A Life of Gratitude

While visiting Mount Vernon a few years ago, I was awestruck as I walked through the museum, observing how George Washington's life played out. One statue was engrained into my mind as I read the plaque alongside it. It told of a battle on July 9, 1755, during the French and Indian War. Colonel George Washington was only twenty-three years old but was an officer, riding on horseback, delivering orders to the troops. Out of eighty-six officers, Washington was the only one not shot down.  In a letter to his brother following the battle, George Washington wrote, "By the all-powerful dispensations of Providence, I have been protected beyond all human probability or expectation; for I had four bullets through my coat and two horses shot under me, yet I escaped unhurt, although death was leveling my companions on every side of me!" At his young age Washington had no idea what his future held but this battle confirmed God's call on his life. As we look back on history, we ca...

 A few months ago, my family attended a worship night at a local church. Throughout the evening the children were encouraged to draw pictures of what they believed God was showing them. Then the children laid all of their drawings at the altar. It was a really beautiful sight. My six-year-old daughter drew a picture of a heart and around it she wrote, "I am a child for God!" She wrote this entirely unprompted, by herself. I think she intended to write, "child of God," but as soon as I saw it, the word "for" really spoke to me.  We often hear that we are children of God, but how often do we think about being a child FOR Him? Without realizing it, I believe my daughter wrote the answer to a question so many people are continually asking themselves. That question is, "What is the purpose of my life?"  The purpose of life is pondered by everyone from time to time. We often receive deceptive and confusing answers to that question, though. The world wa...

I know so many people going through difficult situations currently, ranging from relationship struggles to financial issues, health concerns to abuse. Regardless of the circumstances, it's just plain hard for so many people right now. As someone who easily empathizes with others, I often desire to rescue them from the situations they face. I just want to help in some way, to lessen the burden they carry. In this season, many of my friends are facing circumstances that seem impossible to be rescued from. I've found myself crying out to God, wanting to help but not knowing how, and feeling frustrated by it all.  As I was praying this morning, my mind was filled with a memory of something that caught my attention a few weeks ago. As I was working in our yard, replanting a few Hostas that haven't been thriving like they used to, I saw something incredible. I dug up one of the plants, clearing away the leaves and debris that surrounded the roots, and saw that one of the shoots h...

During the post-abortion Bible studies I lead, we often talk about the story of the prodigal son found in Luke 15. I always ask the ladies how they can relate to this story. Last night, as we discussed this passage, one of the participants shared that she recently had the type of eye-opening moment mentioned in verse seventeen. It was a moment that caused her to truly see her need for a Savior, that she referred to as her "pig-slop moment." "He persuaded a local farmer to hire him, and the man sent him into his fields to feed the pigs. The young man became so hungry that even the pods he was feeding the pigs looked good to him. But no one gave him anything. When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, ‘At home even the hired servants have food enough to spare, and here I am dying of hunger! I will go home to my father and say, “Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you." Luke 15:11-32 (NLT) Many believers can relate to her statement because we...

"Immediately the fire of the Lord flashed down from heaven and burned up the young bull, the wood, the stones, and the dust. It even licked up all the water in the trench! And when all the people saw it, they fell face down on the ground and cried out, “The Lord—he is God! Yes, the Lord is God!” 1 Kings 18:36-39 (NLT) After three years of drought and famine (that Elijiah had warned King Ahab of), God instructed Elijiah to return to the king and tell him that rain would soon come. During his conversation with King Ahab, Elijiah challenged the king to a dual of sorts, between God and the gods that King Ahab and Jezebel had been encouraging the people to worship. Imagine being Elijah, stepping forward, setting yourself apart from crowds Ba'al worshippers and half-hearted God-followers, and calling upon God to send fire from heaven to burn up a sacrifice that was drenched in water. He had instructed the Ba'al worshippers and then observed them shout, dance, sing, cut themselve...

"The eyes of the LORD search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him." 2 Chronicles 16:9 (NLT) Have you ever considered all the things people plan for in life? We create budgets and lists to help us keep track of our ever-busy lives. We consult financial planners to help us plan and prepare for the future. We go to the doctor to help us stay healthy and proactively prevent illnesses. We put a lot of effort into planning events like weddings and birthday parties. Some people hire travel agents to plan every detail of their vacations. Many try numerous diets, pay for gym memberships, plan out all their meals, and even hire personal trainers and dieticians to get or stay thin. Parents plan and prepare countless activities for their children and some begin saving money for their child's college education before he or she is even born. We research, plan, and spend years being equipped for careers. We plan and strive to be successful...

My kids enjoy watching a well-known You Tuber who has a generous heart and often helps people around the world. In one of his videos, he helped 100 blind people see again.  The surgeon he partnered with said half of all the blindness in the world could be cured with a ten-minute surgery. Isn’t that sad? In just ten minutes, half of the people dealing with blindness could see clearly. Financial concerns or lack of access to this type of surgery is what prevents so many people from seeing. When I heard that statistic, I immediately thought of the millions of people in our world who are spiritually blind. Within just minutes, those who have been blinded by worldly things could have their eyes opened and they would be able to see clearly. So, what prevents so many people from being healed of spiritu al blindness? 2 Corinthians 4:3-4 says that these people have been blinded by Satan and they do not believe in Jesus. Without belief in Jesus, they are unable to see and understand the ...