God is Asking, “Where are You?”

by Sharon Jaynes | | 3 comments

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Sometimes it is easy to read about Adam and Eve’s failure in the garden and think, “How could they disobey like that!” But the reality is that this is not Adam and Eve’s story alone. It is our story as well. We make decisions on a daily basis that dishonor God. We disobey His commands, take charge of our own lives, and become Lord of our own ring. Then like Eve, we try to cover up our shame and even attempt to hide from God.

Do you know the first question God asked in the Bible? After Adam and Eve hid from God, He asked – Where are you? God knew exactly where they were, what they had done,

When You Don’t Feel Saved?

by Sharon Jaynes | | 74 comments

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Anna grew up in the church. It wasn’t a church that used the word “salvation” or “saved” very often and there was never a decisive moment she could recall “giving her life to Jesus,” as she heard her more evangelical friends recount. There was no “born again” experience that she could recall. But she did love Jesus. She’d loved Him for as long as she could remember. But, she was not sure if she was actually saved.

Beth remembers walking down the red carpeted aisle of her church when she was twelve-years-old. She filled out a membership card, signed up for the next baptism service and attended the catechism class for new believers. She still remembers the feeling when

Seeing Yourself as God Sees You

by Sharon Jaynes | | 8 comments

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For many years after I became a Christian, I operated under a false sense of who I really was. I had no idea the change that occurred in me the moment I accepted Christ. I did not see myself as God saw me. I had a grid system or a sieve of inferiority, insecurity, and inadequacy over my mind. When I processed information about my world and about myself, it had to first filter through that negative grid system.

If someone canceled a lunch date, I interpreted that as “she doesn’t like me.” If I didn’t get invited to an event, I interpreted that as “I’m not worthy.” If my husband didn’t give me enough attention, I interpreted that

Your Final Interview

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My palms were slightly sweaty, yet calm. My posture was poised, yet not stiff. My dress was conservative, yet fashionable. I waited in a small room lined with bookshelves, diplomas, and awards. A mammoth wooden desk dwarfed my small chair positioned in the center of the interrogation room.

It was my first job interview. I wonder if you remember yours.

After completing Dental Hygiene School and passing both State and National Boards, I was ready to cross over the bridge from student to the employed. Even though Dr. Ford (the man who would decide my professional destiny) seemed somewhat intimidating, I felt fairly confident. My GPA was excellent and board scores commendable. I was ready for anything this guy had

When You Don’t Want to Go Back to the Way You Were

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I just got my braces off…again.

I have had braces on my upper teeth three times. Count them. One. Two. Three.

As the orthodontist explained, “Teeth have a memory. They always want to go back to the way they were.”

As soon as he said those words, I felt convicted. I have a tendency to go back to the way I was.

We all do.

Karen (not her real name) admitted to single handedly destroying her marriage with passive aggressive coldness, destructive words, and disrespect of the worst kind. After her husband walked away from the marriage, she had a Holy Spirit moment and completely changed her life. She felt conviction over what she had done, her heart softened, and she vowed never

Homeland Security

by Sharon Jaynes | | 7 comments

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I just got back from seeing the 9/11 Memorial. I don’t think I’ll ever be the same.

After the horrific events of that devastating day, President George W. Bush appointed the new cabinet position of Homeland Security. It is defined as the deterrence, prevention, and preemption of, and defense against, aggression targeted at United States territory, sovereignty, population, and infrastructure as well as the management of the consequences of such aggression and other domestic emergencies.

In a speech on July 16, 2002, in the Rose Garden, he explained how Homeland Security would deal with the threats of the 21st century in our country. “Our unity is a great weapon in the fight. And by acting together to create a new

The Roman Rules of Marriage

by Sharon Jaynes | | 3 comments

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Valentine’s Day. It makes me think of sweethearts, frilly cards, heart-shaped balloons, and candy, but it also causes me to reflect on how I love people in general.

Paul gives us some good advice on how to love one another in Romans 12:9-18.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

by Sharon Jaynes | | 6 comments

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I’ve been shut up, shut down, shot down, ridiculed, disregarded, overlooked, over- booked, and overwhelmed…I know I was made for a reason. I know that, in God’s eyes, I count. So, I simply want to find someone who believes in me.

No, these are not the lyrics from the latest country song. They are the lament from one of the men who answered my survey of what they were looking for in the woman of their dreams. It seems Aretha Franklin isn’t the only one who wants a little r-e-s-p-e-c-t these days. One area that rated very high when I surveyed hundreds of men was their longing for RESPECT. Webster’s dictionary defines respect as the special esteem or consideration

One Thing God Wants You to Remember at Christmas

by Sharon Jaynes | | 7 comments

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With Christmas just around the corner, it’s easy to get so busy with the cooking, decorating and shopping that we forget why we’re doing all this in the first place. Sometimes, the very people we love get lost in the hustle and bustle of packed schedules, holiday parties, and Christmas musicals.

Several years ago I wrote a Christmas version of 1 Corinthians 13 to help me keep my focus on what Paul deemed most important of all…love. As part of our family tradition, I pull it out and post it somewhere in our home as a reminder of what’s really important during the holiday season. And since you are now part of the family, I’m pulling it out for

What Jesus Wants for Christmas

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An African boy listened carefully as his missionary teacher explained why Christians give presents to each other on Christmas day.

“The gift is an expression of our joy over the birth of Jesus and our friendship for each other,” she said.

When Christmas day came, the boy brought to the teacher a seashell of lustrous beauty.

“Where did you ever find such a beautiful shell?” the teacher asked as she gently fingered the gift.

The youth told her that there was only one spot where such extraordinary shells could be found. When he named the place, a certain bay several miles away, the teacher was left speechless.

“Why…why, it’s gorgeous…wonderful, but you shouldn’t have gone all that way to get a gift for

It’s Time to Put Your Foot Down

by Sharon Jaynes | | 4 comments

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Did you know that just because God gives you a promise that does not mean it is automatically yours? Nope, you have to believe it and take hold of it to make it yours!

Paul wrote: “I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me” (Philippians 3:12). In order to experience a thriving faith—the abundant life to the full—we must take hold of that for which Christ Jesus has taken hold of for us and placed in us.

I love how the Amplified Bible translates today’s truth. “I press on to lay hold of (grasp) and make my own, that for which Christ Jesus (the Messiah) has laid hold of me and made

How to Shrink Your Problems

by Sharon Jaynes | | 3 comments

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I want to see God today. Don’t you? What I’ve discovered is that there is nothing that will shut my eyes to seeing God’s presence and working in my life than ingratitude.

Ingratitude leaves us groping about in the dark for what will never satisfy the longings of the soul. The cure comes in capsules of praise, thanksgiving, and a grateful heart. Gratitude is the antibiotic of the soul to cure a variety of the world’s ills and restore a sense of intimacy with God.

Take a look at today’s truth. Notice the Bible doesn’t command us to feel thankful in all circumstances. Instead it commands us to “give thanks in all circumstances.” When I begin to praise God in

Breathe

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It was one of my favorite trees. And it was dying.

We live on a lake, and my dying tree was truly a “tree planted by streams of water.” So how could it be dying? How could branches right in the smack dab middle of the bushy green be turning into kindling? It didn’t make sense.

I called an arborist to come out and take a look. He saw the problem right away.

“Ma’am, see how that tree looks like a telephone pole stuck in the ground? That’s not the way a tree should be planted. You should be able to see some of the roots spreading out from the trunk. Those roots are covered up with dirt, grass, and these

When It’s Time to Stop Moping

by Sharon Jaynes | | 7 comments

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Have you ever been so discouraged that you just wanted to stay in bed and pull the covers up over your head? Maybe that’s where you are right now.

I’ve hidden under the covers a time or two myself. OK, well maybe more than two.

So how do we venture out? How do we get over the discouragement and get going again?

There’s a story in the Bible that helps me when I feel mopey. (You don’t mind if I get in the Bible a little do you? I didn’t think so.)

A few years after the Israelites made it to the Promised Land, they grew tired of being ruled by God through the prophets. They wanted to have a king like

Don’t Stop Too Soon

by Sharon Jaynes | | 66 comments

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Can I make a confession? Sometimes I quit too soon. I’ve quit when what I really needed to do was to press on and press through. Sometimes I’ve gotten tired of trying. Sometimes I’ve gotten tired of the struggle. And you know what? I’ve missed many blessings because I got tired of the battle. I don’t want to do that any longer. I’m taking my cues from Joshua.

The battle plan to take the Promised Land was as simple as it was strange. March around the city of Jericho with all the armed men. Do this in silence, once a day for six days. Then on the seventh day, walk around seven times with the priests blowing the trumpets.

Did You Know You’re Contagious?

by Sharon Jaynes | | 4 comments

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Have you ever noticed just how contagious grumbling is? Someone complains, and the next thing you know you’ve joined in and are complaining right along with them.

How do you think that grumbling started with the children of Israel in the wilderness? I think it went like this. One person picked up her manna for the day and said, “You know, I’m sick of this manna.” Then someone else picked up his and said, “Come to think about it, I’m sick of it too.” Then a neighbor agreed and it spread, and it spread, and it spread. Next thing you know 2 million people are grumbling and complaining. Then a sea of ingrates wandered around the desert for forty

Take What’s Yours

by Sharon Jaynes | | 6 comments

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Have you stepped out in faith—fully trusting in God, but then began to stumble—errantly depending on yourself? That’s what happened to the children of Israel when it came time to take the Promised Land.

Moses led the people under the bloodstained doorframes of the Passover, across the dry land of the Red Sea, and to the front door of the Promised Land. He guided them with a fire by night and a cloud by day. God took care of their needs and brought victory over every enemy they faced. And yet, when it came time to march into the Promised Land, the land that was theirs for the taking, they cowered in unbelief.

“Send some men to explore the land

When You Just Need to Breathe

by Sharon Jaynes | | 7 comments

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It was one of my favorite trees. And it was dying.

We live on a lake, and my dying tree was truly a “tree planted by streams of water.” So how could it be dying? How could branches right in the smack dab middle of the bushy green be turning into kindling? It didn’t make sense.

I called an arborist to come out and take a look. He saw the problem right away.

“Ma’am, see how that tree looks like a telephone pole stuck in the ground? That’s not the way a tree should be planted. You should be able to see some of the roots spreading out from the trunk. Those roots are covered up with dirt, grass, and these

Why I’m Not Worried About the Election

by Sharon Jaynes | | 28 comments

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I don’t know about you, but my emotions have been all over the board about this upcoming Presidential election. It is so easy to fall into the ravine of worry, anxiety, and outright fear. So let’s just talk about it a minute.

During one of my “less than trusting” days, God reminded me that He is still in control. Yes, God does give us the risky gift of choice, but He is still sovereign and sitting on His throne.

God reminded me of King Cyrus. Jeremiah prophesied that the Babylonians would take the rebellious Israelites captive for seventy years. Years later, that’s exactly what happened. Jerusalem was destroyed and the Israelites were taken captive for seventy years.

Jeremiah also prophesied that

What’s Holding You Back From Moving Forward?

by Sharon Jaynes | | 2 comments

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When I was six years old, I skipped off to first grade with a fresh box of crayons, a crisp green dress with Swiss polka dots sleeves, and a fresh hope that I would be good enough—that someone would at least like me. But first grade only confirmed my fears. I wasn’t good enough after all.

From the time my teacher held up the first spelling flash card, I knew I was in trouble. Back in the day, kindergarten focused on coloring, playing, and napping. But first grade was a whole new ballgame with letters, numbers, and words. First grade had flash cards.

I remember one exercise that makes my palms clammy even today. We lined our miniature wooden chairs

When You Hit a Wall, Climb Over

by Sharon Jaynes | | 9 comments

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What do you do when your ship pulls up anchor and sails off without you? How do you respond when life doesn’t turn out like you thought it would? Where do you turn when the powers that be toss your hopes and dreams overboard and tell you to go home? What do you do when someone whose opinion matters denies you passage on the boat you were meant to board?

The answers to those questions can change everything. You need to decide right now—before it happens.

In my last devotion, I told the story of being left at the dock in Italy while my friends sailed away. “You are not fit to sail,” was the ship’s declaration. (If you didn’t

When Life Doesn’t Turn Out Like You Thought It Would

by Sharon Jaynes | | 8 comments

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My bags were packed. My passport was up to date. My feet were itching to get started.

For more than a year, my husband and I had planned a trip to Italy, Greece, and Turkey with six of our closest friends. We had plotted our course, prepared our travel, and saved our pennies. This was a big deal for us—for me. I was going to stand on the very mount in Athens where Paul preached one of my favorite verses: “In Him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28). We were going to explore the catacombs where some of our very first brothers and sisters in Christ were buried and walk the very steps of Paul

Breaking Free

by Sharon Jaynes | | 5 comments

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Slavery is one of the prevailing metaphors and predominant themes in the Bible. Joseph was sold into slavery, the Israelites were forced into slavery, and God set His people free from slavery.

Most likely you can’t relate to being a slave, but you probably can relate to the idea of being in bondage in some area of your life.

Each of these conditions can cause you to be tied up in knots and held captive to the point that you’re stuck in a prison of your own making, never

When The Devil Whispers “You’re Not Good Enough”

by Sharon Jaynes | | 4 comments

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It was my first large speaking engagement back in the ‘90s. Why I said yes was beyond me. I had never stood up in front of more than a handful of women at my Bible study or our church’s women’s retreat. Even then, I didn’t have to use a microphone. And now, five hundred expectant women were going to be staring me in the face. To top it all off, the theme was Unshakable Confidence in Christ. Laughable.

Two weeks before the event, I attended a luncheon where my mentor, Mary Marshall Young, was going to be sharing a short devotion. It was in a very prestigious part of town that I did not frequent. One of those gatherings

Take What’s Yours

by Sharon Jaynes | | 4 comments

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Have you stepped out in faith—fully trusting in God, but then began to stumble—errantly depending on yourself? That’s what happened to the children of Israel when it came time to take the Promised Land.

Moses led the people under the bloodstained doorframes of the Passover, across the dry land of the Red Sea, and to the front door of the Promised Land. He guided them with a fire by night and a cloud by day. God took care of their needs and brought victory over every enemy they faced. And yet, when it came time to march into the Promised Land, the land that was theirs for the taking, they cowered in unbelief.

“Send some men to explore the land

When God Calls Your Name

by Sharon Jaynes | | 6 comments

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What are you going to do when God calls your name?

When He taps you on the shoulder and says, “Hey girl, now’s the time”?

There was a kid in the Bible who had the right idea. Let me introduce you to him.

See, there was this prophet named Samuel, and God told him to go to Jesse’s house to appoint the next King of Israel. So, “Samuel did what the Lord said” (1 Sam. 1:4). (By the way, that’s always a great way to start your day!)

He traveled to Jesse’s house in Bethlehem and asked to see his sons. When they paraded by for inspection, Samuel was very impressed with the eldest right away. Eliab was tall, dark, and handsome.

But the

The Disappointment of Shattered Dreams

by Sharon Jaynes | | 6 comments

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Everyone will experience discouragement at some point in life. It will look as different and unique as the fingerprints on your hand, but disappointments will come.

Dropping your son off at a rehab center instead of college.

Signing divorce papers instead of planning an anniversary party.

Looking for a job rather than getting a raise.

Cuddling up with a good book rather than cozying up with a good husband.

Planning a funeral instead of planning a future.

Counting out food stamps instead of writing a check.

Moving up in your career rather than rocking a baby in your arms.

Yes, everyone will experience broken dreams at some point in their lives.

I had a dream of having a house full of giggling little girls and boisterous rowdy

Use What Your Daddy Gave You

by Sharon Jaynes | | 3 comments

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Did you know that you’ve got what it takes to do all that God has prepared for you to do? The Bible says, “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness” (2 Pet. 1:3, emphasis added).

But that doesn’t mean we get to sit back on our haunches and do nothing. Peter wrote: “For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness . . .” (2 Pet. 1:5).

“Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election” (1:10).

“So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and

When You Feel Discouraged

by Sharon Jaynes | | 9 comments

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Have you ever gone through a period of discouragement? Perhaps you’re in one right now. Believe me, I’ve been right there with you. I’ve hidden in the cave with Elijah, under the gourd plant with Jonah, and in the dessert with Moses.

Discouragement comes when there is a gap between what you expect and what you experience—when there is a gap between what you hoped would happen and what actually does happen.

Discouragement can destroy your passion and undermine your purpose. It can take root because of what others say or didn’t say—a mom who said too much or a dad who said too little. Unmet expectations can become the breeding ground for discouragement to multiply and take root.

We certainly

You Are Reflection of God’s Glory?

by Sharon Jaynes | | 2 comments

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My friends Gwen, Lisa, and Bill joined Steve and I for a shrimp boil at my home. We spread out the steamed shrimp and then made a glorious mess as we shucked and ate one tasty morsel after another.

After dinner, Gwen and I challenged Bill and Lisa to a paddleboat race across the lake. “Oh, we’ll cream you guys,” Bill boasted as he and his paddling partner accepted the challenge. He puffed up, knowing that victory was eminent. He was pumped.

I pointed Bill to one of our two vessels. “Here, you take this one.”

“Fine with me,” he said, self-assured.

My husband, with a knowing smile, signaled for the race to begin. Off we went. Bill and Lisa paddled

Is Your Faith One of Duty or Desire?

by Sharon Jaynes | | 1 comment

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My ministry is primarily with women, and often the subject of marriage comes up. And for those brave souls who dare ask the hard questions, sex surfaces as one of the top three areas of marital tension. Questions brim from frustration and sometimes my answers are not what they want to hear. Frequency? What is acceptable and unacceptable? What is required?

Required? Do women really ask that? Yep. Required. That’s the word they use. Far too many women, Christians included, approach the marriage bed with a sense of duty rather than desire. And you know what? A husband always knows the difference. He can tell the difference. It is not the melody his heart longs for—a song in which

You Are Somebody

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I want to know God’s will for my life. Don’t you? However I have learned that identity comes before activity. In other words, I must have a proper perspective of who I am before I can grasp what God wants me to do. This was true of Jeremiah: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations”(Jeremiah 1:5). He didn’t choose Jeremiah after he proved himself worthy of the task, but before he was even born. That was true for Joshua (Joshua 1:6-9), Gideon (Judges 6:12), and Mary (Luke 1:28)—and that is true for you.

God didn’t throw up His hand

What If Your Worst “What If” Does Happen?

by Sharon Jaynes | | 11 comments

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Some people just seem happy and positive all the time. They appear to never worry and fret. These people act like they eat rainbows for breakfast and ride a unicorn to work. But life isn’t all lucky charms. Sometimes it is just plain hard. We anticipate trials. Jesus promised trouble. “In this world you will have trouble,” He warned (John 16:33).

So what if the worst thing you can imagine does happen? What then?

What if my child gets sick?

What if my husband does leave?

What if I lose my job?

What if I get on a plane to go to a speaking engagement and the plane crashes?

I decided a long time ago, when I get on a plane, I’m either

Are You Enjoying God?

by Sharon Jaynes | | 1 comment

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When I was a little girl, I used to love pretending to be a bride. I’d wrap a sheet around my body, drape a towel over my head, and hold a bouquet of plastic flowers to my chest. Then I would start at one end of our ranch-style house’s hallway and make my saunter down the “aisle.” In my little mind, all eyes were on me, as my sheet became a pearl studded wedding gown, my towel a lace veil, and the bouquet a spray of white roses.

My Uncle Ernest understood the longings of little girls to be a bride, so for Christmas one year, he gave me a two-foot doll dressed in full bridal regalia. Along with

What You Miss When You Don’t Forgive

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One last wish.

The longing of a dying mother’s heart.

A wish that only one person could have satisfied. But he didn’t.

If you’ve read any of my books, you know that my childhood was a cauldron of violent arguments, alcohol-induced rage, and physically terrifying fights. As a child I saw things that a child should never see and heard things that a child should never hear. My parents were a mess. Their kids were even messier.

But God—my two favorite words in the Bible.

I met Jesus in a powerful way when I was fourteen years old, my mom followed when I was seventeen, and my mean old dad accepted Christ when I was twenty. Our family was a portrait of mercy

When you Feel Like This World Has Gone Crazy

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Do you ever feel like you are not at home here on earth? That something is missing? The reason is because you’re not at home, and something is missing. C.S. Lewis said, “If I find in myself desires which nothing in the world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world.”

Solomon reminds us, “He (God) has planted eternity in the human heart” (Ecclesiastes 3:11 NLT). You were made for eternity—for glory, and as long as your feet are here on this earth, you will experience a glory ache that only Heaven can fully satisfy. You will feel a certain something missing that may be hard to define.

One spring, our family hosted a

How to be a Radiant Woman

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The Bible is filled with men and women who had an intimate personal relationship with God. Enoch walked with God and then God just snatched him up to heaven…“and he was no more,” (Genesis 5:24). David was called “a man after God’s own heart,” (Acts 13:22). But Moses…he was God’s friend.

What did Moses want more than anything? He wanted to see God’s glory.

“And the LORD said, ‘I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence…But you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.’”

Then the LORD said, “There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock.

You’re More Than a One-Talent Girl

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In my last devotion, we looked at the parable of the talents, or rather the parable of the three choices. We saw a landowner that gave one servant five talents, another servant two talents, and another servant one talent.

As you read that devotion, (and if you didn’t, please click on www.girlfriendsinGod.com and read it first) I wonder if you saw yourself as a one-talent girl. Perhaps you’re thinking that God hasn’t given you much to work with. He did, after all, entrust the servants with talents “according to their ability.” You look at what other folks are doing for God with their five talents and think that yours doesn’t really matter much anyway. Nothing could be further from

Choices Determine Destinies

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One day Jesus told a parable to a group of listeners. We’ve come to know it as the Parable of the Talents, but it is really more the Parable of the Three Choices. Jesus was explaining what the kingdom of heaven would be like in common terms.

For it is just like a man about to go on a journey, who called his own slaves and entrusted his possessions to them. To one he gave five talents, to another, two, and to another, one, each according to his own ability; and he went on his journey. Immediately the one who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and gained five more talents. In the same manner

Comparison Highjacks Contentment

by Sharon Jaynes | | 6 comments

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We live in a culture of constant comparison. Someone tweets that they just had lunch at a fab restaurant; you had canned tuna and raw carrots. Not even baby carrots but a big ole carrot out of the bag.

Someone posts an Instagram of a gaggle of friends dressed in Lilly Pulitzer pink lunching by the lake, and you’re reading about it dressed in sweats, trudging down the grocery aisle with a snotty-nosed kid pawing at the cereal displays.

You pull up Facebook and read about Barb’s vacation in Paris, and you’re happy for her . . . sorta.

A woman looks at Pinterest boards, and comes away with her greatest fears confirmed: her kids look shabby, her house looks dumpy, and her

Worry Wastes Life

by Sharon Jaynes | | 6 comments

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Not all fear is bad. It is good to be afraid of sticking your hand in a fire, crossing a busy street with your eyes closed, or jumping off a cliff. That is good healthy fear.

Bad fear is fear of present circumstances and future events that may or may never happen. Being too afraid to step out and do what God has called you to do. Being so worried about the consequences that you throw trusting God out the window. That’s an unhealthy fear.

The Holy Spirit will warn you with a healthy sense of fear to protect you, but He will never stir up worry to stymie your faith. I’ve often heard it said that worry is a

When Comparison Kills Confidence

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If there’s one thing I know it’s this: The measuring stick will get you stuck! Comparison is the devil’s tool that has stopped many of us gals from stepping into our God-given destinies…and it’s time to stop!

You know I’ve been camping out with Moses by the burning bush for over a year while writing Take Hold of the Faith You Long For. When we meet up with him in Exodus chapter 3, he is an insecure, stuttering recluse. He argued with God and told Him that he was not a good speaker.

But, Moses hadn’t always been so insecure. Look what Stephen said to the Sanhedrin: “Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful

Give Fear the Boot

by Sharon Jaynes | | 4 comments

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I just love 1 John 4:18 in the Amplified version! “Love turns fear out of doors and expels every trace of terror.” Perfect love, God’s love, gives fear the boot.

Fear stands at the doorway of our destinies and dares us to step inside. It bullies us into believing that if we step across the threshold we will fail, or worse yet, God will fail us. Fear holds a “Danger! Keep Out!” sign over our pre-ordained adventures and pokes drain holes in our Spirit-filled confidence.

What if . . .

Oswald Chambers once said, “The remarkable thing about fearing God is that when you fear God you fear nothing else, whereas if you do not fear God you fear everything else.”

The fear of

When Family Gets Messy

by Sharon Jaynes | | 1 comment

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If ever there is a place to learn about forgiveness…to practice forgiveness…to struggle with forgiveness…it is in the family. Makes me tired just thinking about it. And interestingly, it is in the context of family where the word forgiveness first shows up in the Bible.

Let’s dig into Scripture today. Come on. You can do it.

In the book of Genesis, we meet a young man named Joseph—the eleventh of twelve brothers, and favorite son of Jacob. He is most famously known for his elaborate coat of many colors. Young Joseph had several prophetic dreams involving his brothers and father one day bowing down to him. Rather than keep that bit of information to himself, he shared it with his

You Were Not Meant for Third Gear

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When my husband and I were first married, we purchased a five-speed Honda Civic. It was a snappy silver stick shift with high gas mileage and low horsepower. The conundrum was that I didn’t know how to drive a stick shift. Steve gave me a lesson on driving a car with a manual transmission, but I was scared to death to change gears. Step on the clutch. Slowly release while slipping the stick into first gear. Step on the clutch again. Slowly release while slipping the stick into second gear. It was just too much for me to remember.

We lived in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, at the time. The primary word being hill. There were lots of hills.

I AM is the God Who Fills in Your Gaps

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In the very first Rocky movie, the Italian Stallion, Rocky Balboa, very eloquently encourages his demure girlfriend, Adrian. “I got gaps. You got gaps. Together we got no gaps.”

But Rocky got it all wrong. He’s got gaps. Adrian’s got gaps. And no person alive is going to fill those gaps. God is the only One who can fill our gaps. And I’d go so far as to say that He is the One who gave us those gaps so that He can fill them. He is the great I AM who fills our gaps and fills in our blanks.

When we say, “I’m not good enough.”

God says, “I AM.”

When we say, “I’m not smart enough.”

God says, “I AM.”

When we

Action Breeds Confidence

by Sharon Jaynes | | 5 comments

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How do you react to fear of the unknown when it comes to stepping out in faith or living bold? Everyone has his or her own unique way.

Some respond to fear by retreating to the safety of cul-de-sac Christianity, which is actually one of the most dangerous places of all. Dale Carnegie once said, “Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy.”

You will not become be more courageous and learn to live bold by avoiding your fears. Courage based on the faithfulness and love of God is strengthened with every step of faith, no matter how small.

When Your Rooster Crows

by Sharon Jaynes | | 6 comments

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I sat on my back porch, wrapped in my fuzzy worn robe—the one that’s 20 years old that I just can’t seem to get rid of. The birch trees waved “good morning,” and the newly planted gerbera daisies stretched their faces to the sun…just a bit higher than the day before. Then I heard him. The rooster.

ER-er-ER-er-ERRRR. I’m not sure where he lives, but it’s within earshot.

ER-er-ER-er-ERRRR. I thought of Peter. I thought of me. I thought of you.

You know the story. At the dinner table, on the night before Jesus went to the cross, He said to Peter:

“Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith

Whose Voice Will You Listen To Today?

by Sharon Jaynes | | 3 comments

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My son played on his high school’s basketball team. At one of the games, I noticed a man on the home side of the court video recording of the game. I also noticed a man on the opposing side doing the same.

“Steve, who are those men with the video cameras and why are they recording the game?” I asked my husband.

“The guy in the opposing stand is from the team that we’ll be playing next week,” he explained. “He is recording the game to study our weaknesses, so our opponents will know where to attack and defeat us. The man on our side is recording the game also looking for weakness, but for a different reason. He will

Jump Into Abba’s Arms

by Sharon Jaynes | | 11 comments

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One night a family was startled from sleep by the piercing blare of their smoke detector. The house was on fire and smoke swirled up the wooden staircase. The father bolted from his bed and ran to his children’s room. He grabbed his eighteen-month-old baby out of his crib, and dragged his four-year-old son by the hand. They were half-way down the stairs when the little boy remembered his favorite teddy bear in his room and broke away to go back and get it. In the mayhem and confusion, the father didn’t realize his son wasn’t with him until he reached the front yard.

By the time the little boy found his teddy bear, the flames had filled his

When You Want a Daddy Who Loves You

by Sharon Jaynes | | 5 comments

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When I was a little girl, my father spent most of his waking hours working at his building supply company, observing construction sites, and socializing with his colleagues and associates. Even though his place of business was only a few blocks from our home, his heart was miles away in a place I could not find.

My father didn’t drink alcohol every day, but when he did, it consumed him. Dad was filled with a rage that always seemed to be hiding just beneath the surface of his tough skin. And when he drank, that rage spewed out like hot lava onto those around him. Unfortunately, my mother was the most common target. As a child, many nights I

God Loves You No Matter What

by Sharon Jaynes | | 6 comments

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Most of us live in a world of performance-based acceptance. We make good grades and mommy is proud. We look pretty and daddy smiles. We do a good job at work and the boss is pleased. We serve at church and congregation thinks we are “good Christians.”

Unfortunately that same sense of having to perform well to be accepted by people can easily roll over into our relationship with God. We falsely believe that we must perform well to be loved and accepted by Him, when nothing could be further from the truth. As a result, we strive to obtain something that we already have…God’s unconditional love.

Anabel Gillham was a woman who loved God, but had trouble accepting that

When You’ve Failed and Bailed

by Sharon Jaynes | | 5 comments

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I just love Moses. I can relate to him on so many levels.

For about forty years, he thought he was an Egyptian…the son of the Pharaoh’s daughter. But somehow he discovered that he was NOT an Egyptian after all. He was a Hebrew, the son of a slave woman. . . and that changed everything.

Moses had a mid-life crisis and came up with a plan to save his true people from Egyptian slavery. God did not call him to this plan. He came up with it all on his own. (Red flag for all of us.)

One day Moses was walking among his people and he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew slave. Glancing first one way and then another to

When You Wonder if God is Concerned About You

by Sharon Jaynes | | 2 comments

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Moses was on the far side of the wilderness when God spoke to him through the burning bush. He had failed in Egypt and bailed to Midian. Yep, failed and bailed. He ran away to the wilderness where he stayed for the next forty years.

And friend, sometimes it is only on the far side of the wilderness where God can get our attention. Sometimes it is when we feel alone, abandoned, and forgotten that our ears are pricked to hear. Isolation is often God’s place of invitation.

Now that you know the backstory, let’s join Moses at his wakeup call.

Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to

When You Feel God Has Called You to More Than You Can Handle

by Sharon Jaynes | | 10 comments

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In my last devotion, we looked at Moses’ encounter with God at the burning bush in Midian. God began by saying:

The Lord said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing

You’ve Been Pre-Approved!

by Sharon Jaynes | | no comments

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I don’t know about you, but I get tired of junk mail from credit card companies that tell me I’ve been “pre-approved” for a line of credit. But here’s something I’ll never get tired of: God telling me that I’ve been pre-approved to be His child.

Just before Jesus began his earthly ministry, He traveled to the Jordan to be baptized by his cousin John. As soon as He came up out of the water, the heavens opened, the Spirit descended, and God spoke. “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17).

Just think about that. Before Jesus even performed the first miracle, preached the first sermon, or called the first disciple, God

When God Says No

by Sharon Jaynes | | 6 comments

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Like any good parent, God’s answers to our requests are not always “yes.” When God says “no,” we must accept the fact that our Father knows best.

In my own life, my desire was to have three or four children. I conceived my first child with no problem. Little did I know at the time that Steven would be my only child. For years my husband and I prayed for more children. We traveled down the road of infertility doctors, diagnostic procedures, and timed intimacy, which is anything but intimate. As hard as it was for me to accept, God said “no.”

Do I understand God’s decision completely? No, I do not. But I’ve come to realize that He doesn’t

Take Hold of the Faith You Long For

by Sharon Jaynes | | 1 comment

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Have you ever watched a circus performer on a flying trapeze? A short horizontal bar suspended by ropes or metal straps dangles high above the crowd. The aerialist grabs the trapeze bar, jumps off of a high platform, and swings through the air. She swings out once, swings back above the platform, and swings out again.

It is during the peak of the third swing where the fun begins for those below. The performer releases the bar mid-air and grabs hold of another bar or second performer hanging from his knees who swings toward her. Once she grabs hold, the crowd remembers to breathe. Somersaults, backflips, and triple twists wow the crowd. And each move requires the performer to

Let Go of The Old You, Take Hold of the New

by Sharon Jaynes | | 5 comments

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Do you remember the day you came to saving faith? Perhaps you’re still considering a relationship with Jesus. Perhaps you can’t even remember a time when you didn’t know Him. For me, it was on a summer night when I was fourteen years old.

When I think about how God brought me out of a home filled with alcohol, rage, and hostility into this wonderful relationship with Jesus, I’m amazed. The sheer wonder of it stokes my passion for Jesus and gratitude to God every time I tell it.

But here’s what you need to know. Just because I became a Christian when I was fourteen, does not mean that my feelings of inferiority, insecurity, and inadequacy went away—the girl

Do You Believe God Tells the Truth?

by Sharon Jaynes | | 1 comment

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God speaks to me in the comics. I know. That’s weird. But He does.

Pickles comic strip features an older couple named Earl and Pearl Pickles. One day Earl and Pearl were sitting on a porch swing and the following conversation ensued.

Frame one: Pearl, “Did you know the DNA of humans and chimpanzees is 98 percent the same?”

Frame two: Earl, “I know it but I don’t believe it.”

Frame three: Pearl, “You know it, but you don’t believe it?”

Frame four: Earl, Yes, “I don’t believe everything I know.”

And there you have it! In the wise words of Earl Pickles, our problem is that we don’t really believe everything we know. We go to Bible studies year after year, hear sermons

It’s Not What You Know But Who You Know

by Sharon Jaynes | | 1 comment

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Aren’t you excited to know that God has deposited rich blessings and a lavish inheritance into your account? Tell me, what reason do we have to feel inadequate? In light of what we have in Christ, I can’t think of a thing. But how do we access these magnificent promises? Peter says: “Through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness” (2 Pet. 1:3).

The Greeks had several words for the word knowledge. The one used here is epignosis. This is a strengthened form of the word and implies a larger, more thorough, and intimate knowledge. It is not simply knowing something intellectually, but understanding and believing what you know in a personal way.

When Steve

You’ve Got the Gear for Great Things!

by Sharon Jaynes | | 5 comments

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Pretend with me for a moment. Let’s say you are on an island in the Pacific. Pick an island, any island, but make it a tropical, lush, and beautiful one. You walk out onto the porch and see some equipment laid out just for you. You know what it is, and you know what it’s for. You’re excited! You’ve always wanted to do this, but never had the right gear.

You slip into a black sleek wet suit, zip up the front closure, and most likely marvel at the way it holds everything in. Then you squeeze your feet into squeaky black flippers. I know they’re tight, but go ahead and wiggle your feet in. Next, you strap a

You’ve Got What You Need Right Now

by Sharon Jaynes | | 1 comment

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When my husband, Steve, was in high school, he worked various jobs and was notoriously frugal. His twin brother, Dan, and their best friend, Mike, were not quite as thrifty. Dan and Mike had odd jobs from time to time—flipping hamburgers at the Wild Pig being the most infamous. But their funds disappeared as quickly as they got them. Steve, on the other hand, was a saver. And they knew it.

Steve had a little brown wallet with a horse head on the front and a zipper on the top. It was his “saving wallet”, and he kept it safely tucked away in this sock drawer. Occasionally, Steve, Dan, and Mike would get together to plan an adventure, such

You Are Who God Says You Are

by Sharon Jaynes | | 10 comments

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I became a Christian when I was a teenager. But even after I made a commitment to follow Christ, feelings of inferiority, insecurity, and inadequacy clung to me like a spider’s sticky web. The dirge of “I’m not good enough” was a song I couldn’t get out of my head. The lies of the enemy created limitations in my life. They were the barbed wire that fenced me in and kept God’s best at bay.

The problem was, I had no idea who I was, what I had, or where I was as a child of God. Oh, I understood that I was going to go to heaven when I left this earth, but what I was supposed to

Resting in the Here-ness and Near-ness of God

by Sharon Jaynes | | 4 comments

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Have you ever been in a situation when you felt God calling your name to a particular task, and at the same time you felt that He had the wrong person for the job? That’ exactly how Moses felt when God called him to lead the Israelites out of Egypt and to the Promised Land. He cried out, “Who am I that I should go to the Pharaoh?”

I’ve been there. I wonder if you have too. I’ve thought, God, You’ve got to be kidding? Me? You’ve got the wrong girl for the job! I’m a nobody!

But look at how God answered Moses.

And God said, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that

You’re Sitting on a Great Inheritance

by Sharon Jaynes | | 3 comments

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Unless you are a baseball fan, married to one, or mom to one, you probably haven’t heard of Matthew Joseph White. He signed with the Cleveland Indians in 1998, the Boston Red Sox in 2002, and the Colorado Rockies in 2003. But it is not his baseball career that captured my attention.

In 2003, Matt had an aunt who needed to go into a nursing home. She didn’t have the funds to make the move, but she did have a piece of land in his home state of Massachusetts. So Matt agreed to pay her $50,000 for the 45 acres of mountain real estate, which gave her enough to enter the nursing home and get the care she needed.

I’m Going to Wash That Thought Right Out of My Head

by Sharon Jaynes | | 2 comments

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There are certain television jingles that drive my husband crazy. As soon as he see a nanosecond of commercial appear, he presses the mute button. And while I tease him for being a commercial phobic, you know what happens to me? I end up with that silly song in my head for the rest of the evening. He has the right idea—mute it, delete it, don’t give it a chance to enter your mind. It’s the same way with the lies the enemy tries to make us believe.

We are in a spiritual battle for our minds. And while we often think difficult people or irritating circumstances are the source of the problems, Paul tells us to look past

Are You God’s Sparkler?

by Sharon Jaynes | | 2 comments

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My brother was about four years old when he decided to grab a box of matches and a handful of sparklers to see how they worked. He had heard that sparklers worked best in the dark, so he went into the darkest place he could find at Grandma’s house…her wardrobe closet.

Stewart snuck into the darkness, crouched amongst the dresses and coats, and lit the first match. The sparklers immediately began shooting fiery sparks in all directions. Within moments, he noticed more than sparklers on fire. Grandma’s clothes were up in flames. (I’m happy to say that Stewart wasn’t harmed, unless you count the spanking he got from Grandma.)

Friends, we don’t have to go into a closet to find

Remembering to Forget

by Sharon Jaynes | | 8 comments

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As humans, we tend to remember what we need to forget and forget what we need to remember. God, on the other hand, forgets what He promises to forget and remembers what He promises to remember. God said, “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more” (Hebrews 10:17).

Paul tells us one of the secrets to his success as a Christian and in life. “But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13,14).

In the Bible, God tells us that He “forgets” our sins and remembers them no more. But

No More Shame

by Sharon Jaynes | | 2 comments

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Debbie’s paternal grandparents had both a housekeeper and groundskeeper who lived in their basement apartment. Nina and Silas were like part of the family and had lived with the grandparents for as long as Debbie could remember. On many occasions, when Debbie’s parents and grandparents went out to dinner, she and her older sister were left in the care of Silas and Nina. The girls’ parents had no idea that Silas was molesting their precious children time and time again.

From the time Debbie and Beth were three and six years old, until they were ten and thirteen, Silas fondled and sexually molested the girls in the basement apartment lit only by the black-and-white television blinking in the background.

Breaking Free of Strongholds and Strangleholds

by Sharon Jaynes | | 8 comments

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A stronghold is one of those churchy Christianese words that is hard to wrap our minds around. It’s not a word we use everyday. So what exactly is a stronghold? Let’s take a look.

A stronghold is a thought pattern that forms a fortress around the mind, holding it prisoner to faulty thinking. It is formed brick-by-brick by repetitive faulty thinking or all at once by a onetime traumatic event such as a rape, molestation, or abuse.

In the Old Testament, a stronghold was a fortified dwelling used for protection from an enemy. David hid in wilderness strongholds when he was hiding from King Saul, who was trying to kill him (1 Samuel 22:4; 23:14). These were usually caves high

You’re More Than a Cleaned-Up Version of Your Old Self

by Sharon Jaynes | | 9 comments

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Most Christians see their conversion as a cleaned-up version of their old self, rather than as a brand new creation who did not exist before. The Bible says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here” (2 Corinthians 5:17). The old is gone, not just spiffied up.

After high school I went to college where I met and married an awesome Christian man whom I met at a friend’s Bible study. I saw him sitting on the floor with his back against the wall and his red flannel shirt rolled up his masculine arms. He had a worn Bible in his lap and an easy smile on his

Take Hold of the Faith You Long For

by Sharon Jaynes | | 3 comments

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Have you ever watched a circus performer on a flying trapeze? A short horizontal bar suspended by ropes or metal straps dangles high above the crowd. The aerialist grabs the trapeze bar, jumps off of a high platform, and swings through the air. She swings out once, swings back above the platform, and swings out again.

It is during the peak of the third swing where the fun begins for those below. The performer releases the bar mid-air and grabs hold of another bar or second performer hanging from his knees who swings toward her. Once she grabs hold, the crowd remembers to breathe. Somersaults, backflips, and triple twists wow the crowd. And each move requires the performer to

You Are Worth Pursuing

by Sharon Jaynes | | 7 comments

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I was in college when I first eyed my husband. He was sitting on the floor at a friend’s Bible study gathering with his back against the wall, dressed in scruffy jeans and a red flannel shirt with the sleeves rolled halfway up his muscular forearms.

His thick brown hair and chocolate-brown eyes left me weak in the knees. And the best part was that this handsome hunk of a man had a tattered Bible in his lap. He laughed easily, prayed humbly and read intently. I was smitten from the first time I laid eyes on Steve.

After a few weeks, he finally asked me out on a date. We continued seeing each other over the next several weeks,

When God Throws a Little Bit of “All Things” in Your Life

by Sharon Jaynes | | 7 comments

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I love Romans 8:28.

Now, let me be honest…sometimes I don’t.

When I am going through a dark time of loss or disappointment, and someone throws a sloppy coat of Romans 8:28 on my open wound, I just want to scream.

There. I said it.

What does God mean by “all things” anyway? I looked it up in my Greek dictionary and guess what it means—it means “all things.” I was hoping for something a little different.

“All things” includes the good, the bad, and the ugly. In every dark circumstance of life, there is a hidden treasure waiting to be discovered. However, for that to happen, we must get out of the dirt, push it aside, and look beneath the surface.

Is it

The Power of Your Story

by Sharon Jaynes | | 2 comments

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When Jesus appeared to the disciples after His resurrection, there was one who was absent from the motley crew: Thomas. When he came back to the group, they were all abuzz talking about Jesus’ surprise appearance. But Thomas didn’t believe a word of it.

“Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it,” he declared.

A week later his disciples were in the house again and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus suddenly appeared and stood among them.

“Peace be with you!” he said.

Then Jesus turned to a stunned Thomas and said, “Put your finger here; see

It’s Not How You Start. It’s How You Finish

by Sharon Jaynes | | 4 comments

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I sat by her bed.

Her hand swollen…full…unmoving.

Feet that danced just a few weeks ago now stilled. Arms that lifted just a short time ago now limp. Words that spilled easily just a moment ago now halted. How could life seep away so quickly, right before my eyes?

Mom was ready. But I wasn’t.

Mom called to tell me she was going to the emergency room. She had abdominal pain and couldn’t stop throwing up. I had just been at her house four days before, and this was something new.

“She has an ileus,” the doctor explained. “Part of her intestines have stopped working. But her heart isn’t strong enough to survive surgery. If her intestines don’t start working on their own,

Leaving the Land of Disappointment

by Sharon Jaynes | | 22 comments

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Sometimes you expect you’re getting a Rachel and you wake up with a Leah. Okay, I know that example might connect better with a guy, but you get the point.

Let me try that again. What do you do after you’ve crossed the Red Sea of obstacles, only to be dying of thirst at Marah three days later? How do you keep your dancing from turning into disappointment? One thing is for sure; you don’t drive down your tent pegs by the disappointing waters of Marah and camp out there. You move on.

I think of the women on Jesus’s ministry team. They had committed their lives to the Messiah and believed that He would restore Israel. Mary Magdalene and

Let Go of The Old You, Take Hold of the New

by Sharon Jaynes | | 2 comments

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Do you remember the day you came to saving faith? Perhaps you’re still considering a relationship with Jesus. Perhaps you can’t even remember a time when you didn’t know Him. For me, it was on a summer night when I was fourteen years old.

When I think about how God brought me out of a home filled with alcohol, rage, and hostility into this wonderful relationship with Jesus, I’m amazed. The sheer wonder of it stokes my passion for Jesus and gratitude to God every time I tell it.

But here’s what you need to know. Just because I became a Christian when I was fourteen, does not mean that my feelings of inferiority, insecurity, and inadequacy went away—the girl

When You’ve Failed and Bailed

by Sharon Jaynes | | 2 comments

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I just love Moses. I can relate to him on so many levels.

For about forty years, he thought he was an Egyptian…the son of the Pharaoh’s daughter. But somehow he discovered that he was NOT an Egyptian after all. He was a Hebrew, the son of a slave woman. . . and that changed everything.

Moses had a mid-life crisis and came up with a plan to save his true people from Egyptian slavery. God did not call him to this plan. He came up with it all on his own. (Red flag for all of us.)

One day Moses was walking among his people and he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew slave. Glancing first one way and then another to

You’ve Been Pre-Approved!

by Sharon Jaynes | | 3 comments

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I don’t know about you, but I get tired of junk mail from credit card companies that tell me I’ve been “pre-approved” for a line of credit. But here’s something I’ll never get tired of: God telling me that I’ve been pre-approved to be His child.

Just before Jesus began his earthly ministry, He traveled to the Jordan to be baptized by his cousin John. As soon as He came up out of the water, the heavens opened, the Spirit descended, and God spoke. “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17).

Just think about that. Before Jesus even performed the first miracle, preached the first sermon, or called the first disciple, God

Do You Believe God Tells the Truth?

by Sharon Jaynes | | no comments

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God speaks to me in the comics. I know. That’s weird. But He does.

Pickles comic strip features an older couple named Earl and Pearl Pickles. One day Earl and Pearl were sitting on a porch swing and the following conversation ensued.

Frame one: Pearl, “Did you know the DNA of humans and chimpanzees is 98 percent the same?”

Frame two: Earl, “I know it but I don’t believe it.”

Frame three: Pearl, “You know it, but you don’t believe it?”

Frame four: Earl, Yes, “I don’t believe everything I know.”

And there you have it! In the wise words of Earl Pickles, our problem is that we don’t really believe everything we know. We go to Bible studies year after year, hear sermons

When You Wonder if God is Concerned About You

by Sharon Jaynes | | 3 comments

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Have you ever wondered if God really cares about you?

If God sees you?

If God is concerned about you?

I have. Many times. And I think Moses did too.

He was on the far side of the wilderness when God spoke to him through the burning bush. He had failed in Egypt and bailed to Midian. Yep, failed and bailed. He ran away to the wilderness where he stayed for the next forty years.

And friend, sometimes it is only on the far side of the wilderness where God can get our attention. Sometimes it is when we feel alone, abandoned, and forgotten that our ears are pricked to hear. Isolation is often God’s place of invitation.

Now that you know the backstory,

When You Feel God Has Called You to More Than You Can Handle

by Sharon Jaynes | | 6 comments

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In my last devotion, we looked at Moses’ encounter with God at the burning bush in Midian. God began by saying:

The Lord said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing

God Has Given You Precious Promises

by Sharon Jaynes | | 7 comments

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Aren’t you excited to know that God has deposited rich blessings and a lavish inheritance into your account? Tell me, what reason do we have to feel inadequate? In light of what we have in Christ, I can’t think of a thing. But how do we access these magnificent promises? Peter says: “Through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness” (2 Peter. 1:3).

The Greeks had several words for the word knowledge. The one used here is epignosis. This is a strengthened form of the word and implies a larger, more thorough, and intimate knowledge. It is not simply knowing something intellectually, but understanding and believing what you know in a personal way.

When Steve

Resting in the Here-ness and Near-ness of God

by Sharon Jaynes | | 7 comments

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Have you ever been in a situation when you felt God calling your name to a particular task, and at the same time you felt that He had the wrong person for the job? That’s exactly how Moses felt when God called him to lead the Israelites out of Egypt and to the Promised Land. He cried out, “Who am I that I should go to the Pharaoh?”

I’ve been there. I wonder if you have too. I’ve thought, God, You’ve got to be kidding? Me? You’ve got the wrong girl for the job! I’m a nobody!

But look at how God answered Moses.

And God said, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that

You’re Sitting on a Great Inheritance

by Sharon Jaynes | | no comments

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Unless you are a baseball fan, married to one, or mom to one, you probably haven’t heard of Matthew Joseph White. He signed with the Cleveland Indians in 1998, the Boston Red Sox in 2002, and the Colorado Rockies in 2003. But it is not his baseball career that captured my attention.

In 2003, Matt had an aunt who needed to go into a nursing home. She didn’t have the funds to make the move, but she did have a piece of land in his home state of Massachusetts. So Matt agreed to pay her $50,000 for the 45 acres of mountain real estate, which gave her enough to enter the nursing home and get the care she needed.

You’ve Got What You Need Right Now

by Sharon Jaynes | | 1 comment

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When my husband, Steve, was in high school, he worked various jobs and was notoriously frugal. His twin brother, Dan, and their best friend, Mike, were not quite as thrifty. Dan and Mike had odd jobs from time to time—flipping hamburgers at the Wild Pig being the most infamous. But their funds disappeared as quickly as they got them. Steve, on the other hand, was a saver. And they knew it.

Steve had a little brown wallet with a horse head on the front and a zipper on the top. It was his “saving wallet”, and he kept it safely tucked away in this sock drawer. Occasionally, Steve, Dan, and Mike would get together to plan an adventure, such

I AM is the God Who Fills in Your Gaps

by Sharon Jaynes | | 24 comments

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In the very first Rocky movie, the Italian Stallion, Rocky Balboa, very eloquently encourages his demure girlfriend, Adrian. “I got gaps. You got gaps. Together we got no gaps.”

But Rocky got it all wrong. He’s got gaps. Adrian’s got gaps. And no person alive is going to fill those gaps. God is the only One who can fill our gaps. And I’d go so far as to say that He is the One who gave us those gaps so that He can fill them. He is the great I AM who fills our gaps and fills in our blanks.

When we say, “I’m not good enough,”

God says, “I AM.”

When we say, “I’m not smart enough,”

God says, “I AM.”

When we

You’ve Got the Gear for Great Things!

by Sharon Jaynes | | 24 comments

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Pretend with me for a moment. Let’s say you are on an island in the Pacific. Pick an island, any island, but make it a tropical, lush, and beautiful one. You walk out onto the porch and see some equipment laid out just for you. You know what it is, and you know what it’s for. You’re excited! You’ve always wanted to do this, but never had the right gear.

You slip into a black sleek wet suit, zip up the front closure, and most likely marvel at the way it holds everything in. Then you squeeze your feet into squeaky black flippers. I know they’re tight, but go ahead and wiggle your feet in. Next, you strap a

When You’re Struggling with Bad Thoughts and Habits

by Sharon Jaynes | | 13 comments

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A stronghold is one of those churchy Christianese words that is hard to wrap our minds around. It’s not a word we use everyday. So what exactly is a stronghold? Let’s take a look.

A stronghold is a thought pattern that forms a fortress around the mind, holding it prisoner to faulty thinking. It is formed brick-by-brick by repetitive faulty thinking or all at once by a onetime traumatic event such as a rape, molestation, or abuse.

In the Old Testament, a stronghold was a fortified dwelling used for protection from an enemy. David hid in wilderness strongholds when he was hiding from King Saul, who was trying to kill him (1 Samuel 22:4; 23:14). These were usually caves high

You Were Not Meant to Live Life in Third Gear

by Sharon Jaynes | | 15 comments

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When my husband and I were first married, we purchased a five-speed Honda Civic. It was a snappy silver stick shift with high gas mileage and low horsepower. The conundrum was that I didn’t know how to drive a stick shift. Steve gave me a lesson on driving a car with a manual transmission, but I was scared to death to change gears. Step on the clutch. Slowly release while slipping the stick into first gear. Step on the clutch again. Slowly release while slipping the stick into second gear. It was just too much for me to remember.

We lived in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, at the time. The primary word being hill. There were lots of hills.

When Worry Weakens Your Soul

by Sharon Jaynes | | 11 comments

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My husband, Steve, and I sat anxiously in our seats. I wondered if I was going to be able to endure the ride, especially knowing my propensity for motion sickness. But we began nonetheless.

The guide strapped all passengers into the tiny boats and gave last minute instructions. Of course there were life preservers, but what good would they do in the fierce rapids that threatened to suck its prey below the surface?

The crew boarded and began the journey down the mysterious Amazon. The calm meandering waters quickly gave way to fierce torrents, rushing rapids, and rocky crags protruding from the foaming waters. Alternating between plunging into the water and flying into the air, the boat made its way

When Family Gets Messy

by Sharon Jaynes | | 3 comments

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If ever there is a place to learn about forgiveness…to practice forgiveness…to struggle with forgiveness…it is in the family. Makes me tired just thinking about it. And interestingly, it is in the context of family where the word forgiveness first shows up in the Bible.

Let’s dig into Scripture today. Come on. You can do it.

In the book of Genesis, we meet a young man named Joseph—the eleventh of twelve brothers, and favorite son of Jacob. He is most famously known for his elaborate coat of many colors. Young Joseph had several prophetic dreams involving his brothers and father one day bowing down to him. Rather than keep that bit of information to himself, he shared it with his

Give Fear the Boot

by Sharon Jaynes | | 2 comments

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I just love 1 John 4:18 in the Amplified version! “Love turns fear out of doors and expels every trace of terror.” Perfect love, God’s love, gives fear the boot.

Fear stands at the doorway of our destinies and dares us to step inside. It bullies us into believing that if we step across the threshold we will fail, or worse yet, God will fail us. Fear holds a “Danger! Keep Out!” sign over our pre-ordained adventures and pokes drain holes in our Spirit-filled confidence.

What if . . .

Oswald Chambers once said, “The remarkable thing about fearing God is that when you fear God you fear nothing else, whereas if you do not fear God you fear everything else.”

The fear of

Standing Up to the Bullies in Your Life

by Sharon Jaynes | | no comments

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Being from North Carolina, I love the old black-and-white Andy Griffith television programs. In one episode, the neighborhood bully is picking on Opie. This blond-headed newcomer taunts and makes fun of Opie until he feels as if he’s a total loser among the buddies he once enjoyed.

After Andy, the wise father, figures out what is disturbing his moping son, he gives him a little lesson in standing up to bullies. The next day, when the bully threatens Opie, the little freckle-faced boy looks his opponent in the eye and refuses to crumble under his threats.

“Do you want to fight?” the bully taunts.

Opie doesn’t say a word, just puts up his fists.

“Oh yeah, well knock this rock off my

Gratitude and Grace: Two Peas in a Pod

by Sharon Jaynes | | 3 comments

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When I turned forty, all of a sudden small letters and numbers got smaller. A trip to the ophthalmologist proved that I needed reading glasses. But I had a hard time keeping up with them, so the doctor fitted me with mono-vision contact lenses. In my left eye I wear a contact lens for close up and in my right eye I wear a contact lens for distance. And somehow, my brain figures all that out and I can see perfectly.

That is how I view gratitude and grace. With gratitude in one eye and grace in the other, I can see God more clearly. If there is one thing that should cause gratitude to bubble up and spill

Serving Your Husband When You Don’t Really Feel Like It

by Sharon Jaynes | | 3 comments

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Carley and Dan are a couple who have gone the extra mile…not to go the extra mile. They constantly keep score as to who put a new bar of soap in the shower last or who replaced the toilet paper roll last or who opened a new tube of toothpaste last.

“It’s sort of a contest to see who can use the smallest sliver of soap or use the last drop of toothpaste,” Carley boasted. The contest, as silly as it may seem, boils down to who is going to serve the other. Imagine how adored Dan would feel if Carley began to get out a new bar of soap before the sliver war began or replenished the toilet

Thank God for My Dirty Floor

by Sharon Jaynes | | no comments

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A friend told me of sitting with his father discussing the distribution of his “worldly goods,” when the time came to do so. “My dad had very little joy in his life,” Mike explained. “As we sat there discussing who was going to get what when he died, I saw a pride in him I had never noticed before. ‘I did all this,’ he said as he waved his hand around the room like Vanna White. ‘I worked hard and earned it all.’”

“In his mind, he had earned it; he had done it all. Never once did he give thanks to God for all his blessings or acknowledge God’s goodness. There was no gratitude, no thanksgiving, and certainly

When You Feel Discouraged

by Sharon Jaynes | | 6 comments

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Have you ever gone through a period of discouragement? Perhaps you’re in one right now. Believe me, I’ve been right there with you. I’ve hidden in the cave with Elijah, under the gourd plant with Jonah, and in the dessert with Moses.

Discouragement comes when there is a gap between what you expect and what you experience—when there is a gap between what you hoped would happen and what actually does happen.

Discouragement can destroy your passion and undermine your purpose. It can take root because of what others say or didn’t say—a mom who said too much or a dad who said too little. Unmet expectations can become the breeding ground for discouragement to multiply and take root.

We certainly

Don’t Stop Too Soon

by Sharon Jaynes | | 30 comments

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Can I make a confession? Sometimes I quit too soon. I’ve quit when what I really needed to do was to press on and press through. Sometimes I’ve gotten tired of trying. Sometimes I’ve gotten tired of the struggle. And you know what? I’ve missed many blessings because I got tired of the battle. I don’t want to do that any longer. I’m taking my cues from Joshua.

The battle plan to take the Promised Land was as simple as it was strange. March around the city of Jericho with all the armed men. Do this in silence, once a day for six days. Then on the seventh day, walk around seven times with the priests blowing the trumpets.

Leaving the Land of Disappointment

by Sharon Jaynes | | 15 comments

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Sometimes you expect you’re getting a Rachel and you wake up with a Leah. Okay, I know that example might connect better with a guy, but you get the point.

Let me try that again. What do you do after you’ve crossed the Red Sea of obstacles, only to be dying of thirst at Marah three days later? How do you keep your dancing from turning into disappointment? One thing is for sure; you don’t drive down your tent pegs by the disappointing waters of Marah and camp out there. You move on.

I think of the women on Jesus’s ministry team. They had committed their lives to the Messiah and believed that He would restore Israel. Mary Magdalene and

Long Walk Part of Gift

by Sharon Jaynes | | 3 comments

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An African boy listened carefully as his teacher explained why Christians give presents to each other on Christmas day. “The gift is an expression of our joy over the birth of Jesus and our friendship for each other,” she said.

When Christmas day came, the boy brought to the teacher a seashell of lustrous beauty. “Where did you ever find such a beautiful shell?” the teacher asked as she gently fingered the gift.

The youth told her that there was only one spot where such extraordinary shells could be found. When he named the place, a certain bay several miles away, the teacher was left speechless.

“Why…why, it’s gorgeous…wonderful, but you shouldn’t have gone all that way to get a gift

The Power of One Word From You

by Sharon Jaynes | | 2 comments

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I was wandering around the tourist area of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Shelves with tacky little statues, snow globes with leaning towers, and $10 T-shirts crowed small booths for tourists.

Shifty men with cases of “genuine fake” watches swarmed like bees. Rolex, Cartier, and Infinity—all for fifty bucks or less. Flashing fake gold and flaunting fake brands; their swift feet were ready to run if the authorities were to show up.

“No thank you, no thank you, no thank you,” I sang as I swam through the men hocking their wares.

Then I spotted her. She sat on a bench with colorful scarves for purchase draped over her arm. A blue, yellow and red headdress wound around her head, and

What is Truth?

by Sharon Jaynes | | 29 comments

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My mom wore a two-carat diamond necklace that hung from a gold chain around her neck. My dad had given it to her for an anniversary. Before you say, “Good for her,” keep reading.

One day, when she was shopping in my little hometown, she walked through an alley separating two buildings. This spunky seventy-something-year-old held several packages and her purse looped over her wrist.

About midway through the alley, three teenage boys on bicycles circled her like buzzards over roadkill. One hopped off his bike and grabbed at her necklace. The others continued circling and keeping watch.

But rather than give the would-be-robber what he wanted, Mom dropped her packages and began hitting the boy over the head with her

Why Your Story Matters

by Sharon Jaynes | | 7 comments

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I was 16 years old and about 100 pounds soaking wet.

My friend’s dad, Mr. Evans, gathered up a few of us teenagers and drove us to a church just outside my hometown. We were going to give our testimonies at a Saturday night gathering of strangers. I’d never stood behind a podium, spoken into a mic, or stared at a sea of faces thinking I had something to say. 

When my name was called, I walked up the stage steps, took a deep breath, and told all those staring eyes about how Jesus plucked me out of a home filled with alcohol abuse and violence, and about parents who fought all the time, and about hiding in the closet.

You’ve Been Pre-Approved!

by Sharon Jaynes | | 31 comments

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I walked to the mailbox and then to the recycler. Don’t need this one, or this one, or this one I whispered as I dropped the shiny flyers in the red box.

I don’t know about you, but I get tired of slick ads for things I don’t need and junk mail from services I don’t want. I especially dislike the credit card applications that say I’ve been “pre-approved” for a line of credit. 

But here’s something I’ll never get tired of doing: going to the Word of God and reading His love letter to me. I’ll never stop being amazed that I’ve been pre-approved to be His child. I wonder if that’s how Jesus felt, too.

Just before He began His earthly

Don’t Stop Too Soon

by Sharon Jaynes | | 23 comments

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Can I make a confession? Sometimes I quit too soon. I’ve quit when what I really needed to do was press on and press through. Sometimes I’ve gotten tired of trying. Sometimes I’ve gotten tired of the struggle. And you know what? I’ve missed many blessings because I got tired of the battle. I don’t want to do that any longer. I’m taking my cues from Joshua.

The battle plan to take the Promised Land was as simple as it was strange. March around the city of Jericho with all the armed men. Do this in silence, once a day for six days. Then on the seventh day, walk around seven times with the priests blowing the trumpets. Have

Taking the Good with the Bad

by Sharon Jaynes | | 2 comments

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As I sat on my screened-in porch early one morning, I was taken aback by the beauty surrounding me. I held a steamy cup of coffee in my hand and placed my open, well-worn Bible in my lap. As if on cue, as had been our routine for the past several weeks, a visitor hopped from the shrubbery and onto the night-cooled patio. “Good morning, Peter,” I cooed to the little brown bunny. “How are you today?” I just love bunnies, I mused.

Just as I was enjoying watching my furry friend, he hopped over to a flowerpot, stood up on his hind legs, and yanked a rather large stem from a plant.

“Good grief,” I moaned. “Stop that!” Bounding down the

Struggling Together in Prayer

by Sharon Jaynes | | 30 comments

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I am so glad that God gave us girlfriends who will struggle with us in prayer. Paul wasn’t a girlfriend in God, but he certainly understood struggling together in prayer.

He wrote: “Dear brothers and sisters, I urge you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to join in my struggle by praying to God for me” (Romans 15:30 NLT).

The New Testament was originally written in Greek and sometimes looking at the original definitions of the words can give us great insight. The Greek word Paul uses for struggle in Romans 15:30 is sunagonizomai, which means “to struggle in company of, i.e., to be a partner (assistant), strive together with.” The root word means “to endeavor to accomplish something: fight, labor fervently,

Shaping Worries into Prayers

by Sharon Jaynes | | 26 comments

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Harper and I were having a visit on Facetime. This five-year-old bundle of love, my niece’s daughter, was telling me all about her Guinea pig, Skitters. Skitters was her new best friend. He went down the sliding board with her, nibbled on baby carrots at tea parties across from her, and nestled in the mini stroller in front of her during walks. Oh, how she loved Skitters.

“I had a Guinea pig when I was a little girl, too!” I shared. “His name was Oscar!”

“You did? What happened to Oscar?” she asked. “Did you give him away or did he die? Do Guinea pigs go to heaven?”

I was not expecting those questions and wished I had kept my Guinea

Jesus, Where Are You?

by Sharon Jaynes | | 15 comments

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Have you ever gone through a situation and wondered, Jesus where are You? If You had been here, this wouldn’t have happened. The loss of a loved one? The crash of a car? The devastation of property? Did you know that two women in the Bible felt the same way…and actually told Jesus just how they felt about it!

Jesus loved Mary, Martha, and their brother, Lazarus. He often stopped by their home for a hot meal during His travels. I’d dare say they were some of His closest friends. And yet, when the girls sent someone to tell Jesus that Lazarus was sick, He didn’t go…at least not right away.

The Bible tells us, “So, when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he

When You Don’t Want to Go Back to the Way You Were

by Sharon Jaynes | | 15 comments

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I had braces on my upper teeth three times. Count them. One. Two. Three.

As the orthodontist explained, “Teeth have a memory. They always want to go back to the way they were.”

As soon as he said those words, I felt convicted. I tend to go back to the way I was.

We all do.

Karen (not her real name) admitted to single-handedly destroying her marriage with passive-aggressive coldness, destructive words, and disrespect of the worst kind. After her husband walked away from the marriage, she had a Holy Spirit moment and realized what she had done. Karen’s heart softened and she vowed never to be that woman again. 

She immersed herself in Bible study and began to pray for her ex-husband

Woman, You Are Free from Your Suffering!

by Sharon Jaynes | | 1 comment

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When my brother was a teenager, my mother used to threaten him when he hunched over at the dinner table. “If you don’t sit up,” she would say, “I’m going to buy you a back brace from Sears.” I don’t even know if Sears made back braces then, but it sounded like a pretty good threat to me.

Then I had a son who seemingly grew to six feet overnight. He didn’t know what to do with all that height, so he slumped. I tried my best not to say, “If you don’t sit up, I’m going to buy you a back brace from Sears.”

Then one night my father-in-law took care of it for me. We were measuring and

Turning “No I Can’t” into “Yes I Can”

by Sharon Jaynes | | 9 comments

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I can do it. No, I can’t. Yes, I can. No, I can’t.

Have you ever had that conversation with yourself? You feel like God is calling you to reach out to someone, start a new venture, teach a Bible study, write a book, or share a story about your past that you’ve never shared before. But then your fear shouts at your faith to keep quiet. 

One day Jesus told a parable to a group of listeners. We’ve come to know it as the Parable of the Talents, but it is really more the Parable of the Three Choices. Jesus was explaining what the kingdom of heaven would be like in common terms.

For it is just like a man

God is Pursuing You

by Sharon Jaynes | | 5 comments

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I was in college when I met my husband at a Bible study. He was sitting on the floor dressed in scruffy jeans, a red flannel shirt, and a strong face that needed a shave. The moment I saw him, I was smitten. But I didn’t want him to know that.

Steve finally asked me out on a date, and several more followed. One night, Steve said, “Will you go with me to all the rest of the football games for the rest of the year?”

“I’m not going to answer that question,” I cavalierly responded. “You’ll have to ask me each week.”

What I was saying was that I wanted to be pursued. None of this blanket-invitation-for-the-entire-fall business. I wanted

Finally Found

by Sharon Jaynes | | 2 comments

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I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a little boy so excited! Steven was seven years old, and we were headed to Disney World! It was his first time on an airplane, his first time sleeping in a hotel, and his first time seeing Mickey Mouse in person. My video camera was fully charged and poised to capture those precious memories.

But when we go back and watch the old video, it doesn’t start out as I had planned. We’re in some type of welcoming center where children are running around climbing on various objects, crawling through tunnels, and swinging from monkey bars. As the “movie” comes into view, the first thing I see is my husband, Steve, running

I Just Called to Say, “I Love You”

by Sharon Jaynes | | 2 comments

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It was an unusual phone call from my son, Steven. He was in the second week of his second semester, his third year in college.

“Hey mom, this is Steven. I just wanted to call and say ‘hello.’ I haven’t talked to you in a while and wanted to see how you were doing.”

“Hey bud,” I replied. “How are you? How are your classes? Do you like your professors?” 

We volleyed questions and answers back and forth. It was a nice intro, and I kept waiting for the request such as, “could you put an extra $50 in my account for another Philosophy book I had to buy,” or “does my car insurance go up if I get a parking

Seeing Yourself as God Sees You

by Sharon Jaynes | | 10 comments

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For almost forty years, Margaret lived with word-inflicted wounds that nearly destroyed her life. From the first day she attended her one room schoolhouse, she and her teacher, Ms. Garner, didn’t get along. Ms. Garner was harsh, bitter, and cruel, and could not tolerate Margaret’s childish idiosyncrasies.

Margaret was nine years old when she frantically raced into class, late again. As she burst through the doors, she faced her peers jeering at her maliciously.

“Margaret!” Ms. Garner shouted. “We have been waiting for you! Get up here to the front of the class, right now!”

Ms. Garner ranted, “Boys and girls, Margaret has been a bad girl. I have tried to help her be responsible. But apparently, she doesn’t want to

God’s Articulate Presence

by Sharon Jaynes | | 12 comments

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I believe one of the greatest inventions of the twentieth century was the Post-It Note. First, there was yellow. Then came fuchsia, turquoise, buttercup, and magenta. From full-page mega notes to tiny little strips, sticky notes have saved me from embarrassment, kept me organized, and helped me memorize. Mostly, they have served as visual reminders of information, events, and appointments not to forget.

But visual reminders of things not to forget didn’t begin with Post-It Notes. They began with God, Himself. All through life God places Post-It Notes on our days to remind us of Him. Just today, I jotted down a few Post-It Notes God placed throughout my day.