Upgrade your prayer life with these important four keys to answered prayers.

If I had to choose a character in the Bible that I am the most like it would be Martha. We read in Luke 10:38-42 that she invited Jesus into her home but soon became distracted with all the preparations that had to be made. Her sister, Mary, on the other hand sat at Jesus’ feet while He taught. This frustrated Martha. Here she was doing all the necessary work, so she thought, and Mary and Jesus are over here enjoying some small talk. Martha then approaches Jesus and points out that Mary is not helping her. She then takes…

Recently I have been having my quiet times with the Lord in the evenings after I get home from work. For the past twelve days I have been going through the book of Jeremiah. Throughout this book God asks His prophet to be His mouthpiece to the Israelites, warning them to turn back to the Lord or else there will be consequences. If the Israelites do not forsake their idols and repent then He will turn them over to foreign nations. While I have been working through this book of the Bible it has been fascinating to me how conversational…

It’s easy to praise God when things are going good in our lives, but the sign of true faith is how we react when things are not so good.

We’re not always going to understand everything that happens. True faith is trusting God even when it doesn’t make sense.

One of the best feelings is to look back on how God has brought you through, and suddenly you’re confident He’s going to do it again!

Have you ever prayed, “Lord, show me if He’s the One! And if he’s not, remove him from my life!” If so, I’m here to tell you those words are not the best way to recognize your Boaz. Here’s why: Most women who pray this are leaving it up to some supernatural sign, when God wants you to have wisdom and discernment so you can make the best choice. They say things like: He prayed over his food, so I figured he’s a God-fearing man I’ve never had a man quote scripture to me to encourage me before. He must be…

It’s interesting the number of times people in my life have discounted the Bible. Once, a man I am close to argued, “But a human man wrote the bible, which means it can be wrong.” Another person said, “How do you know which bible to read? They’re all so different.” And, yet another stated, “I took a theology class in college that discounted the bible and other stuff behind Christianity.” Whoa. This is some heavy stuff. So, why didn’t their arguments drive me away from reading the Bible? My first and only argument for people who present these issues is:…

This past weekend my husband and I took our daughter to a Princess Ball. 90 screaming little girls, all of their mommies (and some daddies), and all the Disney princesses that have ever existed were all in one extremely hot middle school gym. As it was coming to a close, all of the little girls gathered around Queen Elsa (from the movie Frozen) as she sang her signature song, “Let It Go”. The next morning, as I was lying in bed, the song came back to my mind. I have to confess that I’ve only seen the movie 1 time…

Remember God is greater than whatever it is that has you feeling down.

Some of us have allowed fears and limitations to control our lives. It has become our boundaries to go beyond and margins to dream greater things. But if we realize that all these parameters can be surpassed, then we can reach our fullest potential that God has called us to fulfill. Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. – Hebrews 11:1 To surpass all our fears and limitations, it requires faith which means getting rid of your “I can’t” mentality, “maybe tomorrow” mentality and replacing it with your trust in Christ.…

I am obsessed with my looks. There, I said it. Not the type of obsessed that I can’t pass a mirror or other reflective surface without checking myself out. I’m not arrogant in that I think I’m so beautiful that I simply must have another look at myself. I don’t take selfies anywhere and everywhere and scatter them throughout various outlets of social media. I don’t make selfie books for my husband, Kim Kardashian-style. But I’m obsessed with certain aspects of my appearance. I don’t quite know how or when this “obsession” started, but I suspect it had something at…

Colossians 3:2 – Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. Notice that when you walk around with your head looking down you pick up on so many things you usually miss. You see the cracks in the pavement, the misplaced dirt, the insects, and the weeds. You notice the slanted steps on a house or maybe just the brokenness in the area that you are in all around. There are so many circumstances and situations that can easily distract your walk both physically and mentally and may even make you forget where you…

What a precious baby girl! …Wait. She belongs to my old college roommate? No way! …Wait. Did I miss her wedding? As I curiously stalk my old roommate on Facebook I realize I hadn’t missed anything. Not even an engagement. Just the reality of another friend cohabiting with her boyfriend. Once I asked a woman close to her due date how many children she would have. She said this one was number 3, that she and her boyfriend were overjoyed, and only blessing could follow. I congratulated her, smiled, and was saddened all at the same time. Other than the…

I would not say that I have been a model Christian my whole life. I am far from it and not deserving of all God has done for me, BUT His grace is more than sufficient and it is made perfect in my weakness. I digress…. The last few years of my life I can safely say I have truly witnessed the hand of God move in my life, and to be honest I feel as though I am not doing the miracles justice by keeping them to myself. On the other hand my human nature has convinced me that…

Out of all the men in the world, I am glad I have the one I have. Sure, we have our differences, and I am certain we can get on each other’s last nerve, but when all is said and done, we bring out the best in one another. What we have works. I am grateful for that. But let’s talk a little bit more about the times when we get on each other’s last nerve. When my husband drives me nuts, it’s often because he either didn’t do something I expected him to do, or did something I didn’t…

Sometimes we seek things to fill a void that only God can fill.

Sometimes we have to distance ourselves in order to focus on the things we should have been focusing on all along.

Let me tell you five Bible stories about 5 men of God who have committed unspeakable acts of evil and how God turned their life around.

Whatever is worrying you right now, give it to God! Stand right where you are, pray, and watch Him work it out for you.