As you celebrate Christmas, you have become part of a conspiracy. A fantastic conspiracy that had spread around the world like Santa’s sleigh. Along with millions of other people around the world you will likely spend today sharing gifts. Gifts, thought out and well planned. Gifts both big and small that will express the greatest gift of all, love. Over two thousand years ago in a manger far far away was the first Christmas gift ever given. A gift so big that He gave his only begotten son for each and every one of us. He was born into this world to take away our sin, this spotless victim of God’s greatest gift, love. He was Love,  He is Love everlasting. This baby whose birth we celebrate with gifts today, He is love. Gifts of love, as we welcome Him into our homes on this Christmas day. A love so great that He lives within each of us every day throughout the year. Along with all the Christians of the world you have become a part of this conspiracy to share and show God’s love. Each of us have been called to go out and make disciples in His name. Share the faith, hope and love our loving heavenly Father has provided in the form of a new-born child. The son of God became a man to enable men to become sons of God. ~ C.S. Lewis Click To Tweet Will you join me in the great conspiracy of Christmas, the great conspiracy to share His eternal […]

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As I wrap up my month of November and the writing competition of NanoWrimo, first one has been quite an experience let me tell you. Anyway, I have been honored to have my blog taken over once again this time by my friend with a voice like the angels, Jordan Fortenboher. Jordan is a wife, soon-to-be-mom, blogger, and singer-songwriter. Her goal is to share hope with the world by writing honestly about her struggle with anxiety and how God is carrying her through it. You can read more of her writing or check out her music (including her latest album!) at http://jordanforty.com. You can also connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28, NIV) Sometimes, really hard things happen. Over and over, we see both worldwide and personal tragedies, struggles, and hardships. It can be easy to think life is cruel, especially in seasons when it seems like we deal with trial after trial after trial. Those difficult seasons are often when we wrestle with deep tensions: Is God really good? Why do bad things happen? Is God really Sovereign? Is He intervening, even when it doesn’t look like He is? In the middle of my own struggles, I’ve found myself wrestling with those questions and begging God to reveal why He would allow bad things to happen. And the verse above, Romans 8:28, was starting to bother […]

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The last two Wednesday night’s at Bible Study, Mrs. Laurel has been talking about marriage. That is a weird topic for someone like me, who is divorced and single. I do hope to be remarried one day though, so I went and took plenty of notes. This whole topic is what jumped out at me last night. A LOT of marriages end because someone “Isn’t happy.”  Well, guess what? You weren’t created to be happy anyway!  Mrs. Laurel said, “Happiness is a by-product of what God created us to BE, not DO. When you make happiness your purpose, you don’t feel like it’s enough once you reach it.” Happiness is based on circumstances. That’s why it doesn’t last. It can go away quickly. For example, maybe you want a new rug for your home, or new shoes, or to be a certain weight, or to have your hair a certain way, or spicy Chic-Fil-A nuggets, or the latest tech gadget…. you just KNOW you’ll be happy when that happens. Right? Wrong! Once you get whatever it is you think will make you happy, you almost immediately start thinking about the next thing that will make you happy. What we should be striving for is JOY! Joy is a fruit of the Spirit. Joy is actually already inside of you if you are a Christ follower. It’s not one of the things that God gives to certain people. Gifts and fruits of the Spirit are two different things. In my Christine Caine devotional book “Living Life […]

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