Where does highly happy come fromand can we have some too?!
Click here to download chapter one of The Surprising Secrets of Highly Happy Marriages.
Have you ever looked at a blissfully married couple and thought, I wish I could know their secret? Now you can. After years of investigative research, Shaunti reveals twelve powerful habits that the happiest marriages have in common.
“Father, I confess that I often fail to recognize the truth that every good gift comes from Your hand. I pray Your Holy Spirit would give me a fresh awareness and a thankful heart for the very life You freely give me each day and for the gift of eternal life You so freely offer. Help me to see Your hand in the smallest details of my world and teach me to celebrate life each and every day. Thank You for Your faithfulness to me and for Your unfailing love that sustains every step I take. I want to live a life that truly celebrates You! In Jesus’s name, amen.”
Excerpted from Knowing God by Name by Sharon Jaynes, Gwen Smith, and Mary Southerland
Daily Reflection: How can you show your thankfulness for Gods gifts this week?
Read the first chapter of And Life Comes Back.
When your life falls apart—through a death, a lost relationship, a diagnosis—you want more than anything to know that your pain has a purpose. And that beyond your pain, a new day awaits.
Tricia Lott Williford discovered this in a few tragic hours when her thirty-five-year-old husband died unexpectedly. In And Life Comes Back, she writes with soaring prose about her tender, brave journey as a widow with two young boys in the agonizing days and months that followed his death.
And Life Comes Back documents the tenacity of love, the exquisite transience of each moment, and the laughter that comes even in loss. This traveler’s guide to finding new life after setbacks offers no easy answers or glib spiritual maxims but instead draws you into your own story and the hope [ … ]
What are you running from, Miss Campbell? Gordon knew he had no business posing such a question. Not when he was on the run himself.
Then stop running. Gordon looked down at the toes of his boots. Could he do so? Stop fleeing from his past and simply face it? Confess who he was and what he’d done?
Be strong and of a good courage. A gentler voice this time, stirring deep inside him.
Gordon could ignore his conscience, but he could not disregard the Almighty. He lifted his head. You’ll help me, Lord? Show me what to do, tell me what to say? Gordon was not afraid of words; they were his livelihood. But an apology for so great an error would not be easily spoken.
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It’s hard to say, “I was wrong” or “I’m sorry.” Yet [ … ]
When you choose to live a generous life, you [ … ]
My life was full of good intentionsthose things we write down in journals and share with friends or family, the important ideas that make us feel good about ourselves, the things we know we’re “supposed” to do as followers of Christ. But for too many of us, our good intentions never become good actions. Without action, good intentions don’t move us forward, draw us closer to God, or make a difference in the world. Good intentions are cans of paint that could have become amazing works of artbut never did.
Excerpted from Ten Days Without by Daniel Ryan Day
Daily Reflection: What are some of the fears or distractions that are keeping you from doing those good intentions you find yourself talking about?
Cleaning House author, Kay Wills Wyma, discusses how to get your kids to help around the house with host Wendy Griffith on “The 700 Club.”
Discover how this former White House staff member and mom took action to rid her home of youth entitlement.
To watch her interview, please click here
Click here to read chapter one of A Stillness of Chimes.
When teacher Laura Gantt comes home to Prospect, Georgia to settle her recently-deceased mothers household, the last thing she expects to encounter is a swirl of rumors about the father she lost to the lake twelve years agothat he has reportedly been seen around town. Elliott Gantts body was never found and he was presumed dead.
Don’t give up. Believe the gospel. God is sovereignly orchestrating your life. Nothing done to you by human decision can ever be done apart from God’s will. Whatever others have meant for evil, He will use it for good.
Always remember this: Joseph carried his pain for over two decades until God revealed the liberating truth that nothing can happen to us by human decision apart from His knowledge and father-like concern. That’s what the Bible says. Not even one sparrow can fall to the ground apart from His will.
What have you been carrying around, and for how long? Whatever it is, God wants you to know that He is making you into part of His larger plan to redeem this world and bring glory to His name. That’s who you are.
Trust Him and wait for Him, and [ … ]
I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Psalm 27:13
Psalm 27:13 starts out "I believe…" That is the basis for faith. Faith is one of those things that defies description. To one who doesn’t believe, it seems irrational, maybe even foolish. But those who possess it know it’s the foundation of our lives. When faced with trials, I often find myself longing for Heaven, where no sadness or suffering can touch me or the ones I love. But even so, I believe God is HERE with me NOW and I will see Him work good in the most painful situation. That is faith. And it’s a beautiful thing.
Original Devotional by Kim Vogel Sawyer, Author of What Once Was Lost
Daily Reflection: How do you find strength through [ … ]
