Louder Than the Voices

 Good morning, friends! If you're reading this Saturday morning, there's a pretty good chance I'm either sitting in an airport, on an airplane, or wondering what I forgot to pack!  (and realizing one thing was my handy dandy travel scales 😒) We've been getting ready for a trip to Texas, and let me tell you, I've put some thought into this trip. I've checked the weather, planned outfits, and tried to figure out what to wear when it's chilly in Illinois but warm when we land in Texas. I've even spent entirely too much time wondering whether 69 degrees is warm enough to go parasailing! And now all of the sudden, they are calling for rain on Monday in South Padre Island, so that may be out all together.  You would think with all that preparation, I'd have everything under control. But anyone who has traveled much knows you can plan everything perfectly and still have something go wrong. Flights get delayed, weather changes, and sometimes the GPS takes y...

 A few weeks ago, our pastor, Adam, preached about being prepared for the return of Christ. He also talked about how we need to be on guard against the devil and the distractions that can pull our attention away from what really matters. I've been thinking about that sermon ever since, because it reminded me of something that happened many years ago. And with the Newton Eagles winning their first playoff game last night, coached by Jason Fulton, I couldn't think of a better time to share this story. When Mom passed away earlier this year, we asked Jon Fulton to speak at her funeral. I had no idea what Jon was going to say, but I was hoping he would talk about our childhood. We had a wonderful childhood, and Mom was such a big part of it. Jon didn't disappoint. He brought up some of the antics we were involved in growing up, including one of our favorite pastimes: TPing houses. Now, for those of you who didn't grow up doing this, toilet-papering someone's house was a...

Good Saturday morning! I hope you have had a great week! Defining mine in one word would come up as stressful. It was hard and I am so looking forward to some downtime today with a favorite cousin, and maybe a short visit with my uncle. I also wrote a Bible study this morning that really deals with a difficult topic but it has been on my mind most of the week.  I am a Dave Ramsey podcast junkie, and this week I heard him say something that really struck home. "You need to keep a promise to yourself." That got me thinking. Most of us are pretty good at keeping promises to other people. If we tell someone we're going to do something, we make every effort to follow through. We don't want to disappoint them or have them think we're not trustworthy. But what about the promises we make to ourselves? Matthew 5:37  "But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil." Jesus is teaching us to be honest and trustwor...

Happy Saturday! This has been another long week for me, and after a 12 and a half hour day at work yesterday, I was thankful to not be controlled by the alarm clock this morning! I am glad I stayed there last night though because HOPEFULLY, by the end of this day, my new home office will be a lot further along, and I wanted to get work off my plate so I could concentrate with Andrew on getting my new "cloffice" set up. Anyway, on with our Bible Study! For the past three weeks, we've talked about nutrition, physical fitness and finances. We've talked about taking care of the bodies God gave us, making wise choices with our money and being good stewards of the blessings He's entrusted to us. But this week, we're going to talk about the one thing that ties all of those together. Our FAITH. I saved this one for last because I truly believe our relationship with God influences every other area of our lives. And just like our bodies, our finances and our habits, our...

 Over the past two weeks, we've talked about nutrition and fitness and what the Bible tells us about taking care of the bodies God has given us. This week, we're going to talk about something that can be a little uncomfortable for some of us. MONEY! We work for it, spend it, save it, worry about it, and sometimes wonder where in the world it all went! But have you ever stopped to think about what the Bible says about how we handle it? The Bible actually has quite a bit to say about money. And I think one of the most important things we can learn is that being a good steward isn't necessarily about how much we have. It's about what we do with what we've been given. Today I want to share 3 things the Bible says about money. 1. Everything we have ultimately belongs to God. “The earth is the LORD's, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.” Psalm 24:1  The last 10 days have been absolutely brutal for everyone on our staff. We are short-staffe...

 Good morning! What a week! I had my stitches taken out this week and then had some weirdness happening so I made the 2 hour trip to Champaign 2 days in a row. Happily, I just had some wayward tissue that didn't know where to go so it came out through my gums, scared me but thankfully, was harmless. Everything is doing well there. I made a mad dash trip to Lincoln to see my sister and the Pink Pumpkin Auction that she is one of the sponsors and directors of, and then right back to work. It was our first days of LIHEAP and those are always crazy but I have gotten to embrace the week and live this life God has given me to the fullest. This plays right in to what my topic is this week. Part 2 of my series. 3 Things the Bible Says About Strengthening Our Bodies Last week we talked about nutrition and being a good steward of the body God has given us. This week, let's talk about actually strengthening that body. I think sometimes Christians almost feel guilty for putting time into e...