Heart Matters Blog

Before you get started, find a comfortable spot where you can sit quietly with your Savior. Spend a few minutes in silence. Ask God to meet you there in the quietness of this moment and to speak His heart to you as you sit with Him.Have a journal and pen/pencil ready to jot down any thoughts that come to you during this experience.Take a moment now to read through the following Scripture passage slowly. You may want to read it out loud. As Jesus continued on toward Jerusalem, he reached the border of Galilee and Samaria. As he entered a village there, ten lepers stood at a distance, crying out, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!" He looked at them and said, "Go show yourselves to the priests." And as they went, they were healed of their leprosy. One of them, when he saw that he was healed, ...

 As I recently sat next to our old hurting dog to say goodbye, I was thankful for my husband's arm on my shoulders as I sobbed. My husband is a steady rock for me and for my children. With Father's Day approaching I am reminded of how he continues to be involved in our children's lives even though they are out on their own; he provides wisdom and support as they face life's curve balls, steep mountains, and dark valleys of fear, anxiety or loss. He celebrates their successes. He provides guidance for big decisions. I see how he is a father to others whose fathers are absent. I watch how hard he works to provide. The unending emails and problems to solve seven days a week. I smile when I see how he makes my grand-nieces and nephews laugh by his silly antics, pushing them around the mer...

 "You are supposed to destroy the works of the devil and stomp on hell for a living. The cross is the revealing of your value. If you get who you are because of what he did, it doesn't matter what people have done to you." Todd White Our world is in chaos. And many of us feel defenseless. So many voices are shouting to be heard. Often their messages are different, outright contradictory, depending on their experiences. How do I respond as a believer? I honestly don't have all the answers. There are a few words that keep landing in my brain though, like the cotton from the trees that keep landing on my porch, clinging: listen, pray, serve. Fight for righteousness and the innocent. In other words, be more like Christ. As these thoughts were circling in my head, I ran into a friend as I ...

 "I talk to God but the sky is empty." Sylvia Plath Sometimes life just doesn't make sense. Like when you finally reach a stage in life when you and your spouse can fly the coop and enjoy time just the two of you...then divorce papers are filed, or an illness strikes or you are left alone at a graveside without a chance to say goodbye. Or when the child you have loved and nurtured turns against you, or turns to alcohol or drugs, or disappears without a trace. Recently I've been talking to God about my second-born son. He has been struggling, too, but, not with anger or alcohol issues. He is my high achiever. He graduated from his college and master's degree programs with a 4.0. He is incredibly diligent, meticulous, and detail-oriented, and if given a chance, would make a phenomenal e...

Before you make a decision, ask yourself this question: will you regret the results or rejoice in them? Rob Liano If only I would! If only I would stop and give thought to my decisions. Not all decisions, mind you. In many decisions I am quite strategic. But, when it comes to the little decisions, you know, the spontaneous ones like "I'm hungry, and that ooey gooey brownie would help tide me over till supper" decision or "That shirt is as cute as a button, and if I don't get it now, it may not be here the next time I come" decision? Those are the types of decisions that trip me up time-and-again. When I'm hungry or flirting with temptation in my favorite clothing shop, I fare rather poorly. brother, Jacob… 29-30 One day Jacob was cooking a stew. Esau came in from the field, starved. Esau s...