What You Need for the Get Smart Study

      We start our study on Solomon - his life and his words - this Saturday. Be sure you have a journal, a pen, and a Bible ready for the study. Also, you will want to be familiar with our "4R Method" of Bible Study.       Request - Before you begin to read, make sure you pray and request God's help in understanding His Word. Read - Read through the text twice. Once for context, and the second time, looking for one verse. Record - Choose one verse from the text, and record it. Write it out in your journal, so you remember it. Respond - Then, write a response to the God who speaks to you, based on the verse […] Read more »

GET SMART - Week One

Hello friends,  It's time to get started. Do you have your journal ready? A pen? Your Bible? That is ALL you need except for one more critical ingredient: Prayer. Each day, starting June 1st, before you even read your assignment, make sure you pray and request God's help and insight. Read our article entitled "What You Need for the Get Smart Study" please. It will show you the format we follow. When you start on June 1st, this Saturday, you will start the study of Solomon's life with the story of his birth and beginnings. June 2nd will move you forward to his accession to the throne. Weekends will be devoted to Solomon's story. I'll have a post every day, sharing with you what I […] Read more »

My Only Safe Place

Hear my cry, O God,     listen to my prayer;  from the end of the earth I call to you     when my heart is faint. Lead me to the rock     that is higher than I,  for you have been my refuge,     a strong tower against the enemy. —Psalm 61:1-3 ESV The sea is angry today. The ocean is a restless, churning, white-foamed cauldron. Waves form, rise high, and crash against the rocks with a roar. Water flies in jumbled white spray, flinging itself again and again and again against the cliffs. I watch in awe at a respectful distance. That churning massive body of water endlessly crashing against rock would crush me were I close. Anything in its path would be hurled with a ruthless and killing force. […] Read more »

Get Smart Study

  Welcome, friends! I am super excited about this study, because Solomon has always intrigued me. He was so smart as a young man, asking God for HIS wisdom to run the country. And God GAVE that wisdom to Solomon. But then, he was so NOT smart in having thousands of wives (I can't even wrap my mind around this thought) and then choosing women who worshiped other gods, leading him astray. So let's learn together, shall we? ALL Scripture is God-breathed and can teach us. I can't wait to dig in with you. Watch for postings giving you the details on what to read coming soon. The study starts June 1st. Read more »

Whose Clay Is It?

So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him. —Jeremiah 18:3-4 NIV This morning, I opened my Bible to Jeremiah 18. It’s been quite some time since I’ve studied this book. The two verses above were underlined, so they caught my eye right away. Then my mind traveled back to a day nearly twenty years ago … It’s a Sunday morning and I’m sitting in church beside my husband—and I’m filled with irritation at him. I shift uncomfortably in my seat, wishing he were different. Martyrdom begins to settle […] Read more »

Word Problems - Three Reasons to Talk Less

When there are many words, transgression is unavoidable, But he who restrains his lips is wise. —Proverbs 10:19 NASB I definitely have word problems. You see, I’m full of them, words that is, ready to chatter and share those words plentifully with anyone in hearing distance. Always have been. As if speaking lots of words during the day wasn’t enough, I also talk in my sleep. Have since childhood. When I went to Pioneer Girl camp as a child, I was horrified to learn that the other girls in my cabin secretly stayed awake to be entertained by my nightly sleep talk. Evidently, despite my best efforts, I still have words left over at the end of the day. Yikes. What’s a person to do […] Read more »

Numbering Days

So teach us to number our days, That we may gain a heart of wisdom. —Psalm 90:12 NKJV It has been a dreary and rain-soaked morning, but as four grandchildren tumble out of the van and into my parents’ yard, the sun breaks through. Today is Radish Planting Day with Great-grandpa and the excitement is contagious. Each one has his or her own little garden spade and is more than ready to dig in dirt and plant seeds. “Let’s do it now, can we?” I silently feel grateful that we pushed through the busy morning and did not cancel just because it might rain this afternoon. Three little heads in a row attached to kneeling little bodies listen closely as my daddy explains how to […] Read more »