Fear is one of those masks we wear, but we wear it invisibly. No one wants to admit to being afraid. Admitting fear means weakness. Right? No admitting fear means HUMAN. Everyone has fear, but not everyone lives enslaved to it. Fear can be a stronghold and will keep us captive in our everyday lives. [...]
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If you google ‘how to be happy’, you’ll get 1, 870, 000, 000 answers in .20 seconds. At least, that’s how many results just appeared at 9:19 this morning. You’ll find ‘secrets’, ’7 easy steps’, and ‘look within yourself’. You’ll read suggestions about changing your lifestyle, your eating habits, your friends, your job. In our [...]
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Recently there was an international day of prayer for the persecuted Church, and at our church we tried to understand a little of what it might be like when the penalty for faith in Jesus can be torture or even death. We pulled down all the window shades and lowered the lights, because in the [...]
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I Have A Heart That Would I lay here it is night and I cannot sleep I have so many questions burning down deep I need to see him my heart needs to know, but what of the others I dare not go My heart it yearns for what he will say, I have not heard [...]
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In church recently, we sang a new song. Maybe you know it? The chorus goes… I am free to run I am free to dance I am free to live for you I am free, I am free Maybe I am slow on the uptake, but it took me 3 or 4 times through this [...]
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The Valley of the Shadow is quiet and still, with no breath of wind and no bright and shining sun to illuminate that dim pathway that draws us onward. It is always twilight here. The shadows fall deep, distorting our images as we cautiously make our way toward the western horizon. All is spoken in [...]
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A revival of sorts has erupted in the blogging world ~ between Ann Voskamp’s One Thousand Gifts and Karen O’Connor’s Basket of Blessings: 31 Days to a More Grateful Heart, a community exists to daily thank God for His blessings. Practicing the acknowledgment of God’s gifts is pivotal to cultivating a heart of gratitude.
In my devotions in Common Prayer, one of the daily acknowledgments reads: Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen. I read over that every day, honestly quite flippantly. The Holy Spirit nudged me one morning to meditate on the Lord and not casually read over that prayer; encouraging me to give thanks to God for who He is, not only for what He gives.
Thank the Father for His love that reconciled us to Him through His Son; Jesus for being the faithful, ultimate sacrifice for sin; the Holy Spirit for His love that draws us near to Jesus; a love that cleanses, fills, and baptizes.
Each day we should rest in God and acknowledge Him for being God; seeking His face, not only His hand.
Giving Thanks,
Heather
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