Heart Matters Blog

I was asked to write on new beginnings for this weeks blog post and although I had a few ideas of the directions I could go I ended up wrestling with these two simple words. This left me wondering how I might best express these thoughts and a poem emerged. I hope the questions in this short poem and the overall prose will help you see the art of taking time within new beginning seasons, for what goes around comes around and Gods cycle is one of grace. New Beginning I wonder how I will read the past from this moment? Is it place or time or both? Something never lost but never again to be walked. Mine and yours and ours. I only have the past to look back on this day, this moment, new beginning. And now. And now. And now. But I do get to write it anew, from a new beginning point of view. We w...

"Pray without ceasing." 1 Thessalonians 5:17 "More Prayer." Those are the words God gave me for 2022. You know, the whole news year's resolution thing and seeking his direction. As usual, God's answer was short and sweet. Days later he led me to a book I had started years ago, Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire, by Jim Cymbala. I had forgotten what it was even about. Flipping through my highlights up to the bookmark, it didn't take long to figure it out. Prayer. Of course, right? Filled with great scriptural and personal stories of the power and priority of prayer, I ended up unable to put it down, highlighting most of the rest of the book. Here are just a couple nuggets: More people are dipping into drugs than are getting baptized in water. What is going to reverse this tide? Preaching alone will not...

Faith is the strength by which a shattered world shall emerge into the light. - Helen Keller Throughout the years, it has been my habit to keep a Faith Journal. I call it a Faith Journal because what I have written on those pages... when my faith is firm and the eyes my heart are open to see the various blessings that God has touched my life with, have been the greatest source of encouragement to me when my faith is especially thin, and my eyes so clouded with tears that I have a hard time seeing God's presence anywhere. As I flip through that journal, I am reminded that yes! God has walked with me through every twist and turn along life's way. He has whispered my name on the wind and touched my innermost being with beauty. He has embraced me through the hugs of friends and spoken deep int...

New Years. A time of year we observe that God did indeed make each of us one-of-a kind. One friend says, "I never make resolutions," and laughs carefree. Another will pull out her latest New Year's Resolutions typed in serious Arial or Calibri on 90 lb. bright white paper from her nicely-labeled folder. This year I observed some cementing their 2020 intentions on Facebook. Others reflected on the woes of the past year. Still others looked forward to the new year with the same excitement they did when pumpkin spice lattes came out in the fall. I love this diversity. But some of you may be feeling New Year's stress or ambivalence; I hope some of the following thoughts are helpful. When is not important. Self-reflection and goal setting are beneficial, but when can be what makes sense for you...

 Wishing you and yours a precious holiday season filled with love, joy and gift of the Savior's presence into the New Year! Love you, Sally, LuAnn and Julie