Sunshine in My Nest

In our modern Christmas traditions, it is tempting to rush past the dark and quiet places of waiting. Advent will slow you down to remember the darkness before He came. It also allows for reflection on our own current human experience. Yes, Christ has come and we have so much to rejoice in. Yet, practically, we live in a world that is still incredibly broken. As you remember the longing it allows...

If God kept his promises all the times mentioned in Chronicles, then God kept his promise made at the end of Chronicles, we can know that he will keep his promise to bring a new kingdom. SHOW NOTES: -Go to the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠"Get Started" page⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for all the information on how to use this study - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join thousands of women⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ who receive the less...

When we don’t take time to memorialize what God has done we forget about it. Things that are hard tend to consume more of our thoughts than things that are joyful, so we have to be intentional to remember the things God has done! SHOW NOTES: -Go to the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠"Get Started" page⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for all the information on how to use this study - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join thousands of wo...

It’s easy to think about the hard things that COULD happen to us. That often leads to overwhelming anxiety. But this verse promises (and I’ve found to be true) that when the hard times come the hope of Christ’s work to defeat death meets us with supernatural peace. We can rest knowing that nothing takes God by surprise, and he is with us in the trials and will provide us with peace when they come....

Because he lived, died, and resurrected we can face our trials and even have the option of faith resulting from it! But here is the best part. You don’t have to squeeze out fruit on your own. You don’t have to muster enough faith to produce fruit. Our fruit is an extension of his work and flows from him through us. Brought to you by: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Around the Ancient World⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ SHOW NOTES: -Go to the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...

For me, the new year feels like it starts in November, so it feels appropriate to have this conversation now. Every October my new planner arrives at the perfect time in October, so I can get started thinking through my new year! By late December I’m way too tired to be objective. Why is planning important? I’ve talked to people before about how I plan and they look at me like I’m a three-headed m...

A sacrifice of praise is shifting the heart’s position to recognize you don’t create the good in your own life and that good things don’t come to you by luck, attraction, or manifesting. All good is given to you by God. When you choose to do something, even pleasurable for the right reasons, or recognize your own story in the middle of God's bigger story. Brought to you by: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Around the Ancien...

Discover the unique way God created you to connect most deeply with Him! I love a good personality test. Seeing who we are as individuals in light of the whole community has really helped me kick some of my comparison tendencies.  I took the test and absolutely no one will be surprised I got "Word Nerd" Can you tell us what all of the options are? Which one are you?  How does knowing our type brin...

No matter how dark life gets, we give thanks that he has entered our darkness and brought the light of hope. This is why we eat in remembrance of him. The world is broken. Things were not as they should be, and yet Christ entered it to make a way to restore us back to himself. He was broken in the place of the brokenness we encounter, so the hope he is can be ours. So take heart and remember Chris...

The food and traditions our families have are so important. Jesus told stories and disciples around the table with his followers. You may noticed there are so many themed cookbooks that are out there to inspire and disciple us into things like "The World of Hogwarts" or "Gillmore Girls." Trillia has done something really neat. She's taken the stories of Black heroes of faith and combined it with d...

Life takes a lot of twists and turns that we don't see coming. What we do with those and how we spend our moments is how we spend our lives. The more I read about psychology the more I believe there is so much choice involved in a half-full or half-empty mentality. No one does half-full quite the way I've seen Sally do it. Sally Clarkson shares how she met Jesus. How she came to have a vis...

This verse and this story is a reminder that God sees those who are being abused, subjugated, and sinned against. In Old Testament law looking out for the underprivileged and foreigners were directly tied to blessings, and God promised judgment for abusing them to build up one’s self. Brought to you by: ⁠⁠⁠Around the Ancient World⁠⁠ SHOW NOTES: -Go to the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠"Get Started" page...

If an alien were transplanted to earth, it wouldn't take long scrolling any social media platform to realize humans don't want to age. In fact, they will spend a lot of money not to look like time is passing. I'm encouraged by the way my friend Maryanne talks about how we can age in wisdom when the promise of eternal youth rings hollow.  This topic is coming at such an amazing time for...

It’s easy to limit how we think of God’s healing power. We jump to physical healing and provision. But The Bible shows us times when God healed physically (2 Kings 5:10), emotionally (Psalm 34:18), mentally (Daniel 4:34), and spiritually (Psalm 103:2–3). Jesus reinforces the idea of holistic healing by doing the same during his ministry. Brought to you by: ⁠⁠⁠Around the Ancient World⁠⁠ SHOW NOTES:...

It’s easy to think if we just work hard enough we can get anything we want. The messages of manifesting tell us that if we can dream it we can do it, we just have to want it badly enough. Tara sounds a lot like me when she self-describes as a “control freak." She was chasing her dreams until one day she heard the voice of God saying “You aren’t supposed to be here.” That changed her life.  Wh...

It also means you are designed to reflect a creative God! When you work and create you’re living out your design. Your work, creation, and worship are all tied together. The daily dishes and sweeping after meals are the work of creating order. If we choose not to rush through our days with scrolls and swipes, then what we do is a reflection of God’s creation of order and is a form of worship. Brou...

I've briefly mentioned before that I had a crisis of faith soon after I had my first baby. I long story short, I threw away my Bible because learning who Jesus really was felt too overwhelming. A few months later God brought Nancy's "Seeing Jesus in the Old Testament" series to my attention. I used that to re-learn what I believed the Bible taught. At the time I wished she had so...

I hope understanding where this name comes from combined with this verse reminds you that you don’t have to sin or pull strings in order to have your needs met by God. He is a shelter for you. As you live in trust that God keeps his promises you live in the nearness of God. According to this verse, you will be close enough to be in his shadow. Brought to you by: ⁠⁠⁠Around the Ancient World⁠⁠ SHOW...

Living in community with other believers is mentioned in scripture to help us grow in our faith. But culturally we are moving away from it are we losing anything? Why are you so passionate about community that you've chosen to encourage people toward that for so many years?  What benefits do believers get from living in a community?  What does it look like to live in a community? Does it have...

Our grief at death is often overwhelming. It’s because as humans we weren’t created to experience death. We were created to exist in a world of eternal fellowship with God and perfect relationships with others. The fall marred the blueprint for our existence in a horrific way. Brought to you by: ⁠⁠⁠Around the Ancient World⁠⁠ SHOW NOTES: -Go to the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠"Get Started" page⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...

I thought parenting would be easy. I read all the books looking for the perfect formula and became more and more frustrated that I wasn't being given one. I realized with time each child is so individual that even if someone offered me a formula it wouldn't work. I then entered a phase of overwhelm and fear.  Has flourishing always defined your family, or was there a time of desperation fo...

This blessing is a reminder of God’s presence with his people. Even though sin broke the experience his physical presence with Adam and Eve in the garden. God wants us to know that he is present. He holds and keeps us, and with his presence is peace. Brought to you by: ⁠⁠⁠Around the Ancient World⁠⁠ SHOW NOTES: -Go to the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠"Get Started" page⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for all the informat...

Today we are talking about how to keep a steady diet of faith even when life gets squirrely. What does your IDEAL time in God’s Word look like? I think it's easy to assume everyone does the same thing we do! How does Bible time change when you're overwhelmed? Have you ever had a season where you felt like you were spiritually starving? What are some unconventional ways you’ve gotten into t...

It’s easy to let our mental growth go on pause. Some of us who loved reading in high school go for years without reading a book. We talk about holding space for our kids to create, learn, and explore, How do we reawaken that desire for ourselves? There’s a concept in Charlotte Mason education that we are to expose our kids to many beautiful things so that their minds have a large room. What areas...

When we take time to create something we find to be beautiful reflects a creative God! Does that sound confusing, listen along as we chat and I think it will get clearer. What led you to create? What stage of life were you when you started? Have you ever had someone reject something you created? How did that affect you, and what did you learn from it? How do you move past creative blocks? What rol...