It's not a big secret that I've been praying for my future husband for years. That's one reason why I was thrilled when I was given the opportunity to review a book called Praying for Your Future Husband. It's a short, sweet book by Robin Jones Gunn and Tricia Goyer. These two women have prayed for their future husbands and have written books for girls in which the heroines prayed for their future husbands. Both women have also prayed and are ... Read More about Praying for Your Future Husband
Do You Pray for Him?
“Once upon a time …” I love stories that start that way! And this is a true story: A hundred years or more ago there lived a preacher called Charles. He was a young man, but he was blessed by God with great spiritual wisdom and granted the pastorate of a large church in London. Among his congregation was a young lady called Susannah whom Charles encouraged in her faith and baptised. They became friends and they were both invited to attend a ... Read More about Do You Pray for Him?
what to do with your mother’s heart when you have no child of your own
Some women are born with a child-shaped hole in their hearts. The hole is meant for a child – or a lot of children – of their own. Why try to pretend it’s meant for anything else? In Becoming God’s True Woman, Dorothy Kelley Patterson writes: “If you are a woman, whether you are married or single and whether or not you have physical children, there is a maternal spirit within your very nature. That maternal spirit has been given you by God ... Read More about what to do with your mother’s heart when you have no child of your own
Inspiring Stories of Women of Faith
“The preoccupation of seventeen-year-old girls don't seem to change much from generation to generation. But in every generation, there seem to be a few who make other choices. Amy was one of the few.” (Elisabeth Elliot in A Chance to Die: The Life and Legacy of Amy Carmichael) The thing I love most about women of faith is that each woman and each story is unique. Christ is revealed in different ways through their experiences and responses. ... Read More about Inspiring Stories of Women of Faith
Inspiring Women of Faith from History
“God's women, down through the centuries, have enjoyed a freedom the world will find difficult to understand – the freedom to be and to do that which God intended.” (Ruth Bell Graham, endorsing Believers: Lessons from Women of Powerful Faith by Gien Karssen) I think I started wondering what it meant to be a woman of faith when I was about eleven. What I wanted more than anything else was a definite, guaranteed list of instructions to ... Read More about Inspiring Women of Faith from History
the beautiful ordinary
Sometimes I miss the beautiful ordinary in life because I'm looking for the extraordinary. I don't know what the extraordinary looks like in your life. In my life it looks like an intimidating combination of The Duchess of Cambridge and Katie Davis. Seriously! I was fourteen when I was told that God had a unique and wonderful plan for my life and I instantly started trying to live up to that plan. I understood "unique and wonderful" as ... Read More about the beautiful ordinary
sowing little seeds
Sometimes the pressure from the rest of the world to do "big things" for God leaves me feeling insignificant and overwhelmed and weak. Is it possible, however, that God smiles when His daughters to do little things for Him with hearts overflowing with faith, hope and love? For me this has been a year of little things. It's not, to be honest, because I've chosen little things over big things for most of the year. It's because my own ... Read More about sowing little seeds
when I don’t want to go to church
Beloved Friends, give yourselves, first, to God and afterwards to His Church ... cheerfully and promptly, without pressure or excitement. (Charles Haddon Spurgeon) At one time, I was one of those twenty-somethings who "loved Jesus, but not His church". I was raised to go to church on Sunday as a matter of course.When I was a little girl, Sunday wasn't really Sunday without church. Going to church, like visiting my grandparents, was one of ... Read More about when I don’t want to go to church
like a walk in a garden
What if devotions are intended to be less of a chore and more of a gift...like a walk in a garden? I love the verse in Genesis 3 that says, They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day... (Genesis 3:8) In this verse "they" are Adam and Eve. I think it's beautiful that God used to come and walk with them in the Garden of Eden. In the cool of the day, He came, to walk with them in companionship. The sad ... Read More about like a walk in a garden
simple is beautiful: 9 ideas for devotions
Sometimes I make my life unnecessarily complicated. Okay, let's be honest, sometimes I make my devotions unnecessarily complicated! But what if simple is beautiful for devotions as well as the rest of life and faith? The dictionary explains that devotion denotes affection and loyalty to an individual or cause as well as piety - and piety means devotion and reverence to God. Moreover devotions is an ecclesiastical term describing ... Read More about simple is beautiful: 9 ideas for devotions
a different sort of princess
Friday, 29th April, 2011 was a never-to-be-forgotten day. I wasn't interested in the media reports of Miss Middleton's relationship with Prince William. The royal wedding, however, was different. I was deeply interested and (to my surprise) deeply moved. I was fascinated as I watched an ordinary girl, Catherine Elizabeth Middleton, become Princess William of Wales: Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge. I wasn't alone. Many of us were ... Read More about a different sort of princess
fighting for faith, hope and love
I'm stitching a wedding sampler for a couple (literally) of family friends at the moment. The sampler features a classic verse that happens to be a personal favourite of mine too. "But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love." (1 Corinthians 13:13) I think it's sad that this verse is so well associated with weddings that it's almost considered the property of brides and grooms alone. The truth beyond the ... Read More about fighting for faith, hope and love
