Delightsome Land

Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain. John 12:24 NKJV https://bible.com/bible/114/ jhn.12.24.NKJV Most people love the thought of being gifted and having the ability to do something great, but we don’t smile so brightly when we are placed in the refining processes of life. But what happens to a seed if it’s not planted?  We cannot rightfully ask our Vinedresser to skip out on the development of our lives simply because we are uncomfortable with being alone in dark places. To keep a seed from being planted is to condemn that seed to never realize its full potential. It is a fact that seeds are meant to be covered to die.  No matter who we are, where we are in life, or where we’ve come from, we must begin to appreciate the ugly stages of our inception. When we allow the Lord to shift our mindset, we begin to see that everything that has ever happened t...

If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. James 1:5‭-‬7 NLT https://bible.com/bible/116/ jas.1.5-7.NLT ARE YOU WEARING THE B-A-D-G-E OF GOD? 

 There are five principles required to handle life’s financial decisions. I like to refer to them as the B-A-D-G-E! A badge is defined as a means of identification. It lets people know who you identify with. So, let us look at what the B-A-D-G-E stands for! B – BUDGET In order to get the most out of your finances, you have to create and stick to a budget. Not just every now and then, but you must budget consistently. Budgeting provides an understanding of the purpose of every dollar tha...

100 million copies are sold each year. 50 copies are sold every minute. Its complexity can boggle great minds, and yet it’s simplicity can be understood by children. It’s the most widely read, most fiercely debated, and most often quoted book in history.  What is it? The Bible. But what is the Bible, exactly? How was the Bible written, and by whom? Why has the Bible had such a far-reaching impact on people throughout history? What relevance does the Bible have for our lives, today?  What is the Bible? Let’s start with some basic facts about the Bible . The Bible is one book, divided into two major divisions--the Old Testament, which contains 39 separate books, and the New Testament, which contains 27 books. Each of these books is further divided into chapter and verse.   The Old Testament relays the story of God and His people before the birth of Christ. It begins with creation and outline...

"Teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts to wisdom." ~ Psalm 90:12 Life is filled with opportunities, but the big question is what we do with them. Do we let them slip by, saying, “Maybe next time. There is always another day”? Or, do we seize them? We may not have as much time as we think. Dr. Leslie Weatherhead calculated the average length of a life using the hours of one day to illustrate the importance of recognizing the value of time. He concluded that if your age is 15, the time is 10:25 a.m. If your age is 20, the time is 11:34. If your age is 25, the time is 12:42 p.m. If you’re 30, the time is 1:51. If you’re 35, the time is 3:00. If you’re 40 the time is 4:08. At age 45, the time is 5:15. If you’re 50, the time is 6:25. By age 55, the time is 7:24. If you’re 60, the time is 8:42. If you’re 65, the time is 9:51. And if you you’re 70 the time is 11 p.m. Psalm 90:12 reminds us, “Teach us to number our days that we may apply our he...

The curiosity of children is quite possibly the greatest player in their drive to learn. It is one of the single most compelling aspects of human life in that it motivates us to go from a baby crawling on the floor, to a toddler toppling over, to a child chasing a firefly through a cool summer night. Curiosity pushes us to communicate with gestures and words in order to ask for the things we want, and it guides us towards the answers to the things we don’t yet understand. The curiosity of children and the questions they ask also can make us stop in our tracks with disbelief, shed a tear in sorrow, or hide our faces as we quietly struggle to hide the laughter we do not want them to see. My poor parents knew the curiosity of kids very well from raising two boys, yet they were never fast enough to muffle our mouths when an inappropriate question was just too important to ask. A question like, “Mommy, why does that lady have a mustache?” Not only did my brother and I each ask th...