Real Live Faith

Have you ever been quick to call or text a friend or family member and just start venting, ranting, complaining, and flooding them with verbal vomit? James 1:19-20 remind us to “be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger.”

We get tempted to pour our life into this world that is fading away. But we are cautioned in the Bible not to place our identity in earthly things. People, relationships, government, careers, worldly status. They are all poor substitutes for Christ. Earthly things can never be our Savior. Those things can’t save us. They can’t provide what the Lord can. Those things will always fail us, but the Lord will never fail us.

James 1:2, “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials.” Count it all – joy?! All of it? Well, if you’ve ever gone through a trial, these words right off the bat may catch your attention and perk your ears. Because maybe instead of counting or considering it all joy, you count it as loss?

If we are willing to lay down our life and die to self, God can bear fruit in our lives and do something far greater than we could ever do on our own, alone.

Our culture today has drastically minimized the role of men in the world. Sitcoms and cartoons depict men as dumb, unimportant, unnecessary, mean, sexist, womanizing, weak, or horrible people. Today, more than ever, we need to encourage dads to continue pursuing the Lord and making a lasting impact on their families.

What is God calling your attention to? And what does it take for Him to get your attention? And can you hear the alarm? God will speak to you in ways that are important and impactful to you. 

We look at those who have opposite personalities from us, and think that they are “too” – too loud, too quiet, too busy, too standoffish. What we are really thinking is that they are too different. But we need to realize that different does not equal defective.

Mother’s Day can be a sensitive subject with many people. Some have moms that are very close, and the relationship has been a wonderful experience. Others have moms who have passed away and it’s been a long time since you have felt her hug or heard her voice. For others, their mom has been either physically absent from their lives or emotionally absent and others have graciously stepped in as motherly roles when moms were not able or willing to.

Oswald Chambers said, “True intercession involves bringing the person, or the circumstance that seems to be crashing in on you, before God, until you are changed by His attitude toward that person or circumstance.”

Do you have a favorite skillet or pan you prefer to use when you cook? As I have grown older, I have developed a love for cast iron. When I first got married, I thought cast iron was for old people. Don’t judge me. I was naive and young. I learned some things about cast iron skillets, some of which came from making mistakes and some from other women who shared their wisdom.