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Making Decisions With God: 4 Questions to Guide You
Have you been praying about a big decision? Maybe you feel confused because you want to follow God but don’t have a clear sense of his direction. You are in the right place. Today, we’ll talk about making decisions with God and explore four questions to help us. Making Decisions With God: 4 Questions to Guide You A few years ago, I sensed God calling me to step out in faith and take a risk that was beyond my comfort zone. I didn’t feel equipped for the assignment. I wanted signs of God’s provision before I took the first step of faith. After months of hesitation, I finally obeyed. The…
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Trusting God’s Plans for Your Life (With 7 Bible Verses)
Have you been searching for God’s plans for your life? I’m Stacey, and my 12-year-old daughter, Bekah, and I are excited to share our hearts with readers of all ages as we aim to walk in God’s will. Thanks for connecting with us as we discuss how to trust God’s plan for our lives. God’s Plans for Your Life He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me. 2 Samuel 22:20 Stacey’s Thoughts on God’s Plans for Your Life: When I was a teenager, one of my greatest dreams was to win a medal at the state track meet. My race was the…
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God’s Provision for the Assignment You Didn’t Choose
A few years ago, God called me to an all-encompassing assignment I did not choose for myself. I spent the first weeks grumbling and resisting it. Finally, on a cold winter morning, God led me to the familiar story of Mary’s angel visitation. I was reminded that God’s provision is enough to carry me through every assignment—even the ones I don’t choose for myself. Most of us have heard the story of Mary’s angel visitation. The angel Gabriel appears to Mary and tells her she will give birth to the promised Messiah. Immediately after receiving this earth-shattering news, she wants to know how this will happen since she has never…
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On Asking God for Wisdom: Are You Praying or Ruminating?
Do you ever feel afraid of making the wrong decision and messing up your life? Maybe you need to choose between two jobs, two future spouses, or two different houses. In your uncertainty, you’re afraid you’re going to choose incorrectly and derail your life. You know you should be asking God for wisdom, but for the most part, heaven seems silent. A few years ago, I was desperate for wisdom and direction from God. I wasn’t sure whether to continue fervently pursuing my writing career or slow my writing and consider the possibility of having a third child. I reached out to a mentor and asked for advice. Secretly, I…
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Are You Afraid of Missing God’s Plan for Your Life?
I walk the country road at dusk—twilight folding over the path behind me like a parted sea falling back into place. I’ve been thinking about staying in step with God’s plans lately, and my heart feels bogged down by worries that I might somehow botch his plan. I wonder if you can relate. I wonder if you’ve ever felt fearful that you just might miss God’s plan for your life. You probably know how it feels to be desperate to hear from God about something important to you. You fasted and prayed and scoured your Bible in search of direction. All the while, you wondered if you might be heading…
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How to Keep Walking With God Through Dark Seasons
Days are growing shorter. For our family, shorter days include more time together within the fawn-colored walls of our living room. I’m learning to appreciate the rhythms of indoor seasons. I also know I’ll soon face winter days when walking with God through the darkness feels difficult. Not long ago, on one of these cloudless black evenings, I looked across the room to see my husband walking across the dining room with our little girl standing on his feet. Sweet Bekah’s little body moved wherever her daddy moved as her feet rested on his much larger feet. I immediately thought about the way God wants us to cling to him.…
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3 Practical Ways to Sit at Jesus’ Feet
Shadows of maple leaves move like water on the lawn. Lost in their dance, I step out of my cares for just a moment, and my heart feels light for the first time in weeks. It’s been a long season here. It kind of feels like one thing after another. More than anything in the world, I’m desperate for space to step back, breathe, and sit at Jesus’ feet. I wish I were better at going with the flow and living with open hands – willing and eager to receive whatever happens to cross my path. Unfortunately, every time we hit a bump in the road, I call it crisis-mode…
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On Hearing God’s Voice: One Thing God Will Never Say to You
There are hundreds of black flies rising from still water when I hear it. It’s a quiet whisper coming from someplace I can’t quite identify: “You’re not good enough for this.” For a split second, I wonder if I’m hearing God’s voice. I’ve heard this voice dozens of times: When I had that big dream that felt way beyond my reach. When I walked into the middle school cafeteria and couldn’t find a single friend. The day I was asked to stand on a podium and share my heart with an audience. When the superintendent told me I had one week to budget, purchase, curriculum-map, and design an entire classroom…
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What Does God Want Me to Do With My Life?
Have you been asking, “What does God want me to do with my life?” God wants to reveal his will to you. Let’s talk about how to find God’s will for our lives. What Does God Want Me to Do With My Life? The cherry blossoms will soon be salmon with life and hope. I’ve often wondered why God chose to awaken these trees with springtime signs of life before their taller cousins. Maybe he knew we’d all need something remarkably beautiful by the end of the long winter months. Maybe he wanted to give us the best first, a sign of blessings yet to come. After long winter months,…
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How to Let God Lead You When Your Plans Fall Apart
Snow falls like a quiet kind of awakening, and when I listen closely, I can hear the heavy flakes gathering. I stand among the marmalade beech leaves as they cling to finger-like branches, waving at the dusk like these chilling grey days are not only expected but welcomed. Maybe the beech leaves have learned the secret about how to let God lead you when the season doesn’t unfold with the lush vivacity you expected. I stare at them blankly. I’m having a hard time agreeing with their cheerful heavenward waving. Winter drains the life from my veins here in the hills of the northeast. My body craves sunlight in the…