This past week my husband and I received some soul-crushing news. A dear friend of ours had ended his own life. While we knew that he had wrestled over the years with seasons of depression, most people would never have guessed that he had any such struggle.

He was one of the kindest, most effervescent, and most selfless people I’ve known. He loved the Lord and his family. He faithfully served the Church. But away from watchful eyes and in the private spaces of his heart and mind, he struggled. He fought until the very end to try to overcome the darkness and depression, clinging to His faith and Scriptures such as Psalm 143.

​To say that his family and friends are gutted, not only to have lost him but in such a way as this, is an understatement. There are no words. For the past days, even now, it is all I can think about. 

Hello, friend! Are you ready to begin your journey toward greater joy? Join us for our Summer 2023 Book Club-Style Bible Study. We're reading "Choosing Gratitude: Your Journey to Joy" by Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth. This book challenges and equips us to live a life of gratitude.

What is gratitude? Gratitude is a choice. It is a decision to focus on the good things in our lives, even when things are difficult. When we choose gratitude, we are choosing to be happy and content. Why is gratitude important?

Gratitude has many benefits, including:

• Increased happiness and well-being
• Reduced stress and anxiety
• Improved physical health
• Stronger relationships
• Increased creativity and productivity

Life is full of changes and things that don’t go the way we expect. That’s just part of it. I didn’t expect to move from one house to another in a foreign country with my family on the other side of the globe, but that is just how it goes sometimes.

Just because life doesn’t go my way doesn’t mean that it’s bad for me either. If we look at Scripture, there are many times that life didn’t go the way people planned.

Did Moses plan to live in Pharoah’s house and then cross the Red Sea and wander in the wilderness for 40 years?

Did Jeremiah plan to be known as the weeping prophet?

Did Mary plan to be the virgin mother of Jesus?

Hello, friend! Are you ready to begin your journey toward greater joy? Join us for our Summer 2023 Book Club-Style Bible Study. We're reading "Choosing Gratitude: Your Journey to Joy" by Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth. This book challenges and equips us to live a life of gratitude.

What is gratitude? Gratitude is a choice. It is a decision to focus on the good things in our lives, even when things are difficult. When we choose gratitude, we are choosing to be happy and content. Why is gratitude important?

Gratitude has many benefits, including:

• Increased happiness and well-being
• Reduced stress and anxiety
• Improved physical health
• Stronger relationships
• Increased creativity and productivity

​Christian views on interracial marriage vary widely. Some believe it is a sin, while others believe it's perfectly acceptable.

​Those who believe it is a sin often cite passages from the Bible that they believe prohibit it. While others argue these passages are being misinterpreted.

We often find people emphasizing passages of the Bible promoting love and acceptance. Many consider these parts of Scripture significant when it comes to interracial marriage.

​But what does the Bible say as a whole?

Ultimately, the decision of whether or not to support interracial marriage is personal. Each of us must decide what we believe based on our own interpretation of the Bible and personal values.​

Hello, friend! Are you ready to begin your journey toward greater joy? Join us for our Summer 2023 Book Club-Style Bible Study. We're reading "Choosing Gratitude: Your Journey to Joy" by Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth. This book challenges and equips us to live a life of gratitude.

What is gratitude? Gratitude is a choice. It is a decision to focus on the good things in our lives, even when things are difficult. When we choose gratitude, we are choosing to be happy and content. Why is gratitude important?

Gratitude has many benefits, including:

• Increased happiness and well-being
• Reduced stress and anxiety
• Improved physical health
• Stronger relationships
• Increased creativity and productivity

​God Wants His People to Flourish. We know that. The four major prophets of the Bible—Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel—all had one thing in common. They were called by God to speak to His people about His desire for them to flourish.

Let's take a look at that today.