Love and encouragement from an imperfect mom and her fun teen daughters. We welcome you to live life with us.
blogs that talk about the Bible and our Christian faith
Satan tricks us to seek what we don’t have instead of what God has already given us. This lack of contentment hurts people, from Adam and Eve’s rebellion with the Tree of Knowledge, to Cain’s murdering his brother Abel due to coveting the praise Abel received. Satan takes our eyes off what we have, like … Read more Contentment, Real Riches
Satan hates God most of all. He only hate humans because God made us and loves us. While Satan’s main target is God, not us, Satan will target people, especially those who love and serve God. We must realize this truth so we don’t take Satan’s attacks personally nor misdirect our spiritual warfare against the … Read more Satan’s #1 Target? God, Not Us
No one can take away our joy in Christ. Some people would like to steal our joy, but not even the devil can steal it, unless we let him. People might cause us terrible pain, but we can still have joy. And while some think God destroys our joy when he allows pain in our … Read more Joy!
For a season, consider meditating on Scriptures based upon your pain or trouble, if you are hurting. While we need to read all Scriptures, sometimes we need Scriptures specifically tailored to our spiritual and emotional wounds (Psalm 147:3, “He heals the broken hearted and binds up their wounds.”) Specific Scriptures can remind us of God’s … Read more Pursuing Scripture Based upon Your Pain
Others see God in Us. When we hide our weaknesses, we think we look more godly; we actually hide God from others. Satan, pride of the flesh, and false teaching demand we hide our flaws and act stronger than we are, but then we don’t ask God and others for help. Yet when we admit … Read more We Admit our Weakness:
Too many of us have been hurt (abused) in the church, but Jesus did not do it. Many people turn from God and blame him for what unjust, ungodly humans did. I know, because I was harmed in the church and in a Christian mission. I do not blame Jesus, because he did not condone … Read more Hurt by the Church, Not by Jesus
While last week’s post “Same Problem, Different People,” briefly explained why we repeat the same mistakes with different, difficult people, this week we can dig deeper. If we were mistreated in our youth, we may believe lies, based upon that treatment. Then we might attract, even pursue, unkind people who mistreat us, especially if we … Read more Same Problem, Different People, part 2
Patterns We Didn’t Learn From… When we find ourselves having the same problems with different people (or with God), we might be living out lies we learned in our youth. We needed love from our family of origin, and if we didn’t get it, we will struggle in our relationships with others and with God. … Read more Same Problem, Different People?
God still performs miraculous healings, although some changes are subtle like the physical strengthening of Daniel in chapter ten. Long ago as an angel calmed and strengthened Daniel after terrifying him, and God can reach down and physically alter us today too. Briefly look at this healing in Daniel 10:19: “Do not be afraid, O … Read more God Subtly Heals Miraculously Today
God is good to us, because he is good, not because we are good. In our flesh, we deserve bad things, not the many good ones God gives. Yet people become surprised and angry when bad things happen, even though they are all we deserve in our sin nature. In our redeemed nature, God sees … Read more God’s Goodness vs. Our Bad Ways