Category: Guest Post

What to Do When Plans Don’t Go My Way

7/21/2023

Life is full of changes & 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's just how it goes sometimes. Just because life doesn’t go my way doesn’t mean it’s bad for me. If we look at Scripture, there are many times that life didn’t go the way people planned. How are your plans going? Remember, God will work out the plans for your best & for His glory!

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?

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Choosing Gratitude: Week 7

7/18/2023

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What are you #grateful for? We hear that question quite frequently. Especially during the #Thanksgiving season. This is “#Gratitude 101.” The basics. But though we may have a list a mile long containing things that we are grateful for, our list most likely would differ from that of our unsaved neighbor’s, not only in its content but also in its purpose. This has been a theme throughout this study. #Christian gratitude is different than the world’s gratitude... #goodreads #readinglist #amreading

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

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Choosing Gratitude: Week 6

7/11/2023

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How Can I Say #Thanks? Amidst all the things on this earth and in the #spiritual realm that we can be #thankful for, surely there must be more than one way we can express our #gratitude…and there is. Here are three practical ways to cultivate a heart of gratitude. These practices help us to not just be #grateful out of duty, but to be a #Christian whose lifestyle is one of gratitude, so that when we come to the end of our lives this is what people remember about us. #goodreads #book #amreading

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

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Choosing Gratitude: Week 5

7/4/2023

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There are unmistakable differences in the personalities and temperaments of those with whom we do life. The extrovert vs. the introvert, the planner vs. the spontaneous, the thrifty vs. the spender. These differences can drive us crazy, but they also add the balance and spice to our lives that is needed. One spice we can do without though is the whiner--he complaining spirit. I rarely throw away a spice, but the whiner in me must go. It cannot blend, it cannot coexist, with worship and gratitude.

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

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Cultivating Fruitful Habits of Grace: The Church

6/30/2023

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Welcome to the 3rd and final post in our series called “Cultivating Fruitful Habits of #Grace.” In this series, we look at 3 spiritual disciplines--the core of Christian life and the primary tools the Holy Spirit uses to grow & sanctify us. We've examined habits of biblical meditation & prayer. Today, we'll consider what it means to love God’s Church and practical ways to dedicate ourselves to it. The Church isn’t a place to be entertained or a facilitator of social justice. What is the #Church?

Welcome to the third and final post in our series called “Cultivating Fruitful Habits of Grace.” In this series, we are looking at three spiritual disciplines that are the core of our Christian life and are the primary tools the Holy Spirit uses to grow and sanctify us.

So far, we have examined the habits of biblical meditation and prayer. Today, we will consider what it means to love God’s Church and practical ways to dedicate ourselves to it.

As we begin, let’s take some time to remind ourselves of some vital truths regarding the Church. The Church is not a building or a place. It isn’t a social club or activity center. It isn’t simply a religious tradition or a self-help group. The Church isn’t a place to be entertained or a facilitator of social justice.

So, what is the Church?

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Choosing Gratitude: Week 4

6/27/2023

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Do you know anyone who is bound by #anxiety and needs to be released? Anxiety is a prison, and #gratitude is what brings #freedom. By Choosing to make gratitude our default, there is nothing--no matter how awful--that will overthrow us and leave us in a state of anxiety. But because we are human, we may very well feel the anxiety welling up within us. We must refuse to #dwell in a state of anxiety. The temptation to be #anxious is not a sin. The choice to live in a state of anxiety is. #reading

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

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How to Effectively Study The Bible

6/23/2023

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In my “line of work” in full-time ministry, I often get asked this question, “Where do I start in studying God’s Word?” This post is an attempt to answer that by sharing one way we can approach the study of God’s Word using some specific questions and focusing on the passages we read.

Let me set the stage for you. One of my favorite passages in the New Testament is found in Colossians 1.

“For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;” Colossians 1:9-10

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