Live in His Word

     Exhausted. Frustrated. Overwhelmed. I think that these words describe so many people right now. We have so many expectations that we put on ourselves or that others place upon us and at times it feels that we cannot keep up. During this COVID pandemic so many things have required adaptation. Some things have been good for some people. There was a part of this season where I was able to really take time to dig into the Word and attend some online conferences that were really a blessing. Now I find myself having to work at not feeling like I am drowning under the expectations that are coming at me in life.       As a teacher, trying to teach in person students and distance learning students at the same time, it seems like there are not enough hours in the day. We have to do our best to do two jobs at one time, and honestly there is no easy way to do it. In fact many occupations are going through this I am sure. We often want to do everything perfec...

   Let's face it, Rona has messed a lot of things up. The stress level of many has reached epic proportions. So many parents now not only have to make the normal decisions that come with raising children, they have to make decisions that seem almost impossible. Do they send their children to school? Do they have them learn virtually? Do they switch to homeschooling? How do they keep their children as safe as theycan, while still providing for their every day needs? It is easy to ask in a time like this if God is there and if he is listening.      We see in Roman's 8:28 that God promises to work all things to good for those that love Him. During this time it seems almost impossible to believe anything good can come from this, but there are good things still around us. In order to find them we have to be careful what we are listening to, watching, and saying.       This week I have realized that I have to really guard my heart in this area. So ...

I tend to be a perfectionist. I expect a lot from myself and I expect that whatever I do should be perfect. Unfortunately, I am a person as well and so that means I am rarely if ever perfect. I also have a tendency to put things off because I can't do them perfectly and this blog has been one of those things (obviously). Today I realized that I don't always have to have perfect things to share that are deep or even thought out for days. I do not have to have a full length devotional to share, I can share what is on my heart today. So today I will share what is on my heart. Lately I have been thinking about how I wish sometimes people who do and say crazy things wouldn't call themselves Christians, because it pushes so many people further away from the gospel. This morning I had the thought- What if Christians started loving and doing good so much that people who aren't Christians knew us by our love to the point that when someone does something un-christlike in the...

           As I have gotten older I realize that I am not as patient as I used to be. Over the last few months my family and I have driven to a few family reunions and I have noticed after being in the car a short time I am more than ready to be there. On the last trip my husband didn’t get to go and I was talking to him about how weary I was from being in the car and he said I was getting cranky in my old age. As I think back on that statement I think two things: one he is right and two he is brave. I think he felt brave enough to say it since he knew he was a couple hundred miles away from me and I had several days to forget what he said before I saw him again. We used to drive 12 hours straight through to see his family, but now I get in a car for more than 3 hours and I want to whine.        Another area I find I can get impatient and I think I am not alone is being patient with God. We want God to do ...

          Have you ever noticed that everyone thinks their way is the right way? We have a tendency to think because it is the way we like it or are used to it, it is the best or only way. When I had kids, I started turning my silverware tray upside down of how most people have it. I put it this way so that the little tray that is usually at the back of the drawer is at the front, because that is where I put the kids’ little spoons and forks and it was easier for them to reach. One time I had company, and I went to get something out of my drawer and noticed that someone turned the silverware tray back the direction “it was supposed to be”. I turned it back the way I liked it in my kitchen, and sure enough later I went back and someone had changed it again. This person really couldn’t handle the fact that I had my silverware tray the “wrong” way. After a few times of slamming the drawer closed in my passive aggressive style- trying to make...

            Most of my life, I had this notion that in order to be of value, someone else had to find value in me. It wasn’t enough for me to think that I was ok, or even for God to think I was ok- someone else had to affirm I was. I had to have enough friends or a boyfriend or else I was not worth anything. I think part of this thinking stemmed from when I was a child. It seemed I had the words 'pick on me' written on my forehead. One of the things that would happen is sometimes I had to sit alone at lunch. I mean there were other people at the table, but people wouldn’t choose to sit by me. For some reason there were days that someone more popular than me decided if anyone sat by me they could not be friends anymore so they had to choose between being their friend or being my friend. My friends all knew I would always forgive and be friends with them so they had to choose the other friend. After several instances like that, I ...

          As a little girl I memorized Psalm 23. Most good little Christian girls I knew did. I could stand there and recite that passage in King James with the best of them. “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” My problem was, since I memorized it in the King James Version I was very confused. I couldn’t understand why the Lord was my Shepherd, but I didn’t want Him. This puzzled me for quite some time. Now I usually read it in the New Living Translation and it makes more sense to me- The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need. I now know that it means I won’t be in want, not that I won’t want Him. I love the next few verses in this passage.     Psalm 23:2-3 “He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams. He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name.”             These verses are a source ...