{Spend September praying for your church using simple Scripture-based prayer prompts based on the book of Acts. #prayersfromthepews} Can you believe it's already the day after Labor Day? This year has flown by for our family. Maybe it has for yours too? Perhaps you remember that almost a year ago Scott started a new job — he's the Associate Pastor at First Baptist Church in Florence, Alabama. We've spent the past eleven months learning the ropes at our new church, getting used to a ... [Read More]
15 Ways to Pray for Your Church
I love Easter Sunday. Everything about it ... from the little girls with hairbows bigger than their heads to the teary eyes throughout our sanctuary as we sing of the resurrected Christ. I love the newness Easter brings, the hope and the life we experience in Christ. Last night our church was blessed by the music of the SOZO children's choir from Uganda. {Here is a live video from our Sunday morning service.} Y'all, my heart could have burst as these beautiful children sang of the love and ... [Read More]
3 Reasons the Church Matters
Welcome to day 24 of STAND OUT: 7 traits of a counter cultural life. You can find every post in this series indexed here. We're wrapping up the discussion about DEPENDENCE today. In a society that values self-sufficiency and independence, one of the most radical ways we live counter culturally is to acknowledge our need for relationship both with God and with others. We were created with an inherent desire for connection with God and community with others. As believers, we also have a ... [Read More]
Be Generous with Grace
Grace: the unmerited favor of God; receiving that which we don't deserve. We can’t do enough or be good enough or live well enough to earn the grace God has given. It’s why verses like this mean much to us as believers: For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not as a result of works so that no one may boast. Ephesians 2:8-9 Not from ourselves. Not of ourselves. Not through ourselves. It isn’t about us at all. Grace is entirely ... [Read More]
Book Review: The Pastor’s Wife by Gloria Furman
Do you ever wonder what your pastor's wife is thinking? Or how she feels? Ever wish you peek into her heart — not as a busy body but so you could better minister to her? If so, The Pastor's Wife* by Gloria Furman is for you. Gloria shares an honest account of life in the pastor's home with a candor and grace that will open your eyes to a taste of what it's like to be married to the man who shepherds the flock and shares the Gospel. While she wrote the book for pastor's wives, I believe ... [Read More]
good days, hard days, and gratitude
Monday and I used to be tight. I loved the fresh start and possibility she brought each week. But not so much lately. Lately, she's felt bossy and overwhelming. And {because I suppose there is a 14-year-old girl inside me still} I've resisted her urgings and demands, even though she wasn't altogether wrong. This week is different though. Not because I was up at 5 a.m. writing like I should have been. {More like 7:10 so I could drive my girl to school.} Not because I had a good night's ... [Read More]
