The Beauty of God’s Creation
HOLIDAY REPOST This week of Thanksgiving, I have been thinking about the scripture below that describes the enormity of God’s sovereign creation- how He created the earth and created mankind. In light of the enormity of God’s creation, we know as Earth, mankind seems so very small. The Psalmist writes of the dichotomy between our […]
Give Thanks In All Circumstances
We are thankful to you, the women in our Drawing Near community. You are a blessing to our team of teachers, worship leaders, small group leaders, staff, and volunteers. As we transition from our fall teaching and worship season to the holiday season, we are sharing some of Joanne’s past blog posts to inspire us […]
Favoritism
Today I want to engage our Drawing Near to God community in a subject that is not often discussed; showing favoritism. All of us have experienced some form of partiality or favoritism. We might be partial to a certain food or have a favorite recipe. We might have favorite friends or are partial to a […]
Quick Slow Slow
“My dear brothers and sisters, take note: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry.” ~James 1:19 As I sit down to write this week’s blog, I’m reminded of childhood visits to my grandparents’ house. My grandmother was an affectionate woman who loved through her cooking. My grandfather, a burly […]
What Kind of Vision Do You Need?
Don’t be deceived my dear brothers and sisters. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who doesn’t change like shifting shadows. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of first fruits of all he created. […]
The Lure of Temptation
Trials….tests… temptations. We all face these things; times when we feel that we are being tested by God and times when we are in a storm and we are certain that we will not be able to overcome the waves of stress. James, the half-brother of Jesus writes in his letter that trials and tests […]
Neither Poverty Nor Riches
Did you know there are hundreds of verses about wealth and money in the Bible? If we include gold, silver, riches, inheritance, debt, and other financially related topics that number climbs well into the thousands, more than nearly any other subject. Why would God put such a heavy emphasis on our monetary affairs? Could He […]
Doubt is Not a Bad Thing
I have just returned from a cycling trip and I am still marveling at the beauty we can see when we travel by bicycle. I was able to climb elevation (with pedal assistance!) up to 4,000 feet along the Croatian Islands. As I looked down (made me dizzy!) I marveled at God’s creation. This week […]
Asking God For Wisdom
If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. – James 1:5 As you work through your study guide this week, journal about the following two questions: What is wisdom? And, what does your picture of God look like? […]
Walk Your Talk
“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” -James 1:2-4 This week at teaching and worship we are continuing our study of […]