Behold, He who keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. Psalm 121:4 The other day I heard a preacher say “God works the night shift!” and I thought how true that is! I have not had a full night’s sleep in many months. It has been frustrating to say the least. I go to sleep right away, but every night, somewhere between 1am and 3 am, I wake up. I am awake for at least one hour, though it is usually for two to three hours;...

“Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you.” 2 Timothy 1:6 What are you to do when it seems nothing is going right? When there is no light at the end of the tunnel? When it appears that your hopes and dreams are never going to be realized? You are to do as Timothy was instructed to do: Stir yourself up! What does it mean to stir oneself up? In the above scripture, the word “stir” in the Greek...

I don’t know about you, but when I was a little girl the thought of disappointing my dad was unbearable. My father is a disciplined man of strict German descent who values excellence in performance. While it is always good to strive for excellence, how many know that little girls and little boys are going to fall short now and then? For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. – Romans 3:23 NKJV Whenever I would disappoint my dad I...

So Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God.” Mark 11:22 As mature Christians we are told we aren’t to rely on feelings to know God is with us. If that is the case, I must not always be a very mature Christian because I sure do like the feel of God! When surrounded by a world struggling in turmoil, sin and despair, it is sometimes not surprising when doubts start to sprout up. When He seems far removed and the walk seems so lonely, I...

A very important aspect to growth and change in life is the pursuit of self-improvement. To be successful in life – business dealings, relationships, spiritual matters and more – we must be determined to better ourselves, on purpose. My husband and I first got involved in purposeful personal development many years ago when a mentor introduced us to a wonderful vision and goal setting program and the concept of dream boards. It was truly life...

During church service last night, the presence of God was sweet. He gave me a word for His people, a word of encouragement. I didn’t get to speak it out last night, but I believe this word is for more in the body of Christ than only those in my church. The Lord said, “Many of you are afraid to look Me in the eye. You have the same feelings of shame and guilt that you had as a child when you did something wrong. It was hard to look your parents...