Trust the One Who Knows
A new year brings new challenges and ways to more trust the Lord. On New Year’s Day when I changed the calendar on the fridge, I uncovered a familiar magnet. Once hidden by pictures, coupons and …
Welcome Him! Worship Him!
Christmas is more than a temporary season of celebration. It’s the unfolding of the epic drama of God reaching to us, becoming a person like us. In doing so He remained fully God and fully …
Christmas Joy!
Joy is one the great blessings of Christmas. It shows up Christmas services with beautiful music. Joy is in the giving and receiving presents. Joy can be evident in reconnecting with family. True …
Presence at Christmas
Presents or Presence? As Christmas day nears, even the last minute shoppers have presents on their minds. Some people have been planning their presents for months while others are just beginning to …
Traditions at Christmas
Traditions abound during Christmas. There are Advent calendars and wreaths, candy canes, Christmas cookies, caroling, trees, pageants, and Christmas Eve services. Also, there are …
True Christmas Hope
Hope gets stirred up during December through the anticipation Christmas gifts. Kids look forward to having their favorite toy or video game to be under the tree. Families plan get-togethers for their …
Expectations at Christmas
Remember the old-fashioned bubble lights on Christmas trees? After plugging in the tree, the colored lights immediately came on, but there were no bubbles. For a child watching, it seemed like hours. …
Simplicity in Christmas
Simplicity becomes harder to grasp during the Christmas season. We are bombarded with so much advertising beginning before Black Friday. Shopping with the deadline for the best price brings …
Prepare for Christmas
It’s time to prepare for Christmas! Over the next few weeks I’ll be blogging “Words for Christmas.” Each post will highlight one word, offer inspiration and give practical tips …
The Importance of Thanks
What fills your heart? Gratitude or gripes? Is it words of thanks or complaints about the lack of something? Studies have shown that gratitude makes us healthier. In one study, one group of …
Praise and Thanks
What’s the difference between offering praise and thanks? Praise and thanks are closely connected but separate. Each has a specific objective, yet they overlap in purpose. In thanksgiving we list …
Praise in Personal Worship
How can we incorporate praise into personal worship? Praise honors God for who He is. He is worthy of our praise. With so many distractions that bombard us everyday, it’s hard to …
Need Balance?
What do a tightrope walker, a ballerina, and a gymnast have in common? Exceptional balance. They also have overall strength, but their exceptional balance comes from the core strength. As a noun, …
Identity in Christ: Just as I Am
Our identity in Christ is a miracle of grace. The Lord chose us to bear His image as His unique workmanship. The question of wrestling with self identity is not a new problem. People throughout …
6 Simple Stress Busters
Stress affects us in so many ways. We get cranky, tense and nervous. It impairs our relationships. It affects us physically. Life can seem like a tangled mess. Here are 6 simple stress busters: …
Epic Grace
There’s a lot of grace on my desk today. My coffee mug and recent book I read remind me to keep looking for God’s grace. That’s what I love to do on the GraceNotes blog. The book, …
Eliminate and Exchange
Exchange happens every day. We exchange money for food when we are in the check out lane. Consignment stores are popular now, where a trading agreement is made between a seller and buyer, exchanging …
Unique Workmanship
“We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2:10 What comes to mind when you think of workmanship? I think of …
Silence the Whispers of Deceit
Beware of the whispers of deceit. These are subtle lies that worm into our heads bringing condemnation, guilt and insecurities. They cause us to question if there is anything good about us. I wish I …
The Battle of Good Intentions
Have you ever felt like you had good intentions but didn’t get the desired result? It can be in a simple thing like baking a cake and leaving it in too long. The timer dings, but you turn it off for …
