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RESURRECTION, BELIEVE IN IT AND LIVE IT!
Resurrection! It is one of the most important and powerful events in the world. Easter can mean bunnies, chicks, baskets of candy, colored eggs; but to Christians it is a day to celebrate how Christ came back to life securing salvation for those who believe. Paul put it like this: “For I passed on to you as of first importance what I also received—that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day according to the scriptures,” 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 The truth of the Resurrection makes all the difference to those who believe. But what does it all…
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Motherhood is a Ministry
Recently, while visiting with a college student, listening to her explore her thoughts, hopes, and questions regarding career, ministry, and motherhood; I could tell that her aim was to get it right. When I pitched the idea that motherhood is a ministry she responded by saying that she had never thought of it that way. So here we are. Perhaps you too can be encouraged to know motherhood is in fact, a ministry. You can call it a job if you’d like, it certainly isn’t an idle pastime. In my own journey as Mom, I have organized my time in various ways. I have homeschooled, never left the house, worked…
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Bible Memory? A Must!
Memorizing the Bible has been a challenge in every generation. It is a challenge for every age group. The enemy does not like it when we hide God’s Word in our hearts.
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Silent Nights Suffering Nights
From heaven's height to manger low There is no distance the Prince of Peace won't go
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Releasing “Mom Guilt”
Once upon a time I served as an educator. While serving a special needs family, the mom revealed to me that she felt like her daughter’s disability was a punishment for her own sins. This mom was steeped in deep grief, somehow allowing herself to believe that she was personally responsible for her child’s cognitive disability. I knew her to be a healthy mom in a healthy home environment. She was actually a wealthy mom with all the comforts this modern world offers. Despite having the American dream, she was unable to enjoy the rich blessings of her life due to this story of guilt she had written for self. …
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What Will Be Your Harvest?
Children are listening. They often believe blindly what they hear. Let’s speak the truth in love even in our daily conversations that they overhear and especially when we speak to them. Words can’t be erased or unheard from the heart. Paul tells us in Galatians 6:7 “Do not be deceived. God will not be made a fool. For a person will reap what he sows.” What will we harvest from the words we’ve sown this year?
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Meaning-full Holidays Benefit from Advance Planning
My shopping list includes “Halloween candy,” and my neighbors’ yards feature cobwebs, ghosts, and the Grim Reaper. Yet I just received a gift catalog from an aid organization, an invitation to a holiday brunch, and ads for Advent products in my social media feeds. It feels too early to think about whether to include marshmallows on the sweet-potato casserole. But we also know planning ahead will help make the holidays more meaning-full, right? Here on the Engage blog, I have annual tradition of offering suggestions for doing so. Here’s my 2023 Top Ten list: Prefer a book? I love Fleming Rutledge’s Advent: The Once and Future Coming of Jesus Christ. I get…
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IT’S NOT A RELIGION! IT’S A RELATIONSHIP!
I have said it before and I will say it again, “The difference between Christianity and all the other religions of the world can be summed up in one word, ‘RELATIONSHIP!’”
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Prepare for Academic Success this School Year with One Small Family Tradition that Yields Big Results
As we prepare for the school year, most schools kindly offer up a detailed list of the supplies our kids will need for classroom success. I appreciate my child being well prepared for the upcoming year, but I am also aware that many of my goals for them are not actually academic. Consider one simple part of your family routine that has big results for your student’s academic success; family meal time! While we are focusing on the academic career of our children, it can be easy to forget the integral role our family routines and home environments play in their overall stability and success. Family meal time is a…
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He is Bigger Still
The pediatric dentist had delivered bad news. Our son needed oral surgery on not just one or two teeth, but on multiple teeth. And given the extent of the dental work anticipated and our son’s medical history, the procedures would need to be done in a hospital and under anesthesia. I began reviewing the cost estimates the dentist’s office manager had given to me as my husband drove us home. Hospital operating room + anesthesiologist + dental work = big bills. And it wasn’t just about the additional medical and dental expenses. (Though those were sufficient stress alone.) It was also that, due our son’s other medical needs, he’d already…