Why God Tests Us: Unveiling the Divine Purpose
Consider it pure joy, my sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. James 1:2-3 This week’s study guide only goes to verse two, but we need to finish the sentence. Why should we consider it pure joy, whenever we face trials of many […]
Real Life Changes
This week Drawing Near to God Ministry is began our fall and spring classes on the book of James. I wrote this Bible study years ago and felt like it was important to teach it again this year. One commentary indicates that for James, a faith that does not produce real change is a faith […]
Training My Tongue
But no human being can tame the tongue—a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brethren, this ought not to be so. James 3:8-10 […]
Girl Meets Budget
Dear Drawing Near community, I have a confession to make. I hate budgets. Not in the same way I dislike licorice or avocados (I know that many of you are obsessed with avocados- sorry), but in a different way; a more intense way. I am not proud to tell you this, but I hate budgets. […]
Pray It Forward
PRAY IT FORWARD As a counselor, I believe in healing. As a Christian, I believe healing occurs when we allow Jesus to enter the most painful parts of our lives, take us by the hand, and show us the way out. As a mother, I believe healing for my children…and their children…and their children begins […]
The Way We Think Matters
Proverbs 23:7 is worth pondering for a few minutes: As a man thinks so he is. Our thoughts are truly a reflection of who we are. People ask me why it is so important to study and meditate on God’s Word. Primarily we do so to renew our minds allowing us to align with the […]
He Loves Me….He Loves Me Not…
Daisies are one of my favorite flowers. They remind me of a long-ago time secured in childhood innocence. As a young girl, I would pick a daisy from my grandmother’s garden and anxiously await as each petal revealed to me the truth about love. I would gently pluck off the first pure-white petal and say […]
A Letter to the Brokenhearted
I’m walking with a young friend through a breakup. I’m grieved by her pain, and honored by her trust in me in equal measure. Don’t you remember the deep, physical pangs that come with the loss of love? It’s like the side piece gets ripped out of your life’s Jenga tower. Everything is falling all […]
Never Give Up
Recently I said out loud to myself: ” I give up”. Those of you who know me, know that I am not a quitter. I will go down fighting, but never give up. As soon as I heard myself say those words, I recalled the Scripture: For the mouth speaks what the heart is full […]
Come Out of Hiding
Good morning, friends. Today I want to talk about our need to be honest with God about those things we’d much rather keep hidden in the closets of our soul. We all have areas where we need to take off our mask and allow our Abba Father to heal us. However, the false-self rises up […]