Week #3 - Ready Set REACH!

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Week #2 - Ready Set REACH!

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If you missed Week #1  of Ready Set REACH! you can click HERE to find out the answer to the question: "What do all people share?"

This week's study answers the question,

"How do people know about God?"

You can download the Week #2 study here in a Scribd document or see it below.

Do the study all in one sitting, or break it up to fit your schedule. Do it on your own, with a friend, or with a team. The study will help you get Ready and Set to REACH! people around you.

Week 2 PDF

Week #1 - Ready Set REACH!

Today is the first of the Ready Set REACH! study. These 8 weeks will help prepare you to reach out to those God brings your way. Whether you're getting ready for a short term missions trip, serving at Vacation Bible School, or just trying to reach out to your unseen neighbor next door, this will help you get ready, get set, and reach. 

This week's study answers the question, 

"What do all people share?"

You can download the Week #1 study here in a Google doc.  (You can find a Scribd version here.)  Do it all in one sitting, or break it up in pieces that fit your schedule. The study is designed to do on your own, with a friend, or with a team. My prayer is that it will help us get ready for those within our reach.

In each lesson you will find:

• An illustration to help you wrap your mind around the question of the week
• Scripture to help you answer the question
• Questions designed for reflection in your own life or with a friend
• A prayer of response to the truth you discover
• Other scripture to use if you want to read more

If you know of someone getting ready for a short term summer missions trip, someone burdened for people where they live, or someone beginning a new outreach, share this via email, Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest. To be sure you don't miss a single week of Ready Set REACH! subscribe to receive posts conveniently in your email.

Ready Set REACH!

So yesterday I shared with you a fresh focus on loving our Neighbors that are really our neighbors. (You have to read Who IS My Neighbor? for that to make sense) I'm really excited about what I'm planning to share with you, but I also want us to discover what to DO with the desires God is going to give us.

Not only that, but in just 55 days, I will depart with my team of 4 women and 4 young women for a unique ministry in Asia. I WILL share more about that in April, but I am knee deep in getting my team ready, so I want you to join us in our preparation that also just happens to help us know what to do with our Neighbors. I love it when I can pour my energy and heart into something that does double duty!  You can get ready for Asia with me, and we'll both be getting ready to reach the Neighbors we already have.


Join me starting TOMORROW for the first of about 8 weeks of Ready, Set, Reach!  Every Friday during RSR I will give you a free download of a Bible study for that week. It's 8 weeks of getting ready to reach the people God gives us. Could be our Neighbors in our neighborhood or our neighbors around the world. For me, I know it's going to be BOTH, so I have some prep work to do! Ready, Set, REACH! won't be a lot of work, but it will be set on sturdy legs of scripture.  This is what it will help us discover together:

Ready, Set, REACH!

1. We'll begin by asking, "What do all people share?"  
2. How do people know about God? 
3. What do people need to know about God?
4. What keeps people from finding Him?
5. How can I show God's love to people?
6. How can I tell God's love to people?
7. Who do I need to be to share God? 
8. Finally, "Who should I reach?"

Each week, download the study sheet for the week and read along. On Friday we'll recap that week's question and set the stage for the next step.  I know who I plan to reach at the end of the study, but I'm sure God will bring others I'm not expecting. Do you know who will cross your path? At the very least, it will be your Neighbor. Let's get ready, get set, and reach!

See you here tomorrow for Day #1 of Ready, Set, REACH!

Quiet time in Focused 15 a day

Maybe our new year's resolutions have had enough time to start rusting; I've been hearing a lot of women around me lately talking about how they've hit a rough patch in their quiet time. Today my team leader at Do Not Depart, Katie Orr, is launching the first in a series of Bible Studies. Her goal is to help people study the Bible in 15 minutes a day. I know that, with Katie's love for studying God's word, this will be a resource worth embracing. Katie shares:

"In Focused15, I’ll show you how to look at scripture through a different lens each day. We’ll use tools already at our fingertips, with methods proven through history, with a structure that is easy to follow…
…all in fifteen minutes day."

If you're in a devotional slump or not sure which way to turn, join Katie in the first "Focused 15" study and get back on track. The first study starts with 1 Corinthians 13. In 5 days a week, she'll take you from using a "portrait lens" for study to an immersion, zoom, wide-angle, and then personal view.

You can get a free chapter or download the full copy on PDF or in a Kindle or Nook format. 
Click here to view more details

Life Off Line: 5 Ways to be sure to pray

Today you can find me over at The MOM Initiative posting about Parenting out of the Pit of Addiction.

Today is also the official merger day of Scripture Dig and Do Not Depart. I'm excited to be "going along" as part of the Do Not Depart contributor team. Right now our Bible study together is called Run to Him and is based on various Psalms. This week we read Psalm 4, and 2 phrases got my attention in my real Life Off Line: 

• "Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness!" v. 1
• "the Lord hears when I call to him." v. 3

The "when I call" repetition grabbed me, because it's so easy to be so caught up with so many things that I just fail to call. .... Kid appointments. Work demands. Laundry loads. Physical weakness. People pressure. Legitimate needs. I can get caught up in all the "doing" and in attempting to work out my own answers that I leave out "when I call."  

5 Ways to be sure I call:

1. Get up a little earlier or stay up a little later
2. Find a place to be alone (when all else fails, the bathroom ...)
3. Sit still and think about God (the car works!)
4. Open my Bible and pray back His words
5. Use a simple prayer journal to keep me focused

Next week I'll wrap up the Life Off Line focus, but I will never cease to need to stop and call on the Lord. He will hear and answer ... when I call. 

Other topics you might want to read from our Life Off Line series:

• Friendship
• Marriage: How to Have a Real Fight
• Real Hospitality
• God's Word
• Real Truth, Real Women
• 7 Real Habits for Happy Marriage
• Real Encouragement
• Snowman Craft
• Marriage: How do you do w/mess? 
• Are you resting?

Life Off Line: What's real encouragement?

In adding life online we have new ways of encouraging each other. By clicking "Like" or adding a comment we send a burst of blessing to those we know well or those we know a little and want to reach out to. But has the "Like" button deceived us into thinking that we're "doing" real encouragement?


At the beginning of this week, I shared on Do Not Depart about the danger of ignoring what we see in the mirror, about walking away from what stares back at us from the reflection of God's word. It tells us to be active and pure in how we apply it, but today it's easy to fall into the trap of giving encouragement that's barely an inch deep.


If we think we're people of faith and don't act on what we're taught, our faith is worthless. Our exposure to needs requires a response. True faith acts on the needs of others. The example James offers relates to orphans and widows. You can read all of James 1:21-27 here. Is my faith worthless or true?  With the explosion of information, we can't realistically respond to every single need we're exposed to. We wouldn't have time to get dressed! But if faith is real, it should produce real encouragement. In today's world that may look like:

• Clicking the "like" button.
• Commenting about a status. 
• Sending an email or a text. 
• Taking a meal to someone who posted that their family is ill.
• Praying about a need shared on a blog, Facebook, Twitter, or church.
• Writing a card to someone who has a Caring Bridge site. 

The worlds of online and off line encouragement are colliding to give us a wider range of options for real encouragement. Let's not just be hearers, let's be doers, encouraging one another for real. Next time we ask "How are you?" or respond "Praying for you," let's pause to consider if our faith and our encouragement are real.

Today's Life Off Line Challenge:
- Ask God to show you a need online today; choose a way to respond with real encouragement.
- Take a need you're aware of, & encourage someone off line ... a meal, card, phone call, visit?

How have you been most encouraged online? 
How are you most encouraged off line? 

Life Off Line Challenge: God's Word

There's no easy way to live Life Off Line for God. To experience God's blessing, we have to walk in His way, spend time in His Word, and listen to Him. We can't substitute for it or leave it out and still expect to be blessed. Psalm 1 takes away any doubt about that. Today we're engaging in God's Word Off and On line through Bible studies, prayer resources, worship music, and even serving. Some of us are being distracted from the truth by our tech, starting out reading a passage, only to end up posting a status or checking an email. We need to rediscover real truth, without distraction. God's Spirit still moves in real hearts, in real people, to change real lives, to bring the real God glory.

Real growth in godliness shows Off Line. It may be tweeted or posted, but it grows and shows first in Life Off Line. 

How are you engaging in God's Word? There's no excuse to say we don't have money for a guide, access to a bookstore, or a study Bible. "On line" has made God's Word accessible to countless more people, globally. Awesome! I want to share an on line opportunity that will change you off line. It's an invitation to study Ephesians with my friend Kathy Howard; it will be time well spent.

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Why don’t you just grow up? – Your invite to study Ephesians

Many of us take a hard look in the mirror this time of year. Often, what we see makes us cringe – or at least sigh. After that critical evaluation many of us commit to new diets and exercise habits. (Another course of action of course, would be to simply throw away the mirror!)


But when was the last time you evaluated your spiritual condition? Do you feel strong in the Lord and in His mighty power or is your faith flabby? Are you experiencing every spiritual blessing in Christ or is your soul undernourished?


Every Christian needs regular encouragement and strengthening from the community of faith to continue to grow. So, I invite you to join me for some spiritual encouragement through a study of Ephesians. This letter, written by Paul, is one of the most encouraging, faith-building books of the Bible. Here are a few key ways this study of Ephesians will get your faith in shape:

• · You will contemplate all the spiritual blessings God has given you through Christ.
• · You will soak in the truth of who you are in Christ.
• · You will discover how to live out your faith and grow up spiritually within the context of the church.

Won’t you join me? The introductory lesson for “Growing Up Together: A Study of Ephesians” will be posted Wednesday, January 18th with six more lessons to follow. It won’t be incredibly time intense but you will dig deep into the treasure of God’s Word.


Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen (Ephesians 3:20-21, NIV).


Are you in? Tell me how you’d like to see your faith grow in 2012.

~ Kathy

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Today's Life Off Line Challenge: 
- Read on an app, on a blog, or in a leather bound copy, but read the first chapter of Ephesians.
- Write a one sentence expression of gratitude to God for giving us His word and for allowing on line resources to spread His truth around the world. Don't have any old fashioned paper? ;) You can even leave your gratitude to the Lord as a comment!

Book Suggestion: What Matters Most

I am convinced it's getting harder to find books we can trust. Many writers today fill pages with their own thoughts and ideas, rather than presenting God's truth. One of the things I love about writing with the Scripture Dig team is that my teammates all share a common point of reference: God's Word.


Stephanie Shott has a powerful life's story that has hammered out God's truth in who she is, and when you're with her, it's obvious His story is the most important thing to her. I'm really proud of her and excited for her to share her first book, a study that addresses a burning question for people all around the world today: What matters most?

Let me give you a glimpse of this new 6 week study. It would be a wonderful study to do starting right after Christmas, through January, to get a new year started with the understanding of what matters most.

Do you sense the need to live for eternity but find yourself living like this life is all there is? Do you long to make your life count for more than a vapor but can't seem to escape the dailies of each day? "Understanding What Matters Most", will help you sift through the gamut of life experiences and learn to make everyday decision based on what truly matters most.

"Understanding What Matters Most" will:

*Help you define your life by what matters most
*Bring clarity to your circumstances
*Learn to make your eternity intentional

Join Stephanie on a six week adventure through this often avoided and misunderstood book of the Bible. Learn why she calls it a "Heavenly Sieve" and how you find significance to these days you are given under the sun.

Covenant # 1 - Knowing the covenant Maker

This week we captured a sweeping overview of God's covenants, the "solemn, binding agreements" He initiates with man. Our group couldn't help but see the pattern of restoration in God's covenants, noticing how each agreement is linked to the original plan for man to have a relationship with his Maker. This week we looked at 4 covenants. There's SO much to share about God's wonderful picture of covenant, but let me give you some highlights:

Old Testament Covenants have a LOT to do with us today!

Genesis6, 9, 17 ~ The Noahic Covenant ... God promised salvation. He preserved Noah's family in an ark of safety, because Noah walked with Him and was righteous, though he lived in corrupt times. God gave a rainbow as a sign to promise He would never destroy the earth by a worldwide flood again.  This shows me God is a SAVING God.

Gensis15, 17 ~ The Abramaic Covenant ... God promised descendants to the 99 yr old Abraham, saying he would father many nations and bless the world through him. Circumcision served as a sign of Abraham's (and all of his descendants') identity with God. Covenant means we identify with each other. Abraham received a new name with his new identity (love that idea!). God wants to know and be known by the creation which bears His image = man.  This shows me God is a LOVING God.

Exodus 2,6, 19, 24 ~ The Covenant with Israel ... God promised possession, that He would be Israel's God, and they would be His people. This covenant was conditional, though, based on the obedience of the people. The disobedience of Israel, which we can all relate to, made their "journey" to the land God promised quite a ride ... a 40 yr ride. He gave them the 10 Commandments, the words of the covenant, as another sign of the agreement. The years in the desert were punctuated by regular signs of God's actions to draw His people to Himself. Because of His covenant agreement with Israel, God released the people from Egyptian slavery. God is not able to "NOT" follow through with His promises.  Aren't you glad?  This shows me God is a FAITHFUL God.

Malachi 3:1, Matt. 26:26-29 ~ The New Covenant (Just a glimpse)  This covenant provides once and for all what the others could not:   forgiveness of sins.  It provides a way of restoring our relationship to God in a way that had not been done before. God the Father is still the initiator, but in Matthew 26 we see Jesus the Son of God extending the invitation to join in the New Covenant.  He offered His own self, His own flesh, His own blood, as the covenant sacrifice. This shows me God is a SACRIFICIAL God.

Old Testament Covenants have a lot to do with us today. From the promises made and the signs given, a picture emerges of who my God is and what He's like. He is saving, loving, faithful, and sacrificial. 

Each covenant involved pain and the shedding of blood. A covenant comes with a cost, yet God willingly pays it for us, and He loves us enough to ask us to join in covenant with Him.



I can't help but see how the covenants are all meant to show what God is like to the world. Each reveals the character of our holy, loving, amazing God. Being in covenant with Him means I promise to show Him to the world ... today, tomorrow, and until He comes and every knee bows and every tongue confesses that Jesus is Lord.

We're in good company with Noah, Abraham, and Israel as the reflection of our covenant making God to the watching world!

Use this chart to reflect on what your specific life challenges are and the action steps you can take to have  godly, "covenant behavior" to show God to our world.

A challenge for me this morning …	I will show my covenant God to the world by …
A challenge for me the rest of today …	I will show my covenant God to the world by …
A challenge for me this weekend …	I will show my covenant God to the world by …

This coming week we'll be looking at the customs of making a covenant and how they're LOADED with meaning for us. I'm excited ... maybe I'll even change my name! ;)

"Never again" - Covenant Intro

Today we start our first Friday reflection on God's Covenants. If you haven't subscribed to posts via email yet, subscribe at the blog header so you don't miss out. 

AP Photo

Jeff grew up in the flooded area of the Northeastern US. We went there for seminary. I taught 1st grade there. We had JoHanna there. We've both been there for ministry, and we go back there for things like Christmas. Two tropical systems in a short time dumped massive amounts of water, causing catastrophic damage. Today will be a day of fear, confusion, and grief for many as they fight the floods.
 

The first mention of "Covenant" in God's word is found in Genesis 6, just after God told Noah, a "righteous man, blameless in his time" (v.9) that He was bringing "the flood of water upon the earth, to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life, from under heaven; everything that is on the earth shall perish" (vs.18). God was not throwing a tantrum or changing His mind. The worldwide flood was in response to the continual evil and wickedness of mankind, filling earth with corruption. After revealing the awful events to come, God spoke a "But."

"But I will establish My covenant with you..." (v.18).  

God initiated a contract, a pledge, an agreement between Himself and Noah. Noah was to build an ark God described, bring his family into it, gather 2 of every animal into it, and be saved. Verse 22 tells us Noah did it all. After watching the world perish and waiting for God to expose land for his family to leave the ark, the Noah family must've panicked the next time they felt raindrops .... away from the ark! 


In Genesis 9 God builds on the first part of the Noahic Covenant. This time, it didn't hinge on anything man had to do. God just promised:   "I establish My covenant with you; and all flesh shall never again be cut off by the water of the flood, neither shall there again be a flood to destroy all the earth" (v.11).


While there may be localized flooding like that in the NE United States right now, we can be certain the whole earth won't ever again for covered by a destructive flood ... because God promised. And because He knows us, our frailty, our fears, our forgetfulness, He gave the Noahs and every man born them after a sign of the covenant:  a rainbow.  He said, "This is the sign of the covenant which I am making between Me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all successive generations; I set My bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a sign of a covenant between Me and the earth" (v.13).  A rainbow.

Look closely ... do you see 2?

God keeps His promises. It's Who He is. He can't go against His word. While we may feel like a flood is sweeping the whole earth, we can KNOW that it never will again, because God made a covenant.




God has the heart of a Savior. Not just in the New Testament with Jesus, but even in the Old Testament, (another word for covenant) we see God's passion to save man and restore the fellowship with God we were created for. Just as He made a way to rescue Noah's family from the consequence of corruption, He made a way for all of mankind, too. 


We'll see that in the weeks ahead, as we look as God's covenants each Friday for the next couple of months.
If you want to study along with us, we're using this book.

The next time you see a rainbow, celebrate God's covenant heart to SAVE!

Noting some landmarks in Psalms

I find my way with landmarks. Red barns. Shrubbery. Cars for sale (not dependable).
You? Before I jump into Psalms this coming week, I want to note some landmarks to guide the way and familiarize us with the "area."


Our title for this poetry collection comes from the Greek word "Psalmos." It translates to the Hebrew word "mizmor" which means "song." The OT was originally written in Hebrew and then used by those who used New Testament Greek. The Hebrew title for the book is "Tehillim," which means "Praises." That helps me know why we think of Psalms as "songs & praises." 


Writers:  Life events often led to the writing of a Psalm, whether it was an individual's experience or that shared by a group. The writers include:
The Sons of Korah, Asaph, Solomon, Moses, and David.  Some Psalms don't reveal the author, and some give directions for the music and expression of the poem as a song. The writing of a Psalm allowed for the congregation of people to have a unified voice in responding to God. 


The writer we associate most with Psalms is David, since he wrote 73 of them. When his last words are recorded in 2 Sam. 23:1, he is called the "sweet psalmist of Israel."As a man who had failings and weaknesses like we do, this is such a beautiful way to be remembered.What would your title be? :)


Organization:  Since the Psalms are poetry, expect to listen for elements like:  simile, metaphor, personification, and image. The Psalms are divided in 5 books: 1-41, 42-72, 73-89, 90-106, 107-150.  People organize the 150 Psalms of those 5 "books" into different categories, but some listed in my ESV notes include:

• Hymns of praise
• Hymns of thanksgiving
• Laments about trouble, asking for help
• Songs of confidence
• Royal Psalms
• Historical Psalms
• Prophetic Hymns

As we read, it helps to "label" a Psalm with a big idea summarizing the theme. I often write a personal date or place or event beside a Psalm, noting its particular "theme" in my personal life.  I wish I knew Hebrew, because the Psalms are written in a parallel style. That means they correspond in use of word choice, verbs, objects, questions, and syllables. A lot of that is lost in translation, and since I don't know any Hebrew (big dislike), we will ask the Lord to help us absorb as much of His artistry in writing as we can ... in English. ;) As someone who loves to write, I love to see what a masterful Writer my God is!


Now, since my favorite landmark tends to be a tree, that's where I'm going to start on Monday. It will be "Marriage Mondays" here on Come Have a Peace, and we'll be looking at "Freedom Fighters in Marriage."  I'm going to go ahead and start with Psalm 1, though, over at Scripture Dig. In fact, I'm going to take 4 days to work through Psalm 1. After all, like my high school History teacher always said, "The hardest (most important) part of anything is the start."


Over the weekend, I would really appreciate your prayers for me. Somewhere in all of my early summer travel and ministry time, my body succumbed to "something," and it has attacked my old thorn of my respiratory system and my voice. I've had some real ups and downs battling my earthly "tent," and I'm about to start my 3rd antibiotic, while I await some test results.  :(  I will find the right Psalm to express this. :)  Until then, your friendship in prayer is appreciated! I'm letting the Lord lead me beside still waters and restore my soul. I hope you are too.

I'll see you Monday at the big tree (Psalm 1) that's planted by streams of water and yields its fruit in its season. That's where I want to be! You?

Stamp me!!

I had a post all set for you today, but blogger is having some ups and downs today, and it seems that my post was lost in one of the "downs." :) Since flexibility is key when ministering overseas, I'll assume this is getting me ready for my trip to Asia! I depart in the morning, and I so appreciate your prayers.


I like to choose a passage of scripture to meditate on and memorize from when I take a journey. This time the Lord directed my attention to Romans 5. It starts by talking about what it means to be "justified" by faith to have peace with God. "Justified" is a legal term with the idea of being moved from the "reject" category to the "acceptable" category. When I cross borders in just a couple days, I will receive a visa stamp of approval, an official imprint stating that I am "welcome." I will be justified. 



The people group we will be working with in Asia are not "justified" by their nation. Spread throughout multiple countries, no nation really wants them. As I shared in Pack Prayers First, this is a people assigned little worth in our world. But Romans 5 says God chooses to extend grace because of the sacrifice of one man, Jesus, and through it, He "justifies" us and counts us worthy to know Him.Stamp me with that!!


I want to invite you to print out this copy of Romans 5 to read with me this week. Maybe you'll want to commit a verse or two or five to memory with me. As I do this on a journey, God always shows me new things, greater things, and I am always grateful. Will you spend some time in Romans 5 with me this week? Who knows where it may take you!  

Rejoice with me in remembering how good it feels to have God "stamp us" with His seal of approval.

Romans 5

Giving & Teaching for Love

I just added a link to follow Come Have a Peace on FACEBOOK or to follow on TWITTER.    I've been resisting ... ;) but maybe this will be a great tool for encouragement. I pray so. :)     You are invited to join me there, friends.  There is also a new button to share a post on Facebook or via Twitter.  If ever you want to pass on words you read here, I would be honored.

I lost something last week and have been searching for it everyday to no avail.  In the midst of all of my searching, I have discovered a lot of things in the "corners" of my closets and rooms that I do not use and do not need.

This Sunday our church is taking part in the "Corners of Your Field" project. Just like farmers like Boaz in the Old Testament, we are intentionally taking our excess and donating it to our Knox Area Rescue Mission as stock in their 2nd hand stores, so the poor may benefit from what we find in our own "corners."  Have you checked your corners? Giving out of our abundance is a great way to do something for love of God and love of people.


Have you ever had God give you an opportunity you felt too small to accept, yet you loved it and thanked Him for it? It has been like that for me in writing with 5 other women on the Scripture Dig website. The other five ladies (Teri Lynne, Sandra, Kristi, Stephanie, Kathy) are truly lovers of God and of His Word. They write out of that love. Today I want to share with you about Kathy's most recent book that is a labor of her love. It's a practical and realistic answer to the things in life that shake us and sometimes shake our faith.


My Scripture Dig sister, Kathy Howard, is a Bible study author and speaker who has been teaching the Bible for over 20 years. She’s taught a wide range of topics to an even wider range of students – everything from basic Bible stories at a middle school to teacher training for church leaders. Kathy particularly enjoys speaking at women’s events and retreats to encourage them in their faith. She has a Masters in Christian Education and serves on a church staff in West Texas.


Kathy and her husband have three children and one son-in-law. When the family gets together there are also four dogs in the mix. Kathy writes to have something to do while drinking coffee. :)  You can find out more about her Bible studies and speaking ministry and get discipleship tools and leader helps at her website: www.kathyhoward.org. Kathy will be teaching a session at our church's women's retreat on April 8 & 9 in Pigeon Forge, TN. Email me if you'd like more info.:)  You can come!!


Unshakeable Faith, Kathy's new 8-session Bible study for women, has just been released and helps readers apply 8 key “faith traits” found in the life of Peter so they can weather the harshest storms of life. It's written about "real applications," with examples from the lives of "real women." I feel like this is a very timely study for the lives of women today. Many of us deal with circumstances like life-threatening illness, divorce, death of a child, and financial hardship. Kathy has seen her own friends face these life shaking events and emerge with a stronger faith. She also juggles the everyday things of life – work, family, ministry, and home life – without too much difficulty. But sometimes, even in just a small crisis, Kathy's self-sufficiency is shaken. She asked herself, "Would I stand firm in really hard times or would these trials knock me flat?" She began to ask God to show her how her faith could be prepared.


Unshakeable focuses on the life of Peter and what made the difference in his faith. Unshakeable Faith looks closely at Peter’s life and teachings to discover the key characteristics God built into his faith that helped him stand firm. Kathy says, "Unshakeable Faith not only leads readers into learning God’s Word, but it also purposefully helps readers apply it." 


In addition to each week’s application section, there is a “Faith Shaker” story about real women who have faced a life trial with which many readers will relate. Readers get to see how their faith keeps them standing firm. A strong faith in Jesus Christ does work in real life!



You can get a copy of Unshakeable Faith at many bookstores or here.


Just like when the woman did the "Beautiful Thing" out of love, when we do beautiful things for love, God is glorified! I'm looking forward to giving the Corners of My Field to my local mission this Sunday, and I'm looking forward to working through Kathy's new book, Unshakeable Faith.

Tomorrow, I want you to be so encouraged and blessed by the story of one mother's beautiful act of love. The picture of her love will linger with you and encourage you this weekend and beyond.

An Invitation to "Growth Points"

Check out this excellent new resource for helping us to know God's Word and find how it fits into our lives.  A writing friend, Karen Lowe, has developed Growth Points as a way to study and grow from God's truth, and it is designed in a format that is so clear and easy to use. I'm excited for all those who will be blessed by it, and I'm excited for Karen as she watches the Lord use it. She was kind enough to include me in this very first edition, and I hope you'll check out my article  All I Need for the Journey, starting on page 22. This edition focuses on the book of Ephesians.

This is what a godly mom looks like

In September I've been considering key relationships in a woman's life. We've really just gotten started, but so far we've talked about how we relate to our God, our church, and our kids. Of course we've talked about husbands on Marriage Monday.

I wanted to reflect on parents and started thinking about what God's Word says ... they are to be obeyed, we leave them if we marry, they are to train children, and our lives are extended if we honor them ... & so much more. But then I received this tribute following the day when an 87 lady (I mean that = "lady") of our church family went to heaven. Martha's daughter reflected on her mom's life and graciously agreed to let me share her words. It says so beautifully what a godly mom looks like; this is the kind of mom I hope I am becoming. Let this be our reflection on being a parent God's way ...

My Tribute to Mom

For as long as I can remember, people have told me I look like my mom. I’m not sure I always appreciated it, but I love to hear it now! I take it as a real compliment and it inspires me. She was a beautiful woman—inside as well as outside and the best Godly role model I could ever have. If you’ve known, her for even a little time, I think you’ll understand.

Mom was first and above all things a lover of Jesus. He was her savior, her friend, her strength, her comfort, her reason for living. In the front of one of her favorite Bibles from years ago, The Living Bible, she wrote Acts 20:24. “For life is worth nothing unless I use it for doing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the Good News about God’s mighty kindness and love.” And that’s what she did with her words, but primarily through the way she lived her life.

Mom was a lover of people, because Jesus is a lover of people. Her friendships were countless. Some spanned many years and some were very recent. She was quick to make friends, and her friends were young and old, near and far, from different cultures and similar backgrounds, those who knew Jesus and those who don’t yet know Him. Her heart and passion was that each one would come to know Him as she did. Her heart and her home were always open and they became a refuge for many. She was considered a second mom or adopted sister to more than I’ll ever know.

In recent days, when she could no longer get out and visit with friends, she took to calling and writing notes. I can’t tell you how many trips I took to the mailbox with cards and letters Mom had written—some to folks she’s kept up with for over 60 years!

Mom was an incredible prayer warrior. She fought many battles with her prayers, for those of us she knew and loved and for others she’s now meeting in heaven for the first time. If you’ve ever shared a concern or need with her, you can know she took that to her heavenly Father on your behalf. I’ve found prayer lists she’d written recently and many of your names are on them!

Mom loved God’s Word, and she never grew weary of reading it or hearing it taught. She would often share with us something new she had learned from her personal study or from a Bible teacher on the radio, at church or Bible study. She would always take notes, and I’ve found them everywhere! Lately, she told me she was frustrated in not being able to memorize a passage from Colossians 3 that she was working on. IT says, “As God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Bear each other’s burdens showing mercy, because God has been merciful to you…and above all, put on love, which binds you together in perfect unity.” Dave and I were talking about that the other day…We don’t think she needed to memorize it—she lived it!

Knowing Mom, I know she wouldn’t like the attention she’s being given today. She wanted all the glory to go to her Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. Her desire was that her life be a reflection of the One Who created her and lived within her. I’m confident she is now in His presence, face to face, and she has heard, “Well done, Martha, my good and faithful servant! Welcome Home!”

Breaking the Grip of the Rip

I know ... this is usually Tasty Tuesday, but there's no food involved today. I've been traveling and, Lord willing, am on my way home as you read this on Tuesday, July 20th. I've had some amazing food that has literally given me a "taste" of the cultures and regions where we've been. I will share more in words and pictures asap ... can't wait to tell you more.
In the mean time, I'm wondering how your quiet time is going this summer. Having been logging the miles, myself, in the past few weeks, I know how this season wreaks havoc on many of our routines ... including our quiet time. I want to invite you to click over to Scripture Dig today and scroll down to YESTERDAY's post ;) to see/read about something that got my attention in my travels. It also really helped me to freshen my perspective about spending time with the Lord ... even when I feel like my routine went the route of "lost baggage." I hope it will encourage you, too.

Looking forward to showing you more about where I've been and what I've been up to in the coming days...

What Clams Know ...

You know by now that I was lounging at the Gulf Coast last week. The sand was pristine, the water clear, and the marine life abundant. It rained enough to give us permission to rest, but then the shone brilliantly to invite us outside for days that could only have been crafted in heaven.

While sitting in the sand, letting the foam wash around me, I found myself captivated by tiny clams revealed in the surf. As the predictable waves churned the sand, a crowd of clams were uncovered and tossed in the bubbles, but what they did next took hold of my attention like a sea gull on a piece of day old bread (this I share from 1st hand knowledge ...). The clams don't wait to see (do they have eyes?) if another wave will come; they KNOW another wave will come. That's how life works when you're a clam ... or a person.

In anticipation of the waves, they automatically dig down as deep as they can. It's their secret to surviving and thriving, and they do it over and over and over .... They know they have to keep digging, because life will keep sending waves. If they just let themselves be washed away and tossed in the surf, they have no peace. Are you starting to find (to your surprise!) that you actually have a lot more in common with a clam than you knew? ;)

The water may be calm right now, but even a clam knows waves will come again. Life may be calm right now, but let's not fall into the trap of waiting to see if a wave will come before we dig deep into God's life saving Word. Maybe it's because we DO have eyes that we feel so self assured we can wait and watch until it looks like a wave is forming and THEN dig into the Word. Nope. Even clams know more waves are coming from where the last one came from ... so DIG!

If you're like me and you find all sorts of things interrupt your attempts to dig into the Word, we are not helpless. Fortunately, unlike the clam who only has a little muscle foot to dig with, we have the HOLY SPIRIT to teach, guide, and empower us.

Click here to read my post at Scripture Dig today with more about my days at the beach. I want to share how to "Break the Grip of the Rip" in our own lives, as we learn to battle those things that keep us from digging deep in the Word.

Soggy, Dripping, Camping ...

If you were here on Tuesday for tips for Making Iced Tea, you may be asking, "How was camping?" First words that come to mind ... soggy, dripping, thunder ... awesome, fantastic, relaxing! :) So glad we went, but seriously thinking about picketing the local weather team. (Just kidding) "Pop up showers" turned out to be downpours the majority of the day, soaking everything we didn't get under the tarp, everything squeezed under the tarp, and everyone who ran from the pop up to the bath house. Even the dog had the good sense to beg his way in and make himself comfy in my sleeping bag. If this sounds like your worst nightmare, let me tell you why it was so awesome.

Sometimes I need heavy rain to stop me in my tracks, make me still, drown out the noise, and give me permission to just be with my loved ones. Once the friends "escaped" and went back to civilization, J&J and I (and the dog) spent most of the day in the camper, with the exception of a short dry spell in which the kids tubed the river & I made supper. My hubby was working and couldn't come down 'til after dark, so it was just the 3 of us. We played games, read out loud, read alone, laughed, & talked about things we never have time to talk about (Like if you could've picked your name, what would you have called yourself ;) ). Since I had my laptop along for a little writing, Jo and I watched a movie of the life of Christ from Mary's perspective; since the rain was so loud, we shared a set of earbuds so we could hear = closeness. :) We were "STUCK" together. It was good ... really.

And as I watched the rain fall like the acts of a play, I thought about how I need the living water of God's Word constantly pouring into my life and heart. I need to infuse my mind with its truth, let it soak in, and then pour some more. Sometimes I need "heavy rain" to make me stop, be still, drown out the noise, and remind me of what's most precious. God's Word is that heavy rain.

I could see the water running on the ground, soaking into the soil when the rain let up. Ultimately, the sound of the nearby stream grew louder as the water accumulated and found its way to the river. God designed the slopes of the mountains around us so all the water runs together and flows to where people can use it. It's just like God's Word that soaking in, promoting growth, or flowing to where people can get their thirst quenched. As God's Word flows freely, His Spirit gives guidance and strength and comfort. The "sword of the Spirit is the Word of God," Eph. 6:17.

John 7:37-38

... "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him."

In a dry window of time on Wednesday I went out to do a little damage control, bumping the stakes of a canopy I discovered was FULL of water, when it poured out all at once, splattering mud all over me. God wants us to soak up His truth and let it drip out from us in our words and attitudes and decisions and behaviors, bringing refreshment and encouragement and life to those in the path of our stream.

Package of hot dogs for kids and friends? $5 Inner tube for river? $10 Refilling of my spirit so I have something to "drip"? Priceless. :)

And in case you're wondering, the last of our soggy things have dried out. Stop back tomorrow for my list of "crazy questions" to talk about when you're trapped in a tent or cabin or condo (or just at home!) on a rainy day. :)

Scripture Dig & Throne Time

If you're visiting from Scripture Dig today, welcome! Our team has spent the week introducing ourselves, and today is my day. If you've been there, you've had the chance to meet Teri Lynne, Kristi, and Kathy so far. We're excited about this new site meant to be thirst quencher for those who want to know God and His Word. Next week begins our first theme on Scripture Dig all about "Bible Basics." Until then ...

If summer is so relaxing, why do I feel worn out? Today I'm forcing myself to leave my list of things to do and go sit with my kids at the pool. Despite my best intentions, it looks like rain! Getting rest is hard work. :) Maybe because it isn't technically summer yet ... or maybe it's because I'm falling into the "not at the throne enough" category. Listen to this quote I read last night:

"Today there is new interest in prayer. Books on prayer - new and old - are selling, and sermons on prayer are popular. Despite this, the tide of prayer is very low. In many ways, it has reached a new low, both in the lives of individuals and in the united prayer meetings of our churches ... These days we are suffering from the barrenness of busyness, activity without accomplishment ... God's throne is the busiest place in all the universe because everything centers there. Yet, the lack of prayer on the earth keeps it from operating at full capacity."

~ Armin Gesswein

Nope, that isn't written by a 21st century author, but from 1965. I read it in a little book called "Prayer - The Christian's Number One Secret," recommended by Kay Arthur in her study "Lord, Teach Me to Pray." It seems the struggle to be still and spend time knowing God's Word and responding to Him in prayer is one that spans the ages. If you read some of my story on Scripture Dig today, you know where I grew up and that it wasn't in a place that highly valued knowing God. I really began to experience what it meant to know God through discovering His Word while I was in high school, with nothing but a spiral notebook, a Bible, and a pen. I wasn't even at a coffee shop with wi-fi ;) but I began to learn the wonders of Who God is for myself! I guess you could say I began to know the joy of digging.

Wondering when you're going to get some of those "good vibrations" of summer? Maybe it's a great time to "crack the Book" and go to the "busiest place in all the universe." Where are you going for your R&R?