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A New Security plugin added to site
I just added a new security plugin to the site as I noted several of our authors were having login attempts from foreign countries. I suggest you change your password to a complicated one. To authors — the lockout is set to 6 attempts of your password and the lockout period is set to 30 mins.. let me know if you are having problems. +2
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Journey With Me to Israel
This month I take you on a photographic tour of the Holy Land. One year ago my husband and I traveled to Israel with Insight for Living ministries. And like many of you, we never expected the world to shut down for the next year (and counting). Thus in this season of Lent, as we prepare our hearts for Easter, I thought it only appropriate to virtually return to the land of our Savior. May you enjoy this journey. Joppa (Tel Aviv): Israel’s ancient port. The Old Testament prophet, Jonah, boarded a boat in Joppa trying to flee from God’s command to go and preach in Ninevah. Storm + Man…
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Thoughts on Ministering during Strange Times
Do you feel helpless to…well…help? Especially after something like that dreadful winter storm that ravaged the state of Texas. Or as people continue in the psycho-emotional quarantine of Covid-19. Or with the global economy still reeling. I thought now might be a good time to chat about this with one of my spiritual Godfathers, Dwayne, who has been serving underserved communities for over 25 years. His insights are invaluable. *** Why did you start serving the homeless and impoverished? I guess I couldn’t silence the words of Jesus in Matthew 25: that he was hungry, thirsty, estranged, naked, sick, imprisoned. And, I couldn’t get over how gracious God was in…
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Hearing Well and Being Heard Well
Everyone wants to be heard well, but are we as willing to hear others well? In order to understand ourselves and others, different ways to categorize people have emerged over the years such as Myers & Briggs, DISC, and Enneagram. I recently read about another way to categorize people in a book dealing with how we communicate, 5 Voices: How to Communicate Effectively with Everyone You Lead.[1] The book describes 5 different voices with which people communicate—the Pioneer, Creative, Connector, Guardian, and Nurturer. Each voice (think communication style when I use the word voice) has positive inclinations and negative tendencies. In analyzing the book through a biblical worldview, I discovered…
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2 Ways for Families to Remember the Faithfulness of God
Sometimes we forget the faithfulness of God. When we face mountains impossible to move, it’s time to remember how God has already led us through. Here are two ways families can remember the faithfulness of God together.
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A Little Story About a Volunteer!
Thought I would share a little story about a volunteer in my ministry named Dori. Dori is in her mid 50’s, married and has three children. She worked for over 20 years at a local brick manufacturer and was let go last year because of Covid. Actually, she lost her job because the government actually paid the brick manufacturer’s hourly workers more to stay at home and be unemployed. The problem with that is that Dori was in administrator for those workers and if she has no workers to oversee, then she was left without a job. Doesn’t seem right to me but to some in DC, that kind of…
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Equality Act passes. Tough week. Romantic realism.
This past week we hit the post-2020 election wall of reality pretty hard— Amazon banned the thoughtful and science-based When Harry Became Sally, singer Demi Lovato declared that gender-reveal parties were transphobic, and Mr. Potato Head came out as gender fluid. To cap it off, at the confirmation hearing for Biden’s nominee to be #2 at the Department of Health and Human Services, Sen. Rand Paul could not get him/her to admit that children should not be able to make their own decisions to make sex changes with hormone blockers or surgery without parental involvement. The outrage has lit up social media. It reminded me of my own onset of rheumatoid arthritis.…
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Teaching Truth: Old Testament Versus New Testament
We are commanded throughout the Bible to share the truth. Throughout Scripture we are told to speak of God’s lovingkindness. power, holiness, and coming judgment to the nations. Does it make a difference if we prefer to teach just the New Testament? Does it make a difference if we are teaching a believer versus an unbeliever?
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Political Pressures Sharpen Your Focus
Often, when I am studying the Old Testament books of history, I marvel at how similar to today are the challenging situations faced by the people and their responses to those challenges. Although the types of challenges may be different, human nature hasn’t changed one bit. And, the choice in every situation back then or today is this: On whom will you rely? Will you rely on God and obey Him regardless of what the culture says? Or, will you rely on your own reasoning and side with the world? One very good example from the Old Testament is found in 2 Chronicles 10-12. The political pressures on the people…
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Living with the End in View
I feel weary these days. My previously people-oriented job has become an Zoom class. (“Genet, are you there? Can you unmute your mic?”) I have recovered from a bout with COVID, but still battle fatigue. My big goal today is to clean the pickle juice out of the bottom of my refrigerator. Now our nation waits for the mass production and distribution of COVID vaccines so that we can return to a new normal, whatever that means. Has the year been wasted? No. I think not. March, 2020 to March, 2021 has been a chance to re-orient my thinking. I don’t know about you, but normally I think a lot…
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Why Don’t We See More Women in the Biblical Text?
Recently, someone asked me why we don’t find more women in the Bible. Last time, I pointed to translation concerns that hide the presence of women. Today, I want us to consider that sometimes we miss the women who are actually named and featured. Here’s a sampling from some of the earliest stories: * * * Go back in time with me to the thirteenth century BC in Egypt. The king has issued an order to kill all boys born into bondage, because members of the slave class—your own people, descendants of Israel—have proliferated, and the ruling class fears an uprising. Born under the ban, you lie in a pitch-lined…
