Gateways to Joy

Hi ladies! I thought it would be fun for us to participate over at Courtney's place and join her in the summer reading plan for moms. What exactly is Courtney's summber reading plans for mothers you ask? Her plan follows the S.O.A.P method.  What is the S.O.A.P method?  So glad you asked. The S.O.A.P. Method stands for: 1. S- Write out the scripture passage for the day. (I have a shiny new notebook where I will be writing out the verse/s of the day.) 2. O - Write down 1 or 2 observations from the passage. (After I write out the verse, I will write what I learned from the verse.) 3. A - Write down 1-2 applications from the passage. (Then I will write out how this verse applies to me if it is applicable.) 4. P- Pray over what you learned from today’s passage. (Then I will pray this verse over myself and my family.) As you go through this study, if you come across a verse or passage that you don’t understand, I recommend Crosswalk’s Bible Study Tools found here: h...

What does it mean to live with Jesus in the center of your life?  Today is  Walk with Him Wednesday community blog link up . It's  another gathering over at Ann Voskamp, writer of "One Thousand Gifts: A dare to live fully right where you are. What comes to mind for you when you think about that question? "What does it mean to live with Jesus in the center of your life"    When I   think about the question, the first thing that comes to mind is Matthew 16:24,  "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross and follow me." Certainly this will look differently in each of our lives.  What you consider a denial of self—your cross, and a picking up of it will be different than the denial and cross of another.  For this reason, it is important to practice a "no comparison" life.  Do not compare your life to the life of another.  Notice that Jesus doesn't simply say...

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'W ords I'm reading—  My second husband's death, a long and agonizing process, made me unutterably grateful to God for plain, ordinary housework.  It was just cooking for him—and racking my brains to come up with menus he would be able to enjoy at least a little bit—and cleaning and washing his dishes and clothes and sheets, carrying trays, keeping track of his medicines and answering his letters that got me through.   I would find myself thanking God for a pile of dishes or laundry. It is the one for whom a job is done who gives it its meaning .  Of course I was not thinking about frying pans or laundry detergents when I was frying an egg or washing. I was thinking of Add.  As the disease progressed, however, he became extremely depressed and no longer wanted to eat, to be read to, bathed, dressed, or cared for in any way.  I was like the "trouble of Israel" to him, and he told me so.   Nevertheless the work still had to be done.  Even when he ...

Y esterday a friend and I discussed the highs and lows of our quiet time and our Christian walk over the phone.  We meet like this regularly just to lend support and encouragement to each other— an ear.  "Oh and how are you doing?"  She asked With much attitude, and wanting her to pick up on it so that she would back-off I said, "Fine.  I'm fine." I knew she wasn't really asking about my well-being, but rather about a specific situation that I am going through. "Um-hum."  She replied. "Okay, ok.  I'll tell you the truth!  My quiet time is going great!  God and I are having good conversations ... the intimacy is really good ... but my mind still tries to take me back.  It keeps wanting to drudge up all of those old memories and thoughts." She had sooo much to say.  I sat and listened. After a while though, my mind began to drift to the book of Romans and the conflict of our two natures ....