Happy Valentine’s Day tomorrow! As we prepare for the valentines in our lives, I thought we’d consider the verse below for today. We’ll pause Faithfulness Friday tomorrow since God led me to this instead. And, hey! It’s Valentine’s. What else can I say? Perhaps this post is for you. “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a dream fulfilled is a tree of life.” (Proverbs 13:12) Do you feel hopeless in your current season? Maybe the fact that God hasn’t answered your prayers (yet) makes you feel rejected by Him. Do you feel the waiting is unfair? Does it bother you deep down inside that tough seasons of others are…
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Protecting Your Joy
“They mourned and wept and fasted all day for Saul and his son Jonathan, and for the Lord’s army and the nation of Israel, because so many had died that day.” (2 Samuel 1:12) Welcome to Faithfulness Friday! For the most benefit, first read (or listen to it on your Bible app) 2nd Samuel, chapter one. Good stuff, y’all. Can you identify with David and his men in their grief over their great loss of King Saul and Jonathan? Are you currently mourning a loss? What tragedies have you suffered? The death of a loved one, death of a relationship, loss of a home, a job, your health, your marriage,…
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Are You a Queen A?
When Athaliah, the mother of King Ahaziah of Judah, learned that her son was dead, she began to destroy the rest of Judah’s royal family.” (2 Chronicles 22:10) Welcome to Faithfulness Friday! If this is your first time here to Faithfulness Friday, let me explain. When in a tough season, one of the most beneficial things we can do is to get regular, fresh reminders of God’s faithfulness. No matter what you are going through, no matter your faith level at this point, no matter your faithfulness to the Lord, He is faithful to you as His child. If you are a Christian, “His child” means you. Our faithfulness study…
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The Trouble With Alliances
Be very careful never to make a treaty with the people who live in the land where you are going. If you do, you will follow their evil ways and be trapped. (Exodus 34:12) Welcome to Faithfulness Friday! I’m thrilled you are here. 🙂 Today’s focus will (again!) be on chapters 17-20 of 2nd Chronicles. You might be glad to hear that this is our final week on these chapters. Last week, in our Need for Making a List, we looked at the events in fiery orange that were against God’s directions. Do you ever wish for a loud buzzer with bright orange, flashing lights to warn you of trouble…
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When You Need to Stop and Make a List
Welcome to Faithfulness Friday! Our chapters for today are the same ones from these last two weeks – 2nd Chronicles, chapters 17-20. So rich, y’all. You may or may not be a list embracer, but sometimes I’m all about a list. When studying the Bible, listing certain things can be helpful. After the first Faithfulness Friday post, the original plan was to move on to another book of the Bible entirely. I’d already written the next post, which you’ll see later this month (or next – we’ll see). When publishing that first post (Your Victory Faith Song), I knew God had more for us to see before leaving those 2nd…
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Tasty and Clean Gluten-Free Biscuits
You have to know I’ve been trying to make acceptable gluten-free biscuits since I created the Gluten-Free Soft and Fluffy Flour Blend. And, it’s finally ready to share with you! 🙂 Granted, you probably prefer round biscuits. I got in the habit of making square ones several years ago. You waste no dough with square biscuits, and there’s no gathering bits of dough, smooshing together for another flattening and cutting-out session. Over and over again until all dough is formed into perfect rounds. The final-ending-bits round biscuits never look as good, but all of the square ones are consistently delicious. OK, well . . . you’ll see. Cut butter (optimally,…
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Always More
Jehoshaphat was terrified by this news and begged the Lord for guidance. He also ordered everyone in Judah to begin fasting. (2 Chronicles 20:3) Welcome to Faithfulness Friday! If you read the chapters from last week’s post (2 Chronicles 17-20), you are good to go for today. There are so many tidbits to cover in 2 Chronicles 17-20 that I must go back and point out more. That goes to show you . . . you can never glean every last thing from scripture. Keep digging. There is no last thing. There is always more. I’m so glad you are here with me, combing through scripture for examples of God’s…
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It’s Time for Trustworthy
I’ve been waiting to share the Trustworthy study (by Lysa TerKeurst) sign-up details for joining the on-line study. While some people like joining other women for group studies at church (and gab sessions, let’s be real), you may prefer studying the Trustworthy material from home. I get it. I’ve done that for years. (When you live in the sticks, what else ya gonna do?) If you are a home-study girl, here’s the link* (no commission or reward is given to me if you follow the link) to sign up and join the on-line Trustworthy study. After signing up, the companion weekly videos will come directly into your email inbox. You…
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Your Victory Faith Song
Some men came and told Jehoshaphat, “A great multitude is coming against you from Edom, from beyond the sea; and, behold, they are in Hazazon-tamar.” (2 Chronicles 20:2) Welcome to the very first Faithfulness Friday! I’m so glad you decided to join me, and for our study today, we are examining: 2 Chronicles, chapters 17-20. For the most benefit, read these chapters first yourself. Then return here for more specific study. When Jehoshaphat took over as King after the death of his father Asa, he fortified Judah. The Lord blessed Jehoshaphat because he followed the example of Asa’s early years as king, obeying the Lord our God. As you read…
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Faithfulness and Favor for 2020 Focus
For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly. (Psalm 84:11) Happy new year and decade! I hope you enjoyed a wonderful Christmas, with lots of family time, worship of our Savior, laughs, games, blessed gatherings, and celebrations of all types. Do you ever have so much on your mind that you can’t quite put it all into words? That’s how I feel today. With a fresh year and decade starting, I’m nearly speechless. (I said nearly, y’all, so we’re OK.) No better way to start than to just . . . begin.…
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Clean and Hearty Pumpkin Chili
If you don’t live in the South, you need to know that pumpkins last well into December here. We have a long time to scoop the meat from pumpkins before dumping them into the treeline. It’s not beyond our realm of possibility to use pumpkin in our recipes after Fall is technically over. Never mind the fact that I cheat and use canned pumpkin puree. Ha! Recently, I used part of a can of pumpkin puree (for Dani’s Mini Pumpkin Pies) but didn’t have a plan for the remainder. Several years ago, recipes hit the scene for chili with pumpkin puree in the mix. So, I figured, what could it…
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Embracing or Bracing?
It occurred to me after making my shocking admission on Facebook Live last month that most of you probably didn’t see that video. And, that’s fine with me. Maybe a good thing, actually. If you didn’t make it to that (horrible, tearful) Facebook Live, read ahead, and I’ll explain things. There is more to it now that time has passed, and this post explains the revelations God handed me. God got my attention recently in the area of unforgiveness – with needing to forgive others. (What? Me? Not me!) I had no idea I needed to forgive someone. God revealed that there were unforgivenesses (possibly a made-up word, y’all) about…
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Vegetable Medley Minestrone Soup
You don’t have to be Italian to enjoy minestrone soup. Dani Spies at Clean and Delicious has a wonderful recipe. (Well, lots of wonderful recipes, actually.) As soon as our weather cooled off in October, I could not wait to try this one! The only problem was that I didn’t have the cabbage I needed. So, what did I do? Improvised, of course. I basically cleaned out my stock of all sorts of fresh veggies that needed using. Hence the name “vegetable medley”. And added it all into the pot. You can’t mess up cooked veggies, in my way of thinking (wink). So, be brave. If you’ve got something…
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Even THERE – 3 Steps to Going Deeper with God Again
If I take the wings of the dawn, if I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, even there Your hand will lead me, and Your right hand will lay hold of me. (Psalm 139:9-10, NASB) For years, it seemed like people used their busyness as a badge of honor. I bristled at the words I’m so busy! and vowed to never include them in a sentence myself. Busyness felt so braggy. We all have busy lives, even those who don’t say so. Nowadays, busyness has almost become a dirty word of sorts. I get it. Much of the time, busyness is of our own doing. From the inability…
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Faithfulness Friday Bible Study in 2020
In our tough seasons, we need to stand on God’s Word. We should continually remind ourselves of God’s faithfulness to His people throughout the Bible. A little back story: The Jubilee Journey Facebook Group women and I read straight through the Bible together in 2015, and the group leaders allowed me to write a summary post for one day’s reading during each week, sometimes two. It was my first time to read through the Bible in the way that we did that year. I’d followed other reading plans but not straight through. I enjoyed it so much that I returned to repeat that reading plan three of the four years…
