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7 Obstacles to Bible Study & How to Overcome them {Part 2}
This is the second part in a two-part post, listing 7 common obstacles to Bible study and some practical tips on how to overcome them. You can find the first post here. Have you ever heard a runner say, “I just NEED to go for a run”? As someone who struggles with a regular exercise routine, this statement always made me skeptical. I would mentally judge them, thinking they were saying this just to sound good and for others to praise the intensity of their commitment. It seemed ridiculous to me that a person would feel like running was a necessity. When I trained for a half marathon…
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3 Tips on how to read your Bible when you have young children
Before I had children there were certain rhythms in my life that came easily. I had a job that required occasional long hours and frequent travel, but for the most part alone time was available whenever I wanted, to do as I pleased. Even with the demands of a job, being a wife, and keeping our home in order, reading and studying my Bible on a daily basis was attainable. With motherhood a lot of things changed and reading my Bible was one of them. I wasn’t guaranteed any moments of quiet, and I was often too tired to use any quiet time that I did have for Bible…
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What your soul needs more than anything else
Last fall I was asked to sit on a panel of several women for a women’s event at church. The topic of discussion was “How to fill yourself up in order to pour out.” One of the questions we were given ahead of time was to choose an area of life–physical, mental, social, spiritual, or emotional–and talk about what we do to fill up in that area. Thinking through the answer to this, and other questions, had me searching for just the right response. It had been a few years since I had spoken to a group of women, and I felt the responsibility of being honest…
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When your soul becomes exposed (& why this is good)
Our little home sits on a fairly busy corner, surrounded by fences on all sides. The front yard is enclosed with a short white picket fence, the kind that has that small-town American feel. The side yard has several wooden gates giving it a quaint and somewhat secret English garden feel. And then our backyard has a fence which not only provides safety for the kids, but privacy from the neighbors. The kids’ elementary school sits about 100 yards away from the back of our house, so every morning and afternoon buses and frantic parents whiz by our little corner. It can feel busy and hurried, but our backyard has been a quiet and peaceful…
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3 Helpful Ways to Acknowledge the War in Your Soul
The church service had just started and my three year old daughter was already causing problems. She wouldn’t be still or quiet and her eyes begged me to hold her during each song. I could tell the whining was about to start when she scrunched up her face at my refusal of the gum she requested, and by the time the children were dismissed for the sermon, anger and impatience had taken over my spirit. She refused to stay in children’s church, so I grudgingly carried her back to the service with strict warnings to ‘be quiet, sit still and don’t bother me because I want to listen’. About…
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What to believe when you feel like there’s nothing left to give
We didn’t register for a lot of fancy things when we got married. I picked out a china pattern and some flatware, but we didn’t place crystal, silver pieces, or cut glass on our registry. However, I married a man from the South and one of the sweet ladies from the church where he grew up gave us a beautiful pitcher. It was lovely, but what was most significant about this gift was the note included on the package. She wrote to us explaining how this pitcher represented what she prayed for our family. It was her hope that we would invite people into our home and show love, acceptance, welcome…
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Why being quiet during Advent might be necessary and good
There was a lot of noise on the night of Jesus’ birth. The fulfillment of God’s redemptive plan was taking center stage, and heaven shouted the news to a group of shepherds. They listened to the announcement, left to find Jesus, and were the first to encounter the majesty of the incarnation. Mary and Joseph had most likely experienced a quiet night. No fanfare. No family or friends to celebrate the arrival of their firstborn child. They hadn’t witnessed the glorious announcement from the angels so it may have come as quite a surprise when a group of shaken up and boisterous shepherds arrived to worship their baby…
