by Melissa McCreery PhD,ACC

Are you looking for more ease in your life? Do you wish things flowed better? I don’t have a magic solution for you, but I do know a simple tool that, when leveraged, makes life smoother and more pleasant—and it’s free and at your fingertips. How about serving up a bit more gratitude?

We all know that gratitude is a good thing. By gratitude, I’m talking about that deep peaceful sense of appreciation and thankfulness we feel for certain realities and people in our lives. Liberally and authentically applied, gratitude has the ability to work wonders. We don’t just give thanks and gratitude. Our ability to connect with our sense of gratitude has the power to profoundly affect who and how we are in the world.

Here are three ways that gratitude can make your life flow better:

Create more happiness: Taking time out to identify and name the things and people that we are grateful for on a regular basis increases our feelings of well-being and contentment. The simple act of noting three things we are thankful for on a daily basis has been shown to increase feelings of happiness, decrease feelings of depression, and be such a positive experience that subjects in one study continued doing it long after the study was over. Read the rest of this entry »

by Jill Hart

“Mom”

“What?” (Said with my eyes on the computer or chore I happen to be doing)

“Mom”

“What?” (Said while my attention is still on said chore)

“Mom”

“WHAT!?!” (Said with full attention….and frustration)

Sadly, that’s been the typical conversation around my house lately. One (or both) of my kids trying to get my attention and me trying to complete a task and listen to them at the same time. I know that I can’t give them my full attention 24/7, but it struck me the other day that if, at times, I looked at them, gave them my full attention for a moment when they were trying to speak to me – maybe these interactions wouldn’t end with me in my frustrated tell-me-quick-and-get-it-over-with mode. Read the rest of this entry »

by Muriel Larson

My husband was gone–and now I would have to determine how I would support myself and my five-year-old younger daughter.  I was offered a full-time job in the downtown office where I had done some part-time work. “Oh, Lord,” I prayed, “what should I do?  I hate the thought of putting Lori in the care of others all summer and after school. She’s such a sensitive child!”

“Well,” came the still small voice, “why don’t you step out on faith and become a full-time writer for me?” Writing on a part-time basis, I had had a number of articles and three books published.  But I certainly hadn’t earned nearly as much as it would cost us to live!  What should I do?  Was this my Lord calling me?

UNIQUE SIGN FROM GOD

I remembered then the unique circumstances He had ordered to lead me ten years before into writing for Him.  My husband was moving from our church in Wisconsin in order to become the pastor of an Illinois church.  The president of the bank for which I worked part-time asked me to continue working there for two more weeks, even though we were moving that weekend.  “We’ll provide a place for you to stay and pay for all your meals,” he said.
Read the rest of this entry »

by  Courtney Chowning

Are you a Christian blogger that is blogging the Bible? You may be asking what exactly does “blogging the Bible” mean, so let me explain. As Christians we are instructed to show the love of Jesus to others in John 13:34-35, “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all [men] know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” and to teach others about Christ as noted in Matt 28:19, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:” Blogging is a great way to show people Christ’s love. You don’t even have to blog about your faith or post biblical devotions to do so either.

It is estimated that 346,000,000 (source*) people read blogs. Of course a number of blog readers are Christians. I imagine a large portion of those blog readers are not Christians and have never even heard about the love of Jesus. That is a lot of people we can be witnessing to. You never know who may be reading your blog so it is imperative that you write about your faith and the Bible in a way that even non-Christians will be able to understand and see the love you have for Christ.

Of course incorporating Bible verses in your blog is a great and easy way to show the love of Christ. After all the Word is God according to John 1:1, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” You could even add a Verse of the Day widget your sidebar. But what if you don’t have a blog in which you can easily add scripture into where the topic is not faith related? Read the rest of this entry »

by Ruth Willms

“I am leaving you with a gift- peace of mind and heart! And the peace I give isn’t fragile like the peace the world gives. So don’t be troubled or afraid.” John 16:27 The Living Bible

We all long for peace. We want peace in our minds, in our hearts. We want peace in our family and our relationships and we want peace among nations. Peace is attainable. Peace is a fruit of the Spirit.

The world has become a very stressful place.

Our fast paced competitive society and broken relationships keep us stressed out most of the time. Every day the media reminds us of war and political discord in our own country.

How can we keep our mind at peace without hiding our head in the sand?
Magazines advertise products and activities to relieve our anxiety. They sport articles on managing anger in order to get into a happier healthier life. Politicians advise diplomacy instead of war to make peace. Diplomacy works for awhile until another unmanageable, unforeseen crisis arises. Read the rest of this entry »

by Cec Murphey

If you sincerely desire to follow Jesus Christ, life won’t always be easy. Many times the Bible promises victory, and you may need to remind yourself that there can be no victory without struggling and overcoming obstacles.

In my book, I used the image of God turning out the lights because that was how I perceived the situation. I felt as if I walked in darkness for 18 months. We all interact differently with God, and my experience won’t be the same as yours. Even so, most serious Christians have times when God seems to turn away or stops listening. And we feel alone.

Perhaps it’s like the time the Israelites cried out to God for many years because of the Egyptian oppression. “God heard their groaning, and he remembered his covenant promise…and knew it was time to act” (Exodus 2:24 NLT). God hadn’t forgotten, of course, but from their perspective, that’s how it must have seemed. It may seem like that to you if you’re going through your own form of darkness.

Here are a few suggestions to help you:

1. Ask God this simple question: “Have I knocked out the lights by my failures? Have I sinned against you? After you ask the question, listen. Give God the opportunity to speak to you.

2. Don’t see this as divine punishment (unless God shows you it is), but consider the silence an act of divine love to move you forward. This is God’s method to teach you and stretch you.

3. Avoid asking why. You don’t need reasons and explanations–and you probably won’t get them anyway. Instead, remind yourself that this temporary darkness is to prepare you for greater light. Read the rest of this entry »

by Lara Velez

Recently, my husband pointed out something to me that I am not proud to admit. Basically, my priorities are off. Lately, I have been too busy for God. Life has gotten in the way of my special time with Daddy. I must tell you, I was NOT a happy camper when hubby pointed this out to me. I immediately got on the defensive. My flesh was extremely uncomfortable with this all too true topic.

I have been too busy for God. Can you relate?

I mean we are not the only busy people on the planet. We are not the only busy people who are God’s children.

Busy People…

Moses

Can you imagine being Moses? He went from living in the palace to having to help set his people free to dealing with these ungrateful people.

His days were busier than ours can ever be. He had He had a pharaoh chasing him, millions of murmurers and complainers to contend with, and a desert to wander because of the ungrateful lot he was with!

Now Moses used to take [his own] tent and pitch it outside the camp, far off from the camp, and he called it the tent of meeting [of God with His own people]. And everyone who sought the Lord went out to [that temporary] tent of meeting which was outside the camp. When Moses went out to the tent of meeting, all the people rose and stood, every man at his tent door, and looked after Moses until he had gone into the tent.When Moses entered the tent, the pillar of cloud would descend and stand at the door of the tent, and the Lord would talk with Moses. And all the people saw the pillar of cloud stand at the tent door, and all the people rose up and worshiped, every man at his tent door.

And the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. Moses returned to the camp, but his minister Joshua son of Nun, a young man, did not depart from the [temporary prayer] tent. – Exodus 33:7-11

Moses took time to go and seek God. He MADE time to spend with the Lord. However, notice the last verse…Joshua stayed in the tent. Hmm….maybe we can all learn something from Joshua here…let us not be so quick to leave Daddy’s presence or put him in a little box of time. He may have more planned for our time with him…. Read the rest of this entry »

In the weeks and months after having my first child I began to realize all of the ways that she had changed my life. Not only was I perpetually exhausted, but I seemed to get very little done during the day – even showering was an accomplishment. One of the major things that suffered during that season of my life was the time I spent with the Lord each day. I found myself thinking, “I’m so tired. I’ll take a nap instead and spend extra time reading my Bible tomorrow.” Of course, that very rarely happened.

One day, I was complaining to a good friend of mine that I just couldn’t seem to get past the frustration I was feeling. As we talked I began to realize that I felt far away from God and that my spiritual frustration was creeping over to other areas of my life. I realized that I needed to get creative and find some ways to spend time with God, to build up my relationship with Him.

Here are a few ways that I discovered to help me along the way:

1. Email Devotionals – These are great because they only take a few minutes to read and they come right to you. When my son was an infant I would read these while I nursed or even while he just slept in my arms.

2. Memorize Scripture – Now, I’m not talking about memorizing entire books of the Bible here. I would choose one of my favorite verses and work on committing it to memory. Then, no matter where I was (sitting in line at a drive-thru) I could say – or think on – the verse.

3. Prayer – I must admit that this is my favorite spiritual discipline. I love that (because of Jesus) we can talk to God whenever we want. In the shower, while we’re feeding the kids, and even in the wee hours of the morning when we’re up with the kids, but desperately wish we were asleep.  But, I think the most amazing part about prayer is that God wants to hear anything and everything going on in our minds. He tells us that we can literally “pour out our hearts” (Psalm 62:8) to Him.

4. Be Still – Most of us have hear this verse, “Be still, and know that I am God.” (Ps 46:10) How many of us actually take the time to slow down, look around us and just KNOW that He is God, that He is in control and that He’s given us everything that we hold dear?

by Whitney Hopler

Your life as a mom pulls you in many different directions at once, and it’s easy to let the demands rob you of your quality time with God. But there’s so much more to life than an endless cycle of laundry, dishes, and errands. God wants you to spend time with Him each day so you can have the life you should have.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed, remember that you need God’s strength to fulfill your responsibilities well. Decide to make time for God, no matter what, and He’ll give you all you need for the important job of nurturing your family.

Here’s how you can make time for God in the midst of motherhood’s demands:

Be proactive and creative. Don’t worry about trying to follow traditional methods for your prayer times. Realize that it’s okay not to do daily devotions early in the morning if you’ve been up at night with a baby or sick child; fit them in during your children’s naps or in the evening instead. Rather than thinking you can’t read the Bible because you don’t have long, uninterrupted stretches of time, decide to carry a Bible with you wherever you go and read small portions whenever pockets of free time open up for you. Know that you can spend time with God regularly if you’re determined to do so. Read the rest of this entry »

by Denise Willms

Possibly the most effective way to share God’s love through your home business is by doing something your clients and colleagues might never see you do. It won’t happen in an email, a newsletter, a phone call, or at your next meeting. It won’t show up on your timesheet, your FAQ page, or your business proposal.

Your clients and others you work with may never even know you do this for them. If they did know, they might tell you not to bother – you’re just wasting your time. In fact, they might even ask you to stop.

However, the results of this one action could have a dramatic impact on their lives and businesses.

You might have guessed that I’m talking about prayer.

I’m one of those people who pray about everything – small or big. I pray I’ll find a parking stall in a busy lot. I ask for enough space to merge my minivan into a heavy lane of traffic. I pray for the success of my business, prosperity for my family, and that my children will learn to love Jesus as passionately as I do. Every day I pray that my life will be a blessing to others. Read the rest of this entry »