A Life of Gratitude

Several weeks ago we discovered a leak in our basement. After a few different plumbers checked out the problem, it was discovered that there was a tremendous amount of black mold under the floor in our son's room and in the basement's bathroom. There was even mold growing up the walls, behind the cabinets and shower. As the problem was assessed, we realized this issue started years and years ago and had gone undetected by the previous owners. The issue was most likely caused by some lazy remodeling work and has been negatively affecting everyone who has lived in the house since.  It was determined that the entire bathroom had to be demolished, as well as the flooring and half of the walls in my son's room. This was the only course of action that would correct this issue and ensure there would be no future damage. Throughout those weeks I had been studying generational curses. As I studied and watched the basement issue unfold, I couldn't get past the parallels. Whether ...

"For you are a people holy to the LORD your God, and the LORD has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession" Deuteronomy 14:2 We all make choices each and every day. Some are good, some are not so good. We are affected by our own choices, but also by the choices of others. It's common for us to allow our past choices to hold us down in shame. It's also tempting  to allow the way others choose to view us, or what they say about us, to define us. Sometimes we even choose to beleive the worst about ourselves and treat ourselves poorly. Today, I believe God wants to remind us that we are chosen by Him and His opinion is the only One that truly matters. Our identity is determined by God, and Him alone. We are His treasured possession. The word possession in Hebrew is Segullah. It means much more than the word possession as we know it. Segullah meant the possession was cherished and adored. So Deuteronomy 14:2 expresses God's feelings towards us as His tre...

Imagine being paralyzed, lying beside a pool that supposedly had healing powers, along with crowds of others who were blind or sick, for thirty-eight years, just hoping to make into the pool at the correct moment. That is exactly what the Bible describes in John 5, as we see a paralytic man lying beside the pool of Bethesda in Jerusalem. John 5:6-9 (NLT) says, "When Jesus saw him and knew he had been ill for a long time, He asked him, 'Would you like to get well?' 'I can’t, sir,' the sick man said, 'for I have no one to put me into the pool when the water bubbles up. Someone else always gets there ahead of me.' Jesus told him, 'Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk!' Instantly the man was healed! He rolled up his sleeping mat and began walking!" I love that Jesus not only healed the man and told him to get up, He also told him to carry his mat and the man immediately did it! Anyone that saw the healed man walking around would know, because of ...