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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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7 Bible Verses About Your Calling in Life
When God calls you to follow him, he offers something more powerful than a plan. Today we’ll explore seven Bible verses about your calling in life and apply these truths to our lives. Let’s begin by turning to God’s Word for insight into his calling. 7 Bible Verses About Your Calling in Life Scripture offers a great deal of insight into God’s calling. Here are seven Bible verses about your calling in life. Bible Verses About Your Calling in Life 1. Matthew 6:34 (NASB) So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Your calling is to give your best…
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How to Be a More Patient Mom When Parenting Is Hard
It’s 8:00 p.m. on a Saturday, and I need a talking break. I’ve been answering questions almost incessantly for the past 14 hours. I can’t help but wonder how the question-asker hasn’t worn down yet, but he’s going strong. I’m learning how to be a more patient mom through the refining fire of parenthood, and I’m failing more than I’m flourishing. We’re driving home from a visit with Grandma and Grandpa when the questions begin again from the backseat. “Mom, how do they make seatbelts?” he wants to know. “Geez. Do you ever stop talking?” his older sister barks. I feel her pain and try to shoot her a sympathetic…
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3 Ways to Have Less Stress at Christmas This Year
We walk to the hill where the fir and spruce trees mingle in a dozen shades of emerald. Within milliseconds, the youngest falls into the thorny branches of a hawthorn crabapple, and the oldest is tangled in a knot of burdock. I take a deep breath and ask God to help me push back against stress at Christmas this year. Later in the day, after the tree is wired to the wall in the corner of the living room, I reflect on my desire for peace this Christmas. It dawns on me as the Christmas bulbs glow in a rainbow of color: Peace on Earth has already come to dwell…
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7 Ways to Connect With God and Refresh Your Spirit
Do you want a deeper or stronger relationship with God? You are in the right place. Today, we’ll explore 7 ways to connect with God in fresh ways. I invite you to join me as I gaze at the autumn tree line, and we’ll talk about how to draw near to God in refreshing ways. 7 Ways to Connect With God and Refresh Your Spirit The maples are splashed vermilion, and mist rises ashen from the valley. I take it all in from my morning watch by the window, trying to drink in all this color before the world turns grey. I’ve been contemplating how to have deeper fulfillment in…
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What Does It Mean to Lay Down Your Life for God?
Have you ever wondered what it means to lay down your life for God and others? Jesus spoke the following words to his disciples: “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:13, NIV). Perhaps you want to know how to live this out. I invite you to join me in my parents’ living room shortly after the birth of my third child, and we’ll explore what it might look like to lay down your life. How to Lay Down Your Life We’re watching the little one stretch his legs in his blue bouncy seat when my grandma says the words that…
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How to Live for God Every Day: 4 Ways
The iridescent glow of a half-moon makes shadows on the picture frames across the room. For just a moment, I let myself get lost in the faces inside the frames. I remember taking the photos of children in a far-off place. It was a life-changing season, a time of learning how to live for God every day. How to Live for God Every Day Maybe you can relate. Maybe you look back to a different season of life, a time of fulfillment and passion for God. Or maybe you’ve never stepped into this way of living. You want to learn how to live for God every day, but you don’t…
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Inspiring Scripture About Serving in Quiet Places
The night before our youngest was born, I took a walk in a thundershower. Something about the way the heavens came pouring out like a flood resonated with the past 40 weeks of my poured-out life. I’d been digging into Scripture about serving in hidden places and clinging to God with all my heart, but I still felt spent. I didn’t really mean to go walking in a storm that night. The radar called for spotty showers. 30 percent. Beneath a thick canopy of maples, the early evening sky looked dusky, even on the brink of Solstice. A low rumble of thunder in the west was the only sign that…
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How to Know When God Is Leading You: 4 Ways
Have you ever wondered how to know when God is leading you in a new direction? Discerning the difference between our desires and God’s voice can be challenging. Today, we’ll talk about finding direction from God and following his lead. How to Know God is Leading You “If God really speaks to us, then I’d sure like someone to explain the ways God speaks to us,” a younger friend declared as we walked beneath a canopy of blossoming apple trees. There was a hint of frustration in her voice. My friend had been pursuing God and sincerely believed she was following him into a new career endeavor. Her dream seemed…
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Live Yielded to God for Sweetness of Spirit
Hello, friends! I’m honored to share a guest post from my dear friend Kelly Baker with you today! Kelly’s words point to truth, all while offering practical insight for following Christ in the midst of full lives. She is a prayer partner, encourager, and like-minded sister on mission. Enjoy this challenge to cultivate a sweetness of spirit in your life. I was challenged by Kelly’s words, and I trust you will be as well! ~~~ I recently swapped stories of current family trials with Stacey. She declared, “Oh motherhood is such a death to self at times!” What a true statement! I wanted to crawl under my covers and hide…
