What holds us back from presenting our faith first?  For me, I would say that I liked my private faith-filled life.  It was very comfortable.  I relied on Jesus and was able to serve others without many questions regarding my faith.  That routine worked for many years, but then that same faith pushed me beyond my comfort zone.  Not only was I pushed out of my comfort zone regarding my faith, but also in the delivery.  My faith is strong, but my writing skills and biblical knowledge are not something I would brag about.  The other small detail was…

So often we don’t know when we hurt people with our words.  Finding ways to minimize or eliminate harsh words is key.     We can’t take back our words.  Hence the importance of being very careful regarding the words that come out of my mouth.  In the heat of the moment, I am not always good at choosing my words.  I have made enough mistakes that I am becoming good at hearing my errors, now I am working at eliminating those moments. Being aware of our words is the first big step in minimizing the issue.  When tensions escalate…

As my children enter their senior year of high school I have been answering this question often, What are you going to do when the girls go off to college?  My real answer is the same thing I have been doing my whole life, following Jesus.  I have never known what I was going to do next or why I was following a certain path.  I always have my eyes open to opportunities that present themselves.  But I am not a person with a set plan for my life, other than serving Jesus.  I live in the moment and trust…

When my mind takes me to a situation where I am starting to judge those around me, I stop and think about the lesson.  Often finding that I too have made that same judgment.  I like to think it is Jesus giving me a little push to recognize my shortcomings.  I find myself thinking, that could be me.  In the past couple of years, two things have stuck out as being particularly influential in making it easier for me to be more patient and kinder when out and about in public.  The first is COVID and the second is teenagers…