Louder Than the Voices

 What if rest isn't a reward for finishing everything? What if rest is an act of obedience? As we prepare for vacation, God has been reminding me that rest is not laziness—it's part of His design. Robert's boss requires him to take two weeks away from the shop each year because he knows burnout serves no one. I realized I wasn't much different. I had every day of our vacation planned and packed with activities. Then when our lives were turned upside down, we made a different choice. We stopped buying tickets to shows, purchased three comfortable zero-gravity chairs, and gathered some good books instead. We're intentionally making room to slow down, breathe, and allow God to renew our hearts, minds, and spirits. Sometimes the most productive thing we can do is simply rest in His presence. I started really studying rest and came up with some things to share. #1: Jesus invited people to rest     Mark 6:31     "Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get so...

  "And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." — Philippians 4:7 I am still working on thank you notes, so many people have done so many things for us in the last month, it has been overwhelming, and overwhelmingly comforting. There are seasons in life when the words "thank you" seem completely inadequate. How do you thank the friends who sat beside you when your heart was breaking? How do you thank the family members who showed up without being asked? How do you express gratitude to people who carried part of your burden when you were too exhausted to carry it yourself? The truth is, sometimes "thank you" isn't enough. But perhaps that's because what we're really grateful for is something bigger than the people themselves. We are grateful that God placed them in our lives in the first place. Every card, every hug, every meal, every text message, every prayer, every pers...

 “And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” — Philippians 4:7 The last two weeks have shown me this verse in a way I never fully understood before. Grief is heavy. It shows up in quiet moments, in songs, in empty chairs, in routines that suddenly feel different. But even in the sorrow, God has been so faithful to remind me that I am not carrying this alone. I have seen the hands and feet of Jesus through family and friends who have rallied around us. Through prayers, messages, hugs, food, phone calls, and simply people showing up when we needed them most. Sometimes comfort comes through words, and sometimes it comes through someone just sitting beside you reminding you that you are loved. And somehow, even in the sadness, God keeps giving me little moments that make me smile. A memory of Mom will suddenly pop into my mind. A phrase she used to say. A song she loved. A funny story someone shares at just the right t...

 Good morning! Happy Saturday! This has been quite a week for me, lots of ups and downs, lots of work to get done, both at the office and at home and reality, it really was just a normal week with different circumstances. Funny enough, the same as always. I had to do an evaluation on one of our staff this week and it led me to wonder about what God's evaluation of me would be. One of the first things we do in evaluation is show the employee the job description as that is what you are being evaluated on, so I got to thinking, "What would God's job description look like?" I was drawn to two passages, a verse in Micah and a passage in Matthew. I am one of those "whole Bible" people who believes that both Old and New Testaments are relevant to our lives. I believe God would not have given us the Old Testament if He wasn't planning on us learning from it. So, without further ado, here we go: Micah 6:8 He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the L...

 We made it to another Saturday! We have had a busy week but I am thankful today for a slower weekend.  I still have plenty to do, and I even brought work home because I am going to be gone quite a bit next week for other things so I want to stay caught up, but the fact that I slept in until 5 is just a sign of a laid back day. And it is raining, so no long walks today, I am really feeling a good stretch workout coming on today. I worked my legs really hard yesterday and I am feeling it today so that is probably perfect.  Today I want to talk about something none of us like--rejection. We have all been there in probably every area of our lives; relationships, work, our walk with the Lord. We have all had times that we thought we were doing exactly what God wanted, or we had prayed about something and we felt like God was leading us into the next chapter of our lives only to have it all fall through. We think we are not only talking the talk, but walking the walk and boom,...

 Well, this week has not been what I expected at all. I had decided last week after my little "I don't want to do this anymore" meltdown that I would take a week off. Truth is, it has been a miserable week and I don't feel like I was myself at all. I was tired and bloaty, and had sugar issues, and it was just, well, bad. I fell asleep almost every evening on the couch, couldn't sleep well of a night, I even fell asleep one day at lunch. And I seriously feel so fat and bloaty that I am surprised my clothes will go on at all. Everything down to my double chin feels heavier. This was a failed experiment right down to the fact that I woke up at 2 and couldn't sleep, fought it for an hour and finally got up. So, it is 3:19 and here I am. I am literally aching to go for a walk and when 5 AM comes, I plan to be out that door. As much as I hate how I am feeling, I am glad that I am really missing my life. So, I thought I would do a Bible Study on the reset.  This week...

 Happy Saturday before Easter! We have had a wonderful three night revival at our church in preparation for Easter. We have had great messages, 1 from a young man that has become family in the last few years and 2 from people I have known literally my whole life. Growing up, there were three boys that lived next door. Thankfully, I was a huge tomboy and normally, wherever they were, there I was too. We had such a good childhood and we spent as much time at each other's houses as we did at home. One of those "boys" preached last night. It is funny, you know how you see those memes of people all grown up, but what you still see is that kid? That's me but it is in a good way. Our dad's are both gone, mine has been for over 45 years, and Jon's just a few years, but I couldn't help but think about our "cloud of witnesses" last night that was looking down watching me leading singing, and Jon preaching. I could see our dad's saying, "our kids a...

 Good morning all! Hope you are having a good weekend. I am looking forward to this one, it is going to be busy, but should be good. Our local high school musical is on our schedule for tonight, but lots of things in between. Work has been hard this week but I believe I got many things accomplished. This has been one of those weeks though where I have spent time feeling like I don't fit in. I know that sounds funny when someone has been someplace for almost 26 years, but it happens and I have had some mind battles with it. So, I turned to God and asked what am I doing wrong? There were a couple things that He pointed out that I really was having a bad attitude about, so He redirected me. And there were a couple things that He truly told me, to just keep going. I want to share a few verses He led me to. Let's start out with 1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession. Highlight= God's special possession. Explain=...

 Good morning! Happy Saturday! It is already beautiful outside and I am excited to get to do a Family day today. We are St. Louis bound after while. I had some real heart to hearts with myself this week and realized I had let some backsliding come into my health life, so I decided to do a devotional on just that. Today, we are going to look at Psalm 1:1. Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers. Highlight = walk, stand and sit. Explain = this is a progression, it isn't about people, it is about patterns. When you walk, you start doing something, when you stand, you linger in it and when you sit, it becomes part of who you are. This is not sudden failure, it is slow drift and it is harder to notice. Apply = This week I realized that snacking had become a serious problem in my life. I was letting a couple snacks fit in my workday and here lately, it seems like I was nibbling stuff every evenin...

Happy Saturday! Today is "projects at our house" day. At the beginning of the year, I set a schedule in place to work at Mom's one Saturday, Robert's one Saturday, our house one Saturday and then have a fun day one Saturday. I am so excited about the work that is getting done! Before I go to bed tonight, the mess that my garage turned into over the winter months is going to be cleaned! Andrew and I added a bit to my stairwell project last night, I have two more pieces for it coming this week, Andrew needs to put the new light switch in, and then it will be the way I want it. I am loving what I have so far. So, this week was one of those weeks that something was heavily debated on facebook and it brought me back to the book of James. I know I have given a devotional like this before but I think outside of the gospel message itself, that you will have eternal life if you accept that Christ died for you and rose again, conquered death and went to Heaven to prepare a plac...

 Good morning! Hope you had a good week. I can honestly say mine hasn't been bad, and I have gotten a lot of work done but I have spent the week feeling very behind. We were in the process of moving my office last weekend and I have a thing about messes and working when there are boxes and stuff just sitting around me. I get distracted. So, I was already behind on my work but when the guys moved my desk on Monday, I had to spend the rest of the day getting my office unpacked and back together. I knew that was important to my productivity. I am getting ready to head to the office today and try to get a better foothold on things there. I almost broke my promise I made to myself to stop working on anything ERBA related on Sundays. I didn't and there were times this week, I regretted it but we made it and that is all that really matters.  I thought it would be fitting to do our Bible Study on Matthew 11:28-30. Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you res...

 This week has been one of those life-changing weeks for me. This was my third year of going to DC and advocating for the program, and more importantly our customers, that I love. Every day, I thank the Lord that He lets me do this job. I thank Him even more that He led me to it and showed me what I was made for. When I was looking for a job, I answered a blind ad in our local paper. Actually, Andrew was the one who found the ad first. I wish I could remember it word for word but they were looking for an energetic, kind person for office work. Andrew thought it fit me to a tee. 2 weeks later I was working in the Olney outreach office as the Assistant Outreach Worker. 3 days in, a person came in and needed help but the way our pots were set up at the time, we couldn't help her unless she had already received help earlier in the year. When I asked why, I was told, "those are the rules", well, I realized right then that someone needed to change that and I started wanting to ...

 Happy Saturday again, man, the older I get, the faster these weeks go. Here we are again. This last week has been a crazy one and this next week is going to be too, two totally different things though. I am in the middle of trying to move to a different office so my normally very organized, clean office is barely walkable, then I spent Tuesday in a training, Wednesday presenting a training and Thursday playing catch-up and be ready to be out of the office for a week both. Yesterday was officially a day off to get organized for my trip, but I wound up working a lot of it anyway. So, today, we are off on our monthly family day but making it an early enough day to get home to finish packing. I ordered a new suit for my Capitol Hill meetings, it was supposed to be here Wednesday, then yesterday and it still isn't here. Anyway, just add a little stress in there. I also started officially training for a new 5K this week Getting started back to training reminded me that we are all in tra...

 Good morning! and Happy Valentines Day! Hope you all have something good planned for this day to remind us to love. If you are flying solo in the romance department this year, I ask you to have an all by yourself date day. God loves you, He truly does, He wants what is best for you and one of those things is to take care of you, so set a little budget, go splurge on a pedi, a mani or a facial, and maybe even find a friend celebrating alone and go to a movie.  Of course, at my house, this is mine and Andrew's 34th Valentine's Day and every year looks different. This year, he (and Robert) are laying new flooring in the stairwell to the basement, and I am probably making him homemade caramels before the day is over. There have been years we have went out, there have been years we haven't done much, and then like this one, there are years that we are getting something done that I wanted done. This is love. When I was young, I worked at the Greenup DQ. I worked with a lady name...

 Happy Saturday! Sorry about no devotional last week but I am learning as I get older that I need to listen to God and listen to my body and not be so rigid about MY plans. I really planned on doing my devotional Saturday morning on the plane and then I had a dead battery, by the time I got home, I was just so happy to be home, I just wanted to be. So, I decided that was how it was going to be and I tried not to feel guilty about it.  I did have the layout for last week's devotional though, and it still needs said, because it isn't like things like last week never happen. Also, I think instead of jumping into another book, I may take a few weeks and look at some of my favorite verses and passages. This week we are starting with Hebrews 12:1-2. Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,   2  f...

 Well, Happy Saturday! Happy Snowmeggedon, so we hear. We had big family day plans today to head to Indy but we are changing that, not so much because of the snow earlier in the day but because of the temps. So instead, there are cinnamon rolls in the oven, games on the table and we can have a great family day right here. Carol and I leave early Monday morning (per the current flight time) for St. Louis. Honestly, it won't hurt my feelings if our flight gets delayed just a few hours and they tell us that on Sunday night, but I know God will take care of however it works out. We are finishing James today! I am still torn between weather we are going to Philippians or Proverbs, but it is one of them. Hopefully I decide by next week BUT I will probably take a one week break as we are flying home next Saturday morning. So, lets dig in. James 5:19-20 19  My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back,   20  let him know that ...

 We made it to another Saturday, and we are half way through January already. Someone said this week that January just feels like one long Monday and I can relate. Things didn't go as planned for me this week in a lot of areas, but they went okay and we are all alive and well so we will take it. I thought we would finish up James today but decided to break it off one more time, so we have got 5 verses today and 2 next week and we will have it done. So, lets dig in. James 5:13-18 13  Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise.   14  Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord.   15  And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven.   16  Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other...

 Happy Saturday! We have christened the new year in and we are now on our way, hopefully we are even used to writing 2026 in the date by now. I am so excited, this has been a roller coaster of emotions week and I get to spend the day with the two people who know me best, Dani and Tammy. I. CANNOT. WAIT! It is funny, these two have been there through every up and down in my life, and I hope they would say the same for me. My friend Rob always talks about that line in Stand By Me, that says, "I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was 12". These two are it. They know absolutely everything about me and like me anyway. It is funny, we plan these days months in advance but it seems like I never need them more than when we are getting ready for a day.  So, I want to get on with our Bible Study and get on with the day. We are pulling one verse out of James today, not because I am trying to skimp, but it is truly a stand alone verse. James puts a single verse in ...

 Happy first Saturday of the new year!! I hope everyone is doing well. I think we have had a very good start to 2026 and I am sure hoping that 2026 just keeps rolling along. It has already started hard for some of my friends and I am praying daily that things ease up soon for them. I am finally back to finishing James! And today we are talking about James 5: 7-11. And something most of us need more of but all of us are afraid to ask. Patience.  Do you ever think about how much time you spend waiting? How many times does that bring us stress? Little things like waiting in line at Walmart ( or Kohls can be worse!), waiting in traffic, waiting for a check to come in the mail, waiting to hear about a job, waiting to hear a diagnosis. We all spend a lot of time waiting and unfortunately, that is part of life. How we handle that wait though is a part of who we are in Christ. So, let's dive in. I am back to using my HEAR method as I feel it just really gets the verse really looked at...