Psalm 103 exhorts us to praise God and remember all His benefits. That can be hard if you're going through a rough season of life. It can be hard if you're mired in difficulty with no end in sight. But believe me, He is still blessing you. It can also be hard to see those benefits if you haven't been looking for them. If you don't know how to look for them. But counting your blessings doesn't have to be difficult. All you have to do is start looking. Because you won't see His plethora of blessings until you start looking for them. You won't realize just how much He's given you, until you start trying to notice it all. And then you'll be astounded by it. You'll be [...Read More]
Gratitude: Spiritual Blessings
February 1, 2013 By 6 Comments
We who are Christians have so many reasons to be grateful! We usually think of the obvious blessings of salvation, and the Bible, and an eternity in Heaven. But we have so much more! We have true wisdom and incomprehensible peace and abundant joy. We have divine instruction, holy conviction, and unfailing direction. We have comfort and lasting hope and a sure refuge. I think we often overlook our spiritual blessings because they're not tangible things. You can't hold them, share them on Instagram, or cuddle with them on a rainy day. You won't find them in your mailbox, or get a discount on them at the store. In fact, these things can't be bought or even [...Read More]
Snapshot of a Blessed Person
January 21, 2013 By 7 Comments
The Bible reading plan I'm working through includes a Psalm for almost every day. I love that. It's so great to read a big chunk of history or prophecy, and then flip over to read a chapter of devotional poetry. The Psalms are so encouraging and comforting -- and yet they're more than just "greeting card" sentiments. They are jam-packed with theology! For instance, we find chapters about the inerrancy of God's Word (Psalm 19, 119), the creation of man by the direct act of God (Psalm 139), the presence and personality of the Holy Spirit (Psalm 51, 104), and the immutability of God and His various attributes. Psalms speaks a lot about God's standard for righteousness, in particular. [...Read More]
How to Keep a Blessings Book
January 8, 2013 By 10 Comments
Do you choose a word for each year? Some people do that instead of making resolutions, in hopes of focusing on a certain direction for the next twelve months. I've never done it before, and I do set goals each year, but this year I decided to choose a word as well: GRATITUDE. God keeps reminding me to be more grateful. In fact, I've heard the word a lot over the past few months. Everything from friends who keep thankfulness lists, to friends who blog about being joy-filled, to friends who complete 40-day thankfulness challenges. And then my friend Catherine gave me a "Blessings Book" for Christmas. I've never kept a "Blessings Book" or a thankfulness journal or anything like [...Read More]
Lessons from the Magnificat
December 13, 2012 By 2 Comments
Can you imagine the emotion that roiled through Mary's heart, as she anticipated giving birth to the great Messiah? On the one hand, she must have been awed by the thought that Almighty God would choose her, a simple maiden, to bear His Son. That He would choose her to bring old prophecies to pass. That He would choose her to help change the course of the world's future. On the other hand, she must have been overwhelmed by her situation. Here she was, betrothed to the man she loved (similar to the modern engagement, although much more binding), and all of sudden pregnant. Of course, back in that day, pregnancy outside of marriage was punishable by death! Can you imagine the [...Read More]
How to Flourish in Life
May 24, 2012 By 4 Comments
I woke up feeling discouraged this morning. I've been going through another rough week health-wise (nothing serious, just a few lingering things), and am impatient to feel better. And I was moping around, feeling sorry for myself and whining to God, and He gently nudged me and reminded me: focus on something else. As in, stop thinking about myself and get busy! And then I grabbed my Bible to do my daily reading, and found a common thread running through the verses: the benefits of trusting in God. You might wonder whether that actually relates to feeling lousy, but it does. You see, if I want to be in control of how my body feels, then I am not trusting God's control. If I want to feel [...Read More]
Rebellion & Righteousness {TTB12}
May 5, 2012 By Leave a Comment
This week I've been reading from Numbers and Revelation. And you may wonder, as I did, what connections there are between those two books. One is history, one is prophecy. One is the old covenant, one is the new. One deals with Israel alone, the other deals with all the redeemed from all ages. One shows man's sinfulness, the other shows God's righteousness. But it is that last contrast that actually proves to connect the two books. You see, God always {eventually} repays us according to our works. If we rebel against Him, we receive punishment. If we live according to His righteous commands, we receive honor and blessings. And the surety of these truths is portrayed so clearly in the [...Read More]
The Path of Obedience
April 16, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Have you ever felt weary of doing what you know God wants you to do? Maybe you're not seeing the results you hoped for, or maybe it's just a whole lot harder than you thought it would be. I totally get it. The past few years it's been so easy to get discouraged and wearied at trudging the same path day after day, feeling like we're never making progress. Never finding those green pastures and still waters and pleasant places. Never reaching the peak and starting the easy downhill slope, just ever trudging upward and onward. But God keeps reminding me to not just trust Him but also to obey Him. To keep walking with Him down the path that He called us to. Because He commands it, and those who [...Read More]
Day Five & Being a Blessing
November 5, 2011 By 1 Comment
Last night we had the privilege of fellowshipping with our pastor and his wife, and a few other couples in the same stage of life as us (ie, young marrieds without kids). I dearly love my friends who are moms, and my friends who aren't married, but it was so refreshing to spend time with people who can completely relate to where we are in life. And to have that spiritual connection with them as well... even though we hadn't known each other long, we still had that common bond of Jesus Christ that gave us instant fellowship. It was such a blessing! [...Read More]
Psalm 15
January 17, 2011 By Leave a Comment
"O LORD, who shall sojourn in your tent? Who shall dwell on your holy hill?" Who is worthy to be a sojourner with God, or a visitor in His dwelling place? What are the qualifications for abiding with God? What must our lives look like if we are to be part of God's family? A description follows: "He who walks blamelessly and does what is right and speaks truth in his heart" Our lives must be blameless, or perfect and complete in Him. The same word was used to describe Job, who was considered to be "blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil" (Job 1:1). Also, we must be actively doing what is right, and actively speaking the truth. These are not passive things; we must [...Read More]
