Your Identity

When we know our identity before we jump into activity, we don’t have to guess how to handle the vicious lies of the enemy. Because in God we are loved, accepted, and whole. Oh, may this statement straight from God be inscribed, engraved, and tattooed in the most permanent of ways on our hearts: “Well pleased … well pleased … well pleased.” ~ Lysa TerKeurst

Tempted to Eat...

"When the desire for treats is triggered by difficult emotions, it’s not really a desire for treats. It’s a thinly veiled attempt at self-medication." ~ Lysa TerKeurst

The Greatest Work

"God's greatest work in our lives may be difficult and challenging, and we may never receive recognition or the praise of others, but we are called to serve anyway, seeking nothing more than God's satisfaction and glory."

~ Adam Hamilton (from his book "The Journey Walking the Road to Bethlehem")

Hurting People...

"Do you know someone who has lost a loved one, who has been out of work for some time, who is facing physical illness, who has been divorced or is walking through some other dark place? How might you be a modern-day Immanuel to that person - a physical reminder of God's presence and love? Jesus, in a way no one else could, embodied or incarnated God's presence. But we, as his followers, can seek to embody his presence for others."

~Adam Hamilton (from his book "The Journey Walking the Road to Bethlehem")

The Ultimate Journey

"As we journey into our future, we being to understand our past in ways that help us travel today."

~ Jim Stovall (from his book "The Ultimate Journey:)

The Journey of Love

"Love is not a goal you reach as part of your life's journey, but something you give and receive all along the way."

~ Jim Stovall (from his book "The Ultimate Journey")

Dreams...

"Our dreams launch us on every one of life's journeys, and they are there to meet us to the end."

~ Jim Stovall (from his book "The Ultimate Journey")

The Journey of a Day

"Life's journey may last many years, but to reach our destiny, we must travel well each day."

~ Jim Stovall (from his book "The Ultimate Journey")

Laughter...

" Life's journey is often along a rough and rocky uphill road.

Laughter can lighten the load."

~ Jim Stovall (from his book "The Ultimate Journey")

Giving...

"In life's journey, the things we keep we eventually lose, while the things we give away was always have."

Family...

"Our family is involved in our life's journey long before we are born and long after we die. Some of our family is connected by blood and others by love."

~ Jim Stovall (from his book "The Ultimate Journey")

Problems...

"Every life's journey is filled with problems.

These problems have solutions that create greater opportunities and more problems."

~ Jim Stovall (from his book "The Ultimate Journey")

Gratitude...

"As we journey through life, we must focus on the places we want to go while we are grateful for all the places we found."

~ Jim Stovall (from his book "The Ultimate Journey")

Friends...

"A journey should never be judged by the destination or mode of transportation. It should be judged by the friends who accompany us on the trip."

~ Jim Stovall (from his book "The Ultimate Journey")

Learning...

"Learning is a journey that never ends.

Each discovery reveals another mystery waiting to be understood."

~ Jim Stovall (from his book "The Ultimate Journey")

Money...

"Money can help us along our journey and buy us a vehicle for the trip, but it is never the destination."

~ Jim Stovall (from his book "The Ultimate Journey")

Work is...

"Work is a journey we undertake for others that makes us who we are."

~ Jim Stovall (from his book "The Ultimate Journey")

Things to Ponder While Giving Blood

"I gave a pint.
He hung on a cross…
I lay on a cot.
He was pierced by a spear…
I, with just a needle.
He was mocked…
I was praised.
He was condemned…
I was commended.
He was tortured…
I was babied.
He died…
I lived.
He went to the grave…
I went home.
He gave for all…
I gave for one.
Thank you Lord for the difference."

~ Sarah Miller

A Gift...

"The journey of life is a gift we have been given.

Our lives should be lived as gifts to those who follow."

~ Jim Stovall (from his book "The Ultimate Journey")

Journey of Life

"The Journey of life is a matter of traveling well rather than reaching a destination."

~ Jim Stovall (from his book "The Ultimate Journey")

‎Charitable Giving...

‎"There ought to be things we'd like to do and cannot because our charitable expenditure excludes them." ~ CS Lewis

Criticize? No...

"God never gives us discernment so that we may criticize, but that we may intercede."

~ Oswald Chambers

Confronts It...

"The church does not lead the world, nor echo it. She confronts it. Her note is the supernatural note." ~ Oswald Chambers

An Odd Number...

“A real Christian is an odd number anyway. He feels supreme love for one whom he has never seen; talks familiarly every day to someone he cannot see; expects to go to heaven on the virtue of another; empties himself in order to be full; admits he is wrong so he can be declared right; goes down in order to get up; is strongest when he is weakest; richest when he is poorest; and happiest when he feels the worst. He dies so he can live; forsakes in order to have; gives away so he can keep; sees the invisible, hears the inaudible, and knows that which passes knowledge. The man who has met God is not looking for anything; he has found it. He is not searching for light, for upon him the light has already shined. His certainty may seem bigoted, but his assurance is that of one who knows by experience his religion is not hearsay. He is not a copy, not a facsimile. He is an original from the hand of the Holy Spirit.” ~ A.W. Tozer

What Are You Waiting For?

What are we waiting for? Why on earth would we put off doing what needs to be done, saying what needs to be said, giving what needs to be given, or expressing what needs to be expressed? We really don't have forever. ~ B. Brown

Build...

"If you want to build a ship, don't drum up the men to gather wood, divide the work and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea." ~ Antoine De Saint-Exupery

What Causes God to Move?

“What causes God to move?” asked Howie (Howard Shute, Jr.). His conclusion: “Minding God in prayer. Being open to sacrifice. Victorious leaders. Excellent strategy.” Howie believes God can do anything…anywhere…anytime. So why not a movement of God in your community today?

~ Taken from "African Dreams: Church Growth in the Horn of Africa" by Pat Stockett Johnston

Fellowship of the Believers

"And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts,praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

~ Acts 2:42-47 (ESV)

Persecution...

“Persecution strengthens our leaders,” said Howie Shute. “We teach them to pray and fast, love back, and be patient.”

~ taken from African Dreams: Church Growth in the Horn of Africa by Pat Stockett Johnston

Homeward Bound

‎"The key is realizing - and believing - that this world is not your home. If you and I ever hope to free our lives from worldly desires, worldly thinking, worldly pleasures, worldly dreams, worldly ideals, worldly values, worldly ambitions, and worldly acclaim, then we must focus our lives on another world."

~ David Platt (from his book "Radical")

We Are All Needed...

"God could have made us all Sanguines.
We could have lots of fun but accomplish little.
He could have made us all Melancholies.
We would have been organized and charted but not very cheerful.
He could have made us all Cholerics.
We would have been set to lead, but impatient that no one would follow!
He could have made us all Phlegmatics.
We would have had a peaceful world but not much enthusiasm for life.
We need each temperament for the total function of the body.
Each part should do its work to unify the action and produce harmonious results."

~ Florence Littauer in The Gift of Encouraging Words

I Was Hungry...

I was hungry and you formed a humanities group to discuss my hunger.

I was imprisoned and you crept off quietly to your chapel and prayed for my release.

I was naked and in your mind debated the morality of my appearance.

I was sick and you knelt and thanked God for your health.

I was homeless and you preached to me the spiritual love of God.

I was lonely and you left me alone to pray for me.

You seem so holy, so close to God, But I am still very hungry—and lonely – and cold.


~ Author Unknown - Found at the Oak Street House Exhibit

See Matthew 25:31-46

Welcome to Holland

A friend just shared this essay with me to explain how she feels as a mom of a newly diagnosed autistic son. What a beautiful description...

"When you’re going to have a baby, it’s like planning a fabulous vacation trip to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum, the Sistine Chapel, Gondolas. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It’s all very exciting. After several months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, “Welcome to Holland!” “Holland?” you say. “What do you mean, Holland? I signed up for Italy. I’m supposed to be in Italy. All my life I’ve dreamed of going to Italy.” But there’s been a change in the flight plan. They’ve landed in Holland and there you must stay. The important thing is that they haven’t taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place full of pestilence, famine, and disease. It’s just a different place. So, you must go out and buy new guidebooks. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met. It’s just a different place. It’s slower paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you’ve been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around. You begin to notice that Holland has windmills. Holland has tulips. And Holland even has Rembrandts. But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy, and they’re all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life you will say, “Yes, that’s where I was supposed to go. That’s what I had planned.” And the pain of that experience will never, ever, ever, go away. The loss of that dream is a very significant loss. But if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn’t get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things about Holland."

~ c 1987 by Emily Perl Kingsley. All rights reserved