The art of listening. This is an excerpt from Debbie McComber’s book, “One Simple Act”. Nature has given us one tongue and two ears so we could hear twice as much as we speak. Good listening requires focusing on the other person rather than on ourselves and our own thoughts or reactions. The act of being generous with our listening is a gift that our world is longing to receive. Listening increases wisdom. Listening helps us to define ourselves. Becoming generous in listening can transform our relationships. When we begin to listen to people, we also need to tune our ear to God on their behalf. First we listen. This is the step of discernment. We listen to people and we listen to God. Sometimes people share their deepest needs … [Read more...]
Jesus Is Enough by Sheila Walsh
Isaiah 58:9-Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry, and He will say, "here I am". "Living our lives with certain things unresolved is what faith is all about. I believe that many things happen that we simply can't explain. When we look back after many years, we still have little understanding of what went on. But we have the knowledge and assurance that Jesus was there with us through every moment, walking by our side, guiding our footsteps. We never needed to fear the questions, because Jesus was answer enough. Some of the greatest words Paul ever wrote start with questions: Can anything separate us from the love Christ has for us? Can troubles or problems or sufferings? If we have no food or clothes, if we … [Read more...]
“We are opals, not diamonds”-by Barbara Johnson
Philippians 2:13-For it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure. "She's a diamond in the rough", is a familiar way of saying somebody has potential to become far more than she is right now. But I believe that we are much more like opals than diamonds. Did you know that an opal is made of desert dust, sand and silica and owes its beauty not to its perfection but to a defect? The opal is a stone with a broken heart. It is full of minute fissures that allow air inside, and then the air refracts the light. As a result, the opal has such lovely hues that the stone is called "the lamp of fire" because the breath of the Lord is in it. As opal will lose its luster if it is kept in a cold, dark place, but the … [Read more...]
“The Lord restores my soul and leads me on the right path”
We all struggle with negative emotions, but know that God has freedom, healing and restoration for you. This is a new day, a new beginning, for He is a God of redemption. We are all on a journey from bondage to freedom, from brokenness to wholeness, from failure to true success. Put God first in everything you do. Say, "Lord, I will serve you, not my emotions." Fortify yourself with the word of God. We need all the nourishment, and healing of God's word we can get. Pray about everything. Don't entertain negative emotions as if they are old friends who have arrived as house guests. They don't have to be a part of your life anymore. Lord, today I refuse all depression, anxiety, fear, dread, anger and sadness. I know they are not … [Read more...]
Your Lives are a Letter….
2 Corinthians 3:2-3 (NIV) You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everyone. You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. Many of us like to read but few enjoy writing. That is probably because we are afraid someone else is going to read what we have written and pass judgment on us. We need to get past the idea someone is going to "grade us", like in school. When we express ourselves through writing, we reveal more about ourselves than we ever could by talking. Writing forces us to choose our words more carefully because it forces us to think more deeply. Psalms … [Read more...]