What’s Love Got to do With It?

by Gwen Smith | | 1 comment

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Years ago I experienced a memorable God-moment when my flight had been delayed. On that particular warm June morning, I had gotten to the Philadelphia airport crazy-early and was eager to get home to my young family after a beautiful weekend of ministry.

No lie – when I saw that my flight was delayed, I was bummed. My initial disappointment, however, dissolved into gratefulness, as the extra airport time became an opportunity for me to have extended personal worship.

As I sat facing the flat runway, a fiery orange ball began to rise over the horizon that was simply breathtaking. I couldn’t help but to reflect on God’s goodness as He bragged on Himself with the glorious sunrise. I remember

The Freedom of Forgiveness Part 1

by Mary Southerland | | 10 comments

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Do you remember the last words of Jesus as He hung on the cross? “It is finished!” The most literal translation would be “paid in full.”

I will never forget paying off my very first car loan. After sending in my forty-eighth and final payment, I celebrated the fact that I finally owned my bright blue and ever-so-compact Chevrolet Vega – from bumper to bumper. There were those who said you couldn’t drive a Vega – you had to wear it. Others described the bright blue color as strangely “unique.” But to me, it was the most beautiful car in the world because it was mine.

Of course I quickly found other places to spend the once allocated car payment

The Freedom of Forgiveness Part 2

by Mary Southerland | | 9 comments

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Part of forgiveness is releasing the person from the debt we think they owe us. Sometimes the best thing to do is simply let something go and cut our losses instead of allowing the weight of an unpaid debt deplete our mental and emotional energy. In other words, we can forgive the debt and free ourselves – a lesson I am continually learning to apply in my life.

Dan and I decided it was time to sell one of our old junky cars. A man who worked for the church where Dan pastored agreed to buy it. He and Dan worked out the terms – none of which the man kept. When Dan said he had decided to forgive

Dilute No More

by Arlene Pellicane | | 4 comments

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My husband James is a diluter.

He dilutes fruit juice with water. He dilutes hand soap to make it last longer. He adds water to the shampoo bottle. And friends, he even dilutes my family’s maple syrup.

When we’re gathered around the breakfast table with hot, yummy pancakes, we all know one thing. Our maple syrup will be watery and thin. It will need to be applied quite generously to have any taste at all.

One glorious day, the maple syrup finally ran out. When I bought new maple syrup from the store, I roared to my husband, “You will not touch this syrup!”

Maple syrup is meant to be enjoyed undiluted.

This is how the Word of God should be consumed

The Gift That Keeps On Giving

by Mary Southerland | | 1 comment

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Guilt is the gift that keeps on giving … unless we stop it in its tracks with the unconditional love and overwhelming forgiveness of God.

Sin requires only one payment … and that payment has already been made when Jesus gave His life for us on the cross.

Dan and I once had the opportunity to lead a weeklong youth revival for a large Korean church in Washington, D.C. At the end of the week, a lady from the church invited us to have dinner with her and the leadership of the church. We went to a wonderful but very expensive restaurant – the kind of restaurant that has no prices on the menu. When our hostess ordered one of

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

Here’s What You Should Do

by Gwen Smith | | 2 comments

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Luke 3 tells the story of John the Baptist as he began his ministry. His job? Prepare the way of the Lord. (Luke 3:4) Many royal rulers and powerful leaders of the land are listed at the beginning of the chapter to set the stage and give us historical context, yet it is a normal guy, born to older parents, in an off-the-map-of-all-places-important rural village that the Lord called to be the forerunner for Jesus. (Doesn’t it encourage you that God uses normal people from ordinary places to shout the fame of Jesus? Me too.)

The Lord spoke to John when he was in the wilderness and told him what to do (Luke 3:2). Then John walked his sandals

Hiding Place

by Melissa Spoelstra | | 2 comments

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I played hide and seek often with my three siblings as well as the various friends and cousins that migrated in and out of the house when I was a child. I can remember hiding under beds, the back of closets, and even squeezing into cupboards or toy boxes in an effort to be the last one found.

Some days between managing my home and running the race of church, kids’ activities, and work deadlines, I want to find a place to run and hide. A place where there are no notifications and reminders sounding an alert on my phone. A place where no one is calling, “Mom, I need you.” A place where the mental hamster wheel

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.

Of Thrones and Kings and Royal Things

by Gwen Smith | | 2 comments

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It was shockingly early when the alarm clock invaded my dreams, screaming at me to wake up that morning. Even the sun was still sleeping as I rose. With heavy eyelids and a groggy mind, I crawled out from beneath the cuddly warmth of my bed and ventured downstairs.

The kids had set their alarm clocks as well. We trickled down, one sleepy Smith at a time, and met in our jammies for the big event. It was April 29, 2011. Prince William and Catherine Middleton were about to be married and we were giddy-excited to watch it live from the cozy comfort of our living room couch.

It was worth the early wake-up just to see the hats that