InstaEncouragements Blog

Our Words Matter: The Sin of Careless Words

11/27/2020

My Words Matter: The Sin of Careless Words

Welcome to "Our Words Matter" a 5-part mini-series about using our words wisely and avoiding careless words. Today, we're looking at The Sin of Careless Words. Over the next few months (the last Friday of each month) we will also look at:

What Are Careless Words?
Where Do Careless Words Come From?
What Do Careless Words Do?
How Do I Avoid Careless Words?

I hope you'll join us for "Our Words Matter" because they do!

Have you ever paused to consider how absolutely amazing it is that God simply spoke creation into existence? From the tallest tree to the tiniest blade of grass, every breeze that blows, every mountain and valley, every organism down to the most minuscule cell exists because God spoke.

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16 Things to Thank God For From Psalm 103

11/26/2020

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16 Things to Thank God For From Psalm 103

It's Thanksgiving and all this month we've been thinking a lot about being thankful, for everything.

Our pastor posed an excellent question Sunday morning—"What if the things you are thankful for today are the only things you have tomorrow?"

That question really made me think!

As we giving thanks today, let's remember Psalm 103:1 which says,

Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and all that is within me,
bless His holy name!

Let's look at Psalm 103, and allow all that is within us to bless His holy name!

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The ABCs of God's Love Letter: Path

11/24/2020

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Welcome to
The ABCs of God's Love Letter
25 Weeks. 25 Writers!

We will use the alphabet as an acrostic and study topics like: Abide, Beloved, Calling, Delight, Endure, Faithful, Garment, Hunger, Increase, Justice, Kindness, Light, Manna, Name, Ordain, Path, Quench, Ransom, Salt, Testify, Upright, Vanity, Wait, Yield, and Zeal.

Every week, we’ll discover a different topic. Each topic is accompanied by five Scripture verses—one for each weekday. The Bible study has a page for each verse. Those spaces will invite you to write the verses out and journal what you’ve learned.

Every time I read God’s Word I learn something new. I also find that Scripture writing really helps me meditate, and as I meditate, God always shows me just what I need for that day—it’s AMAZING!

I pray you’ll join us and learn new and exciting things too from His Word.

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The Benefit of Radical Amputation

11/20/2020

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It was an early morning in November 2011 when my sisters and I sat with our dad in a surgical waiting room. Just a few short weeks before, our mom had been diagnosed with breast cancer found during a routine yearly mammogram.

I sat there that morning recalling the events of the weeks since the day we heard the dreaded “C” word. There had been a whirlwind of doctor’s appointments, scans, blood tests, and consultations.

I remember when the breast cancer specialist told us in a family consultation that the best course of action for the type of cancer my mom had was a mastectomy—a radical amputation of my mom’s breast. It was a shock, but none of us argued that day in the doctor’s office because we trusted she knew the best course of action to eradicate the cancer in my mother’s body.

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The ABCs of God's Love Letter: Ordain

11/17/2020

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Welcome to
The ABCs of God's Love Letter
25 Weeks. 25 Writers!

I pray you’ll join us and learn new and exciting things too from His Word.

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Where is Your Happy Place?

11/13/2020

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The doormat in front of our cozy loft apartment declares “This is our happy place.” My husband and I found the quotation fitting because we’re both homebodies—me especially. I take comfort in the feel, smell, and comfort of home. When I walk through the door after a day of talking to patients and concerned parents at work, a sense of peace settles back into my heart.

Lately, between COVID-19 and the election process, our home has felt more like a safe-haven than ever. But even the security of home hasn’t been able to calm my heart lately. Fear of an unknown future creeps into my happy place through our phones, tablets, and computers. It seeps under the cracks and crevices and worms its way into my heart.

Why do I fear the whirlwind of change, uncertainty, germs, and politics swirling outside my door?

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