A Blessing for New Moms
My son is ten weeks old. We’re rounding out the fourth trimester with our fourth baby, and I’m having all the feelings. I feel honored to be his mother. I feel grateful for another sweet baby to love. When he smiles at me – or as of two days ago, laughs at me – I […]
Working from Rest
Friends, I hear from people every day they are overwhelmed with life; emotionally or physically fatigued and even flat-lined in their faith. I have always believed that the enemy of best is good. So as we enter mid-spring, and prepare for the end of the school year with ten thousand activities, let’s examine ways to […]
Jesus Has Not Left His Post
Today I have been thinking about the scripture that tells us that Jesus sits at the right hand of the Father. After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up to heaven and he sat at the right hand of God. (Mark 16:19) In today’s world, that is chaotic, do you ever […]
Hidden for a Season
Last weekend, I was potting my flowers for spring, and I glanced up and saw bright red flowers poking up in the distance. I was in a country setting and thought it might be wildflowers coming up. When I went over, I recognized it as a flower that had been potted last spring that I […]
Too Many Requests
One day I was working on a series of teachings on unity and prayer for a conference. During my preparation time, I began to click through Safari, email, etc. and my computer just gave up. I admit I was moving fast, but really… this message came up that said, “Too many requests.” At first, I […]
Waiting is Strengthening
One of my favorite scriptures is Isaiah 40:31. But it is also not one of my favorites. I like the part where my strength will be renewed. I like the part about running and not getting weary. I just don’t like the concept of waiting. I bet some of you reading this are thinking the […]
Resurrection Perspective
Easter morning…. the tomb was empty. It was the single most significant event ever to transpire. Jesus Christ rose from the grave!! Mary was weeping… and then rejoicing when she discovered that Jesus was alive. All hope was buried in the tomb but the grave could not hold him. Today is the Monday after Easter […]
Death, Our Hidden Hope
As we begin Holy Week and are anticipating the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus on Easter Sunday, we wanted to share an older blog post about what this week means for us as Christians. Remember, it’s not just one week but a lifestyle of living in the kingdom! Happy Easter! Worthy is the Lamb […]
Next Faithful Steps
We have come to the end of our study of James. After studying together as a Drawing Near to God community, I am sad to see it end. It was awesome having people in our city and other cities who joined us in studying this letter together. Written as possibly one of the first letters […]
Pray Like You Mean It
As I was preparing for our lesson this week on the prayer of faith described in the 5th chapter of James, I found myself saying: “Joanne, pray like you mean it.” That seemed pretty strange, but as I read the scripture, it spoke to me of deeper prayer than simply asking God to heal someone […]