How do we enjoy life? Each Day Totally We do not know how long we have to live, so we should live every day with gusto. Oh, how sweet the light of day, And how wonderful to live in the sunshine! Even if you live a long time, don’t take a single day for granted. Take delight…
Rhythms of Renewal: Living with Rhythm
We all face moments, weeks, months, or even years when anxiety and panic come crashing into our lives. Thankfully, God has provided simple rhythms to help us navigate these times and come through with greater health, peace, and even joy. The rhythms of renewal help sustain us emotionally, spiritually, relationally, and even vocationally. Watch Session…
Heaven and Earth Rejoice
Imagine the scene in Bethlehem. It was the night of nights, and yet it had begun as every other night had before it. In Bethlehem’s houses mothers lay their children down to sleep. In the courtyards of the inn some camels lay down to rest. In the fields the sheep lay down while the shepherds sat near their fires. In the heavens…
3 Prayers for Joy and Gratitude
Thank You for Joy! The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes. — Psalm 19:8 Dear Jesus, Sometimes I crave the unbridled joy of childhood. I remember how it felt to pedal my bike fast, wind whipping through my…
One Thousand Gifts: Attitude of Gratitude
Bible Study of the Week: Ann Voskamp’s a farm girl. That book she scratched out, One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where YouAre, is about what you really want. Joy is possible. Right where you are. Really. This video Bible study based on her best-selling book ponders the question of finding joy in…
Truth Plus Joy
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. — Galatians 5:22-23 Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible…
Prayer in Community: Kingdom Power Multiplied
Editor’s Note: Matthew 3:2 says, “The Kingdom of God has come near”, meaning it’s closer than we think, but we must choose to see it. Some of the best representations of the Kingdom are when differing cultures, nations, skin colors, occupations, walks of life, etc. come together in the most unlikely of circumstances. Our God…
And Lo, the Kingdom of God is Like a Terrible Football Team
My son is like me. He’s not much into athletics. But we signed him up for a flag-football league when he was in sixth grade. My wife told me the league needed someone to coach my son’s team, the Rams, and I told her, point-blank, I would not be doing it. I know nothing about…
The Joy Model: Radically Trusting God
Buzz. Buzz. Michelle’s cell phone vibrated twice on her night stand. It was a text coming in at 12:40 a.m. I was zonked out and the sound barely registered with me. “Jeff, Jeff, wake up. Look.” It was a text from my seventeen-year-old son’s ex-girlfriend: “Please check on Neal. He sent me this photo.” It…
The Difficult Stuff Is the Beginning of Joy
While I may have read in my Bible that we are in a spiritual war, that truth had not fully adjusted my expectations of this life. To accept that life is supposed to be hard is the beginning of joy. There is freedom in understanding that Heaven is coming and we are not there yet. We’re called to live, instead, aware…