After four months of dating, my then, boyfriend, got all our friends together and planned a three-day cruise. There were eight of us total, four guys and four girls — two rooms (one for the guys and one for the girls). Then off we went to the Bahamas. We had a great time together. On … Continue reading The Betrothal
Growing up, I loved Easter Sunday. We dressed up in our new dresses, ate the candy from our Easter basket, went to church, and spent the day with family eating a lot of food. I grew up hearing the same story every year of Jesus' crucifixion, death, and resurrection. I'm not sure how much it … Continue reading The Passover Lamb
For the past eight weeks, we have been looking into the Beatitudes from the Sermon on the Mount. The other day, I read Psalm 32 and noticed it begins with the same wording as Matthew 5. Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the … Continue reading Happiness is….
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.Matthew 5:10-11 ESV Years ago, a recruiter contacted me because he saw my resume online. He called asking me to come … Continue reading Happy are the Pursued…
How blessed are those who make peace! For they will be called sons of God.Matthew 5:9 CJB I am a middle child. I have three older sisters and two younger. My oldest sister, Cindy, is nine years older than me, while my youngest sister, Melanie, is nine years younger. The term most often applied to … Continue reading Shalom
How blessed are the pure in heart! For they will see God.Matthew 5:8 CJB I read a great quote on the Beatitudes by Skip Moen, PhD. He says, "[A Beatitude] is not a “blessing” that implies one party granting a favor to another party. A Beatitude is really a macarism, an announcement of an existing state, … Continue reading The Pure in Heart Sees God Everywhere
How blessed are those who show mercy! For they will be shown mercy.Matthew 5:7 CJB One of my mom's favorite expressions of surprise is "Mercy!" (Imagine a Southern accent with that) 🙂 My youngest son, Michael loved to imitate her by repeating it when she visited. My mom always got a kick out of it. … Continue reading Mercy!
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.Matthew 5:6 We are continuing our series in the Beatitudes. Today, we will examine the fourth Beatitude found in Matthew 5:6. You can go back and read the last three posts if you haven't already. We didn't have much growing up. My … Continue reading Do you Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness?
We are continuing our series on the Beatitudes. You can go here and read about the first Beatitude called The Poor in Spirit and here to read about the second called Joy Comes in the Mourning. Now, we will look at the third Beatitude found in Matthew 5:5. O the blessedness of the meek! For … Continue reading O the Blessedness of the Meek