice are we listening to? She shared an instance where, during a church service, a phrase popped into her head as clear as a bell. It was so clear and so applicable to a struggle she was dealing with that she just assumed the phrase came from God. But as time went on, she was less certain of that, and yet, the phrase stuck with her. Now she asks: was that from God, or was that the enemy trying to deceive? This led into a focus on the importanc

A few weeks ago, I spoke at a women’s conference sharing a message entitled Standing in the Silence. It was born out of a personal struggle; I had no idea that within a few weeks the theme of silence would become so globally significant. The thought which closed that message is one I can’t get away from now. In the silence, every sound is magnified. I had been struggling with loneliness and for months and months I avoided praying about that need of my heart. I didn’t stop praying, I just refused to pray about that. I told myself that God already knew the need. I didn’t want to go through the emotions of pouring out my heart over this. And in the silence that I chose to let fall between myself and my God, the voice that was magnified was self-doubt. That silence between me and Him allowed the problem to grow, at least in my mind. I could be surrounded by people and feel utterly alone. I eventually decided to dive into Scripture to figure things out and real