The House You're Building

Sisters and Seekers, I logged onto the blog today after a long absence-I am now helping write for a local women's ministry and in this season of life, don't get to my blog as much as I want to.  Saw I had 18 readers from Israel this week!  Welcome and hope we can connect!  As always feel free to comment or send me a message...seeing women from all over the world access this content is such a blessing to me! So why the sudden break from my hiatus?  This teacher/mom/writer/daughter of God is home for day 3 of an unexpected winter storm.  Where I live in the Pacific Northwest, we typically get snow on our mountains and rain in the lowlands.  This winter has been a bit different.  We were getting 1-2 feet of snow over a few days time and the community services that treat our roads are just not ready to handle it.  That, along with freezing temps and meandering hills make the roads treacherous.  God has given me the gift of slowing down and th...

Sisters and Seekers, Let's talk about Sunday night.  It's the time of the weekend we don't want to face because our weekend is coming to an end...I don't know what yours is typically filled with but mine is often a mixture of catching up on housework, taking the kids somewhere, seeing friends, church, maybe a long walk with the dog, and then during the after-dinner dishes that feeling of dread seeps in.  Work tomorrow.  Thinking about all the unique things that week will bring.  Calling the doctor to schedule an exam, making sure I stop at the bank to get cash to pay my yard work help, getting the present for the birthday party because I forgot to order it on Amazon and that particular toy won't get here in two days because it's not prime...but did my weekend really give me the rest I was hoping for?  Did I continue to bring a spirit of busyness with me or did I carve out time to rest.  Does my soul feel reset or am I dreading the week to come because I d...

Sisters and Seekers, Glad to have you back for the final installment of our study on Titus.  Looking at this letter in detail and breaking down the study for you has renewed my passion for God's word.  I love logging on to see how many are accessing this resource.  I hope it has been an encouragement and brought many new insights in how God is changing us to your life. As typical of Paul's style in writing, he closes this letter to Titus mentioning travel plans and ministry partners.  Yet there is something deeper for us if we follow our study process of comprehension, interpretation, and application. Titus 3:12-15 Comprehension -seek to understand exactly what the passage is saying without adding any interpretation to it Define words you may have circled in the overview because you didn't know their meaning.  Look them up in a dictionary, then reread the verse.  After getting the context, write a definition in the margin or above the word you c...

Sisters and Seekers, God's grace is now able to be seen and we now know His plan is the save all the people's of the earth.  The message of grace instructs us to change, to abandon the things we do that don't reverence God and the human passions within us that the world encourages us to do to worship themselves.  Instead control yourself, be moral according to the Word of God, and loyal to Him until He returns.  We hope in this, that Jesus will come again in glory, all will see Him as the God who saves.  He paid our ransom when we were living in disregard of the law, violating it or even holding it's restraint in contempt.  He liberated us to change us, to work a new life within us so he could acquire a people who belonged to him so fully that they would enthusiastically serve others as He did.  This is the message for you to solemnly declare-encourage people under your spiritual care to live this out and adm...

Sisters and Seekers, Glad you are back in our 5th study of Titus.  Today we get into the "theology" behind what we studied last week, how our lives should look as we live out our faith.  By completing this study, you'll learn more about how how great our salvation is.  As previously mentioned, if you are just starting out, go back and find the blog post titled:  Titus: Overview . How did the Spirit speak to you through studying the different seasons of life last time?  Did He reveal an area where you can grow?  As we study, don't forget what He is revealing.  In fact, stop right now and say a little prayer that He would open your eyes to what He wants you to see as you approach His word and that He would bring it to mind in your time of need.  Hopefully you are praying each time you study; I know for me I find it very helpful as I battle distraction, motivation, and a hardened heart at time when I come to sit at His feet. When you get to t...

Sisters and Seekers, Welcome to week 4 of our study on Titus.  So far we have done on over view of the book and studied three other sections of the text.  We are halfway there!  If you are just joining us, look back a few posts to begin the study there, looking at the entire book before diving into sections.  As we study Titus we are using a method that repeats each time so you can learn to apply this to any book of the Bible! Last week we looked at empty talkers , those that were in the church  and teaching a mixed up message.  These were men that say they knew God but denied faith by what they did.  Paul is now shifting in his letter to Titus by giving him instruction for those in the church, contrasting the behavior of the members staring up trouble with what life should look like in every season of life.  As you study, I pray that God will speak to you right where you are at and give you practical next steps in your transformation to be mo...

Welcome back to our study on Titus.  Glad you are continuing along.  How did you last study go?  Are you keeping in mind what a good leader is? There will be many contrasts this week so continue to hold what you learned last week in mind to better understand this section's content. If you are just joining in, be sure to look back through older posts to start at the beginning of the Titus series to get an overview of the book and more details about the "how to" studty portions.  Like last week, our process will be largely the same, as we are taking in content from Titus and also learning a method on how to study that can be applied to any book of the Bible.  This week the scholarship required was a little more challenging and I had a lot more questions.   This required the use of more resources to understand some of the verses.  But I persevered and you can to!  Whatever level you are at, you can grow from studying God's word.  Trust H...