Nothin' But Fine: with Emily Trotter

Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.  Psalm 37:4 To quote Inigo Montoya, I do not think that means what you think it means.  We think this verse means that if we love the Lord he will give us whatever we want.  That’s what the desires of your heart is, right?  The stuff and circumstances you long for?  Yes and no.  You see if you truly delight in the Lord yo...

I have a new friend you guys and I know you will love her too. Besides having a soothing British accent, she is like sunshine pouring through the interwebs. So thankful to be able to introduce you all to her! Laura is the Good Girl Syndrome Coach that you never knew you needed - until now. She grew up in the English countryside, before living & working in the corporate world of London for 15 y...

God created us to bring him glory. That is what our top priority should be. It’s easy to get lost in the weeds of how and why, but the long and short of it is just do it. It doesn’t matter how. It doesn’t matter if you want to. It only matters that “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord”. (Colossians 3:23) At first you might think that God sure does sound like an...

Unsolicited parenting advice. Wait!  Don’t turn me off!  Noone asked me how I parent, but I am giving you my opinion anyway.  After some digging in Bible I actually am pretty convicted about how I’ve done the past 21 years.  We all know the Old Testament says to honor your father and mother.  It’s in the Ten Commandments, the BIG rules Israel were given right off the bat.  Upon further study howev...

The holidays are a time of happiness.  Right?  What if you aren’t happy?  What if you are grieving?  Grief is tricky.  It sneaks up on you sometimes and can roll over you like waves.  It is possible to hold bother grief and joy at the same time.  How do you cope?  What do you do?  My pastor, the Reverand Dr. Shane Green speaks so eloquently on this subject.  It seemed like a good time to have this...

Women are found all throughout the Bible.  Not only are they present, but they have purpose.  Even in this day and age it’s hard for women to feel valued and appreciated and understood.  Sure, we have made great strides as humanity, but there is still work to do.    The great thing about looking at the women of the gospels, is that it takes all kinds.  God did not just use a certain type... Contin...

Mary Magdalene is one of those people that is a lot is said about, but not necessarily a lot is known about.  That’s part of the problem of studying things of ancient history.  They did not write everything down.  Mary and the female followers of Jesus did not have blogs or social media accounts to take us with them.  (Wouldn’t that have been great if they had?  I would be a subscriber to all thei...

You know why the story of the woman at the well in John 4 is so good?  It’s because Jesus knew exactly who this woman was before he ever met her.  He knew all the things she had done.  All the husbands (and not husbands) this woman had had.  And he talked to her anyway.  I argue that he passed through Samaria just to speak to this woman.  This might even be more significant than all the other mora...

John 11 tells about Jesus raising a man, Lazarus, from the dead. He was dead, dead. Been in the tomb for four days. Definitely a miracle. Definitely a great story. However, it’s not my favorite part of the story. Lazarus had two sisters, Martha and Mary. Everyone may know that Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, but they also know about these two women. See Martha was the one that was distracted a...

It’s exhausting to have people over.  There is so much work to be done.  It’s like once you get started the list just grows and grows.  Kind of like “if you give a mouse a cookie, he’s going to ask for a glass a milk” and so forth and so on.  Things like clean the baseboards all of a sudden seem very important to your guests’ comfort and enjoyment while in your home.  And I am likely to get really...

Mary was so young and so wise.  She was chosen by God to be….his own mother.  The rest of us do not get to choose that.  (If I was given the choice, I would stick with the mama I have if you are wondering.)  Man does this say a lot about the kind of human Mary was.  I mean God knows the number of hairs on my head, but I don’t know if he would have chosen me to be his mom. I have really been sittin...

Can you imagine getting to see baby Jesus?  Like for real.  What if you were in the church like you always were and as you came around the corner there stood a young couple with a new baby.  Suddenly something deep inside of you jumped, and you felt filled with joy and light like you were going to burst.  Feeling a strong desire to nurture and protect yet at the same time being comforted that this...

Perhaps this passage is where the insane standard for a woman having it all comes from.  Seriously, this woman in these verses is phenomenal…but really daunting to try to live up to.  It even starts out by saying, “A wife of noble character who can find?”  Now, don’t get me wrong.  Scripture exists to teach us and draw us into a closer relationship with God.  There are things we should strive to d...

Esther is one of only two books in the Bible titled by the female main character.  (Ruth is the other one.)  It also does not really reference God. So why do I think it is important?  First of all, a verse that you have probably heard before is in it.  “Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this.” 4:14  I have referenced it many times in my life.  It means that mayb...

During the time of the Judges an Israelite family from Bethlehem went across the Jordan into Moab because of famine. Should they have gone? Who knows? Moab was not a place Israelites should be. The Moabites were a constant problem to the Israelites. I’m sure Elimelech did what he thought was best for his wife and children. His two sons were not the healthiest. They were sickly kids. As it turns ou...

Deborah is a nominally well-known bible character.  And rightfully so.  She led the Israelites to victory over an army of 900 iron chariots that had been plaguing them for like twenty years.  (By the way, iron chariots at that time would be like a tank.) This was no small feat.  The opposing army could literally roll right over them and this is pretty much all we know about Deborah.  She is introd...

What is a woman?  This question has come up more than probably necessary.  Or at least been answered in ways…that make you scratch your head.  While I have many opinions on the subject of what makes a biological woman, this isn’t about that.  I am a woman, born and raised.  I have never questioned that fact, but I have wondered about purpose and place.  All I ever wanted was to be a wife and mothe...

Claudine and I met through a friend of Jim’s.  She came very highly recommended for our upcoming trip to France.  Jim loves a schedule.  We knew she would help us to see Paris efficiently.  We did not know that she would become our friend.  Her knowledge is bottomless.  And she gives interesting facts not just the ones everyone else knows.  She can show you parts of “must see” stops that are hidde...

He is not here. He has risen. Just as he said. Légō is the word used for as he said in Matthew 28:6. It originally means “lay down to sleep” and used later as “laying an argument to rest” i.e. bringing a message to closure – moving to a conclusion – “laying it to rest”.  Case.  Closed. It is finished to just as he said.  Wow.  Just wow. Read the rest of the show notes on our website Nothin' B...

The crucifixion is terrible to read. The whole thing actually, from beginning to end. All the events that took place…unsettling. I don’t want Jesus to have suffered. The anger I feel when I think of those priests and teachers and elders. The lies they told. Their blood lust. They were supposed to be the ones you could trust. Goodness and morality were key parts of their job. Yet they were the crow...

Molly and I literally met at a bar. We were both waiting for our rooms to be ready at the hotel Alt Summit was being held at. We were hungry and tired from our cross-country flights. I never would have spoken. Thank goodness Molly did. I love it when you meet a friend. Molly is such a JOY. I know y'all are going to love her. Molly Balint is a business mentor, speaker, multi-passionate creativ...

We are familiar with all those stories.  We are getting to the part of the Bible that we know.  Here is what I notice.  So much of this chapter is about us getting completely off track.  Religious leaders that have gone completely awry, disciples that miss the beauty of the anointing, the meal, the prayer time, and betrayal.  I got stuck on Caiaphas and Judas.  Caiaphas was the Chief Priest for go...

Ya’ll this is end times stuff. When you read what Jesus said and the conditions surrounding his return, it’s like check, check, check. Then look out your window to see if you see him. H says no one knows the hour or even the day. But it feels soon, right? It’s going to get worse? Yikes. The Old Testament prophets are all up in this: Daniel, Ezekiel, Joel Isaiah, Zechariah. Jesus quotes them . Ther...

As Jesus’s public ministry/life on earth was drawing to a close there seems to be desperation…or a sense of urgency in Jesus. He had made a dent in meeting people and getting his message out there. But there were so many more souls to reach. Jesus never wavered. He remained steadfast. He never went off brand despite being constantly questioned by the religious leaders who were set on catching him...

Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?” “Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments.” Which ones?” the man inquired. Matthew 19:16-18Why didn’t Jesus say obey all the commandments when the guy asked which ones? Doesn’t that seem like a dumb question wi...