Run!

Run! 

I don’t want to run!

Run!

Please God I don’t want to run!  I’m too old to start this now!

Run!

This conversation kept running through my head as I stared at it – a facebook post recruiting women to join a group to train for a ½ marathon.  Who in their right mind runs a half marathon?

Run! (God is sure persistent – just ask Jonah)

So with great trepidation and 2 months shy of my 50th birthday, I joined a running group.  I haven’t run much since I was 18 years old – a looonnnnggg time ago, and I had never run more than 3 miles at a stretch.  I had serious doubts that I could even complete this task. Continue reading

But…

But…This one little word can totally change the outcome of a situation:

  • Reveal a completely different motive for doing something
  • Be a game changer…turn around the outcome of a situation
  • Totally change the meaning or message being communicated

The heart rules.  It dictates actions to be carried out. The mouth speaks, but the heart determines our motives, our focus…our actions.

God spoke through the prophet Ezekiel to expose the hearts of His people, with the purpose of turning them around.  Turning them around to…worship Him with true and sincere hearts.

“My people come to you, as they usually do, and sit before you to listen to your words, but they do not put them into practice.  With mouths they express devotions, but their hearts are____.” Ezekiel 33:31 How do we fill in the blanks?

When the heart acts out of devotion to God:

  • Despair surrenders to hope
  • Darkness yields to light
  • The impossible fades as the manifestation of God’s handiwork emerges

When the heart acts out of devotion to self-gain, desire, or human reasoning, lives are ultimately destroyed. Continue reading

Mom & Daughter Day!

What is Mom / Daughter Date Day?

It’s a day very meticulously and thoughtfully designed and planned to celebrate your daughter’s unique passions and dreams for life. The day is never shared with a sibling. It belongs to she and Mom only. It’s a day where there are no other obligations, nothing to cut short your time spent together. It begins early and goes for as long as the fun continues.
Why have a Mom / Daughter Day?

Life is way too fleeting and way too delicious not to have one now and then. You’ll learn, in your one on one conversations, things that you would most likely never hear when other siblings and family members are around.

While having lunch one afternoon with my six-year-old daughter, I asked her if she dreamed of being a Mom one day. She replied with a very well thought out answer, “Yes, I want to have 10 kids and I want to home school them.”  I thought I knew her personality as well as I know my own, but that answer revealed to me that I was sitting with a little girl who is, although wonderfully close to me, very much her own person. I decided in that moment that I would make sure to have many of these Mom and daughter conversations. I want to learn as much about her as I can.

When is the best time to have a Mom / Daughter Date Day? Continue reading

Red Letter Faith

Have you ever felt like you were in the belly of the whale? Me too. Except my whale was the floor boards of my closet with the lights off. I was going through a very difficult time and found myself, a mother of 5, in my only hidden place – the master closet. I was crying out the the Lord and asked if He would show Himself to me. I then remembered Abraham asking to see God and that He spared his life by allowing Abraham to see His shadow. God then brought to my remembrance the verse that “he who dwells in the secret place shall abide in the shadow of the almighty.” Thank you Jesus for that promise. I continued to seek God and cry out for wisdom and understanding. He then reminded me of the storm that He calmed. I remembered from teaching a study including this passage a number of times that there was an element of the storm that was attributed to the work of the enemy. I was excited for the reminder and anxious to look at the words Jesus used to rebuke the storm. Maybe I could use those same words  to defeat my enemy. (don’t you wish there were just spell like formula’s at times?) But I heard God whisper to me to focus on the words in red.

I scanned my Bible shelf for one I was confident had red letter edition. I opened my Bible to Mark 4:35 and began to read paying special attention to just what Jesus said to calm the storm. I was a bit surprised when the exact words of Jesus used to rebuke the storm were not in red, they were a paraphrase of sorts, but as I continued reading the words in red glared off the page straight to my heart. “Where is your faith?” Continue reading

When Was The Last Time…

When was the last time you were awe-struck by God? I asked those in our chronological Bible study to consider that question last week as we were studying Nehemiah’s prayer in Nehemiah 1. Nehemiah began his prayer like this, “Yahweh, the God of heaven, the great and awe-inspiring God…”   Even though I begin my prayers acknowledging the greatness of God, I don’t know that I’ve addressed Him as “the awe-inspiring God.” 

This morning I was reading Luke 5:1-11. Jesus was teaching from a boat because the crowd had gotten so large and all of them wanted to hear God’s word. He had to push away from the shore so that they could see and hear him. When Jesus finished teaching, he said to Peter, “Put out into deep water and let down your nets for a catch.” Peter, did what I so often do, he began to make excuses. “Master, we’ve worked hard all night long and caught nothing.” I know Peter must have been thinking, “Are you serious? I’m the fisherman, you’re the teacher, trust me, Lord, it’s not going to work!”

However, rather than argue the point anymore, Peter said, “But at your word, I’ll let down the nets.” Good idea! Luke 5:6 records that when Peter did what Jesus asked, “They caught a great number of fish, and their nets began to tear.” They had to signal for their partners in another boat to come in and help them. When help came, they filled both boats so full that they began to sink!

Peter saw it with his own eyes and he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “‘Go away from me, because I’m a sinful man, Lord!’ For he and all those with him were amazed at the catch of fish they took.”

Just an ordinary day, with ordinary people, but then Jesus shows up and everything changes! Continue reading

Chronological Bible Study

I’ve always loved family history. There’s something about looking back at my past that helps me appreciate my present. When I think of my spiritual heritage, I find myself overwhelmed by God’s goodness to take me, a sinner fully deserving of His wrath, into His family. Through His grace I’m the daughter of the King of Kings! Isn’t that an incredible family story?!

Here’s where Chronological Bible Study comes in. I used to think of the Bible as two incredibly different stories: the Old Testament which chronicles the history of people’s disobedience and God’s justice and the New Testament which tells the beautiful story of Jesus Christ’s sacrifice and grace. I’ve never thought of it as MY history. But it is! It’s OUR history. And Chronological Bible Study is the place where we can connect with our very rich heritage as we see God’s righteousness and goodness and mercy and love seep from every page. From Genesis 1:1 through Revelation 22:21, His Word is cohesive and amazing and very much alive. Hebrews 4:12 tells us that “the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”

Meeting God daily on the pages of His precious Word has changed my heart. He has shown me who I am in Him, but most importantly He has shown me who He is! He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Studying His scripture in its entirety, and with other women seeking Him, I have a new appreciation for His love and sacrifice. I have a refreshed awe of God’s sovereignty. And I have an undeniable thirst to know Him more and to make His story known.

 I encourage every woman to dive in to Chronological Study and see for yourself. I’ll be praying that you embrace your spiritual heritage by experiencing God’s pure and faultless Word. May you too be stunned at every turn by God’s powerful, perfect, intentional tapestry of grace, woven so perfectly through the pages of His word. And may you discover the beauty of your family history as given to us by our Heavenly Father.

Jill Olund

A Long and Winding Road

At times the road before me seems long, steep and challenging. I can feel lost. Uncertain. Afraid. Sometimes I’m not sure I have the strength for the journey. Then I remember that I’m not traveling alone. God is my ever-present guide. He knows where the road leads. He can see what lies ahead. That’s not all.

God also knows my concerns. He knows what I feel. That pain that I cannot explain to someone else, God knows. The fear of the unknown—He knows. And He offers me Himself.

Perhaps you feel overwhelmed today. You may be experiencing some sadness, loss or worry. You may find it difficult that God has called you to this path. “Surly,” you think, “God has an easier road for me to travel.”

The truth is we aren’t wise enough to assume that another path would be best for us. Maybe the easier road won’t make us into a better person who emulates the essence of Christ. Perhaps the difficult road is a path of grace—leading us to pure joy, peace and purpose in life. Could it be the difficult journey that enables us to be all God intends?

Out of all the possible paths, God knows the best path. Isaiah 55:9 says, “ His ways are higher than our ways. His thoughts are higher than our thoughts.” Because of this, we can take the path God has laid out for us today. We can trust, and not fear, in His infinite wisdom and love. And we can be certain that God will never lead us down the wrong road.

Micca Campbell

Baggage Claim

“Southwest! There it is. Pull in quick before someone else gets it!” I said. We were late…very late. After unwillingly throwing ourselves into the early morning surge of commuters, we arrived at the airport without a minute to spare. Before getting our boarding passes, we knew we had to turn in all eleven of our television production gear cases to baggage claim services. Hastily, with clammy palms, we slung our tickets and licenses onto the counter, hoping that the agent would hear our urgency. The slow, sluggish clicking on the keyboard let us know, however, that he did not share our distress. The tilt of his bifocals and the look in his eyes spoke to me saying…my morning coffee break is four minutes away whether you board this flight or not. We stood silently and watched. We feared any distraction from us would cost us precious seconds. I began to think that we were not going to make our flight.

“And… eleven. That’s it. Yo-o-o-u’re set.” Before he could finish his sentence, we were off the curb and back into the car. We still had to park the car, ride a shuttle bus back to the concourse, make it through security, find our gate, and get our boarding pass. Three rows down from the bus stop we slipped into what appeared to be the last parking space left in the airport. While dragging two computer bags, my purse, and my jacket, I prayed that a shuttle bus would come soon. What if we just missed it? Continue reading

Hide and Seek

During my childhood, one of my most memorable times was during the long, hot days of summer. Each evening, the neighborhood kids and I returned to the outdoors after dinner for one last game. At dusk, we would meet at the dead-end street to play “Hide and Seek.”

This was a very serious game. The goal was to hide from your seeker until it was safe to run for home base without being seen and tagged out. That is why we played under the cover of twilight. The darkness of night kept you concealed as you dashed from object to object until finally you made it to home base unseen.

Those were the good ole days when I was young enough to still enjoy the game, but old enough to play with the cleverness that it took to keep from being found.

As I recall, it was my dad who first introduced me to the game of “Hide and Seek.” Although, my father and I played the game differently than the neighborhood kids did.

When dad would hide, he would often leave clues on purpose so I could find him. Sometimes, I would spy his wiggling toes sticking out from under the living room curtains. Others times, I noticed a lampshade sitting atop a very large stand in the shape of his silhouette, or I would hear noises coming from behind the couch. For dad and I the game was not about staying hid. It was about a developing a trusting relationship.

Our reunion brought joy, laughter, and sometimes tickling. Mostly, it taught me that whenever I needed my Dad, he could always be found.

I think the same is true with our heavenly Father. Continue reading

I Love Fall!

Blessings on this Monday! I’m excited to have our Pastors wife, Jennifer Landrith contributing on our Monday posts! Thanks Jen for your thoughts on Fall! Ditto on everything you said! I love Fall too! Can’t wait to try the yummy recipes you shared!

—-Julie Woodruff- Long Hollow Women’s Minister—-

I love Fall!  

“Be patient then brothers until the Lord’s coming, ” (James 5:7 ) See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains.

I know we are all patiently awaiting the Lord’s return but it sure is nice that while we are here on this earth that He gives  us something to look forward to along the way.  One thing I look forward to each year is the autumn season.  I love fall!  I love football, apple cobbler, pumpkin muffins, big pots of soup, mums, leaves changing, hot chocolate etc…  I love all the fall colors and what this season is all about.  It is a great time of year and brings in some great weather to enjoy too!  My favorite time of the year is when I can wear a big sweatshirt to the games but I don’t have to wear a coat yet!  I also love sitting around an outdoor fireplace at my friends house or our fire pit and enjoying making s’mores.  Ok can you tell I am fired up for fall!  God is so good to give us the fall to enjoy especially in Tennessee!!   I thought I would start off the season by sharing some fall recipes with you:

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread Continue reading