*originally posted at womendevotions.com How Can We Pray When There Are So Many Distractions Surrounding Us In Everyday Life! don’t know about you, but seasons of distraction and being overwhelmed can sometimes come on like a surprise blizzard and then linger like an Indian summer. I find myself in survival mode. Wake up, coffee, chores, kids to school, go to work, come home, more chores, enter zombie vegetative state with interjections from my family to help regain consciousness, go to bed, and repeat. So praying?…Continue Reading “How to Pray When You’re Distracted and Overwhelmed”
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*originally posted at https://www.womendevotions.com/how-to-make-friends-in-a-new-church/ With Covid winding down many of us are heading back to church; and for many of you, it may even be a new church. No matter where you go, when it’s been awhile, going to church can be scary. You may feel isolated and alone. How are you to make friends in a place like this? There are three solid ways to make friends at church: find a place to serve, join a small group and hang out in the lobby! Now,…Continue Reading “How to Make Friends in a New Church”
One of my favorite quotes right now is found on Pinterest in the fashion of a meme: “I think one of my favorite feelings is laughing with someone and realizing half way through how much you enjoy them and their existence.” It’s such a perfect picture of how I enjoy others in my life – especially God. Laugh with God? Why yes! I laugh with Him, rest in Him, talk to Him – which can often turn back to laughing with HIm. I enjoy Him…Continue Reading “HOW TO ENJOY GOD”
*Today’s guest post was originally posted at Life and Limb Blog You can also find more of Megan Monterrosa’s writing at Pearls and Pursuit. “When he had finished praying, Jesus left with his disciples and crossed the Kidron Valley. On the other side there was a garden, and he and his disciples went into it.” (John 18:1) The Kidron is the valley between Jerusalem and the Mount of Olives, and the garden of Gethsemane is on one side of it. Jesus took His final walk…Continue Reading “Jesus’ Valley Crossing: 3 Truths for Holy Week”
*originally posted 3 years ago at https://www.womendevotions.com What comes to mind when you hear “princess?” For most, I suppose it’s gowns, crowns, and glitter. I myself am a wife, a mom, a singer, a pastor, a writer, but most importantly, I’m a 38-year-old princess full of wit and sparkle who owns three Snow White dresses and may very possibly have a Snow White tattoo on her left ankle! I most definitely AM a princess… but not in the way one might think….and so today I…Continue Reading “God is King: Tale of a Princess”
The Holy Spirit can be difficult to talk about but He’s arguably the most relevant person in our daily Christian lives. Let me say that again – THE MOST RELEVANT. Jesus told His disciples that the Spirit would teach them all things (John, 14:26). In John 16:13, Jesus told them that the Spirit would guide them into all truth. But there’s even MORE to Him than that! As Christ followers we need the Holy Spirit because chocolate milk is better than white milk, sometimes our life…Continue Reading “Why Do I Need the Holy Spirit? A Look at Chocolate Milk and Life Jackets”
I’m sure by now, you’re exhausted by the whole Christians and social media conversation. I am too, yet there’s still more to be said. Please permit me a few more thoughts before we crown ourselves social media graduates and experts, taking our diplomas and smart phones and marching proudly across the stage after watching The Social Dilemma and having remembered the sermon illustration pointing out that everyone can see us picking our nose in our car – we are not as hidden as we think.
What is a Christian? The dictionary says a Christian is someone relating to or professing Christianity or its teachings; or a person who has received Christian baptism, or is a believer in Christianity. Some would say a Christian is a religious person or worse . I would say a Christian is a person who is Christlike or like Christ and makes an effort with the Holy Spirit to live that out daily. Based on my description, I’d like to take today to focus on that…Continue Reading “I’m gonna ask you to be a Christian for Just One Week – A Challenge to One Who Claims to Follow Christ”
As I come up on the one year anniversary of When My Mind Winds Up – my second book turns one on Valentine’s Day; and, as I simultaneously co-teach a discipleship class on Jennie Allen’s book, Get Out of Your Head, I’ve realized that I keep walking the anxious or depressed person through the often hard but so necessary steps to freedom, now realizing that I need to address the rest of you for a hot minute as well. To my brothers and sisters that…Continue Reading “A Plea for the Anxious Christian – Please Hear This, Healthy Brothers and Sisters”
What’s Love Got to Do With It? – Absolutely Everything! *originally posted at womendevotions.com With Valentine’s Day fast approaching, here comes the obligatory Love post. However, it should be no secret that Love is central to the theme of the Christian Community. If it’s not, therein lies the problem and this post is more needed than some may realize. With love being as big and as important of a topic as it is for us as followers of Christ, I simply can’t cover all that…Continue Reading “What’s Love to a Christian? – 3 Things to Consider”