God Has Given You Precious Promises

by Sharon Jaynes | | 7 comments

Friend to Friend

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

Can You Be Both Humble and Great?

by Gwen Smith | | 1 comment

Friend to Friend

John the Baptist stood out like a sore thumb. Created and set apart by God for a specific task. A great task. The greatest. To prepare the way of the Lord. A human megaphone for Jesus, John the Baptist spoke words of maximum volume as he pointed others to the One and Only and prophetically authenticated the divinity and eternal nature of Christ.

John knew who he was and he knew who Jesus was. He was all about Jesus. Unashamedly unique, John didn’t cave to comfort, popularity, expectations of others, or tradition. Instead, he walked in obedience to God and sought to make much of the Messiah.

He was an odd bird who ate some seriously unconventional food. I’m down

Breaking Up With Your Past

by Lisa Morrone | | 12 comments

Friend to Friend

The past is a curious thing. Even though we have physically moved beyond it in years, we often live as if we are smack-dab in the middle of it. We still harbor some of the same emotions, habits, and knee jerk reactions that were cultivated into our beings as children. Sadly, we find ourselves responding from the same place of uncertainty, fear, shame, or defeat that characterized our upbringing—even though we proclaim to have been “born again” into new life. If we are honest with ourselves, our “new life” feels to be about 80% old ways.

My upbringing was challenging, to say the least. The emotional issues that each of my parents struggled with sent shock waves throughout

Time to Get Healthy!

by Mary Southerland | | 5 comments

Friend to Friend

I have struggled with weight issues since I was a little girl. Part of my struggle is rooted in “fluffy” genes lovingly passed down to me through several generations of “fluffy” relatives. The remainder of my struggle is firmly rooted in the fact that I hate exercise, take medications that cause weight gain, enjoy eating, and sometimes use food as an emotional outlet and reward.

I was a young adult and living on my own before I realized that part of the creation process included green things called vegetables. The motto in our family was, “If it ain’t fried, it ain’t right.” Gravy was a condiment and potatoes a staple at every meal. No bread? How can you have

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

by Sharon Jaynes | | 7 comments

Friend to Friend

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

Building a Successful Family

by Mary Southerland | | 4 comments

Friend to Friend

What a crazy day it had been! It was a day probably like many of yours. I was a young mom with two small children. My husband was the youth pastor at a large church in town. I taught a weekly Bible study for senior high girls and directed a youth choir that practiced one night a week and sang for the early worship service every Sunday. We hosted a youth Bible study in our home every Monday night … and, well, you get the idea. My schedule was almost to the point of ridiculous, and I was exhausted most of the time. But this particular day had been crazier than most.

Both kids had a cold and were

You’re Sitting on a Great Inheritance

by Sharon Jaynes | | no comments

Friend to Friend

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.

The Beatitudes of a Great Mom

by Mary Southerland | | 4 comments

Friend to Friend

We live in a world that often denies the importance of being a mom. I am certainly not an expert. When our daughter was born, the bottom line of my heart was simply to be a successful mom. Our daughter’s teenage years were rough! I remember telling her once, “You are going down this road of destruction over my dead body!” She almost did!

But God chose me to be her mom, so I was determined to be the best mom I could be. The good news is that God wants the same thing. Being a parent is a holy calling from God, and God never calls us to do a job without providing the power and the plan

The Solution to Restlessness, Part One

by Gwen Smith | | 4 comments

Friend to Friend

My friend Cammie is a children’s ministry director at a local church. One day, as she was preparing for the lesson she would teach on Sunday morning, she had an idea for a fun illustration that would require a few props. She asked her four-year-old daughter to help.

“Hey, Taylor! Can you please bring me a few of the Fisher Price people from your dollhouse?”

This reply came from her preschooler who was sitting across the room…

“No, Mom. They just want to chill out. They’ve had a long day.”

So funny… yet so not funny.

My word, people! When our children’s toys need a break, you know that it’s time for you and me to hit the pause button.

And, truth be told,

The Solution to Restlessness, Part Two

by Gwen Smith | | 1 comment

Friend to Friend

The gap between knowing I need God’s rest and responsively living it out can be huge.

You too?

Yesterday we began to talk about the spiritual discipline of rest. {If you missed part one, CLICK HERE to read it from my blog.} We began to break down R.E.S.T. as an acronym and started a walk through Scripture to see just how God’s best for you is fueled by this discipline.

R.E.S.T. {Reflect. Engage. Surrender. Trust.}

Our takeaway from the first of word of the acronym, reflect, was this: when you reflect on God, you better reflect God.

In addition to prioritizing times of reflection, we must also personally engage with the Lord. To go to Him in prayer and interlock our hearts, motivations,