Amy Olrick
"O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare Your praise." - Psalm 51:15Last summer, one of my dear friends told me about an encounter she’d had with a young group of students. My friend is an accomplished writer and frequent university speaker, and the students came to her...
“He is not here; He has risen, just as He said. Come and see the place where He lay.” – Matthew 28:6 “But mom, you promised!” my eight-year-old eyes widened as the words roared off her tongue while she sat with arms crossed and lips tight. I couldn’t remember what...
“He (Jesus) is not here, but is risen!” – Luke 24:6aJesus is ALIVE! He conquered the grave and rose from the dead, never to die again. Jesus destroyed Satan’s greatest weapon - the fear of death. Hallelujah! Praise God! What does Jesus’ victory over death mean for us?As I prayed...
Stacey Barkley
"Better is the end of a thing than its beginning, and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit." – Ecclesiastes 7:8 (HCSB)On a recent visit to New Hampshire, my husband and I patiently waited for our boarding call. Our flight had been delayed again. As I...
Sarah Freymuth
Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. – James 1:2-4When we don’t feel good, when...
Renee Gotcher
“Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at...
Lori Altebaumer
Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him. -- John 13:15 If you would like to know humility, take a temperamental and overly tired toddler out in public. They’re God’s gift to...
Kristen Terrette
Loving God means keeping his commandments, and his commandments are not burdensome. -- 1 John 5:3 (NLT) I love God for He has saved me! I talk to Him constantly. I raise my kids to know Him. I serve in His church. I do a devotional every day to keep...
Laura Maser
"Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it." -- Proverbs 22:6 (NKJV)This morning in my quiet time, the Lord highlighted Scriptures filled with examples of people who heard the voice of the Lord and obeyed Him. As...
Karisa Moore
“But standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom He loved standing nearby, He said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then He said to the disciple,...
Lilka Finley Raphael
Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, “Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it.” -- Numbers 13:30 (NKJV) I am a grateful empty nester. Yet, I once thought this was impossible. My child-rearing years can be summed up...
Lori Altebaumer
If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” -- Luke 11:13As the mother of twins, people often asked me if parenting them got easier over time. My...
Kristen Terrette
“Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”-- 1 Corinthians 13:7 (ESV)I write faith-based romance novels. If you read romance or even watch a romantic movie, then you know they follow a formula. The love interests, often called the hero and heroine, will meet for...
Laura Maser
"Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends." -- John 15:13 (NKJV)During this month and in this season, we often think of romantic love, of Cupid and his arrows aimed at people's hearts, causing them to fall in love. Such a picture...
Beth Patch
No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love Him.” – 1 Corinthians 2:9 (NLT)My grandmother’s youngest sister, Vinnie Mae, lay awake in her bed. At 87-years-old, her once busy life of leading the choir, running an interior...
Amber Ginter
“We love each other because He loved us first.” – 1 John 4:19 (NLT)Before I met my husband, I often wondered what the love of Jesus would look like in a companion. Growing up in a broken home, I was confused about what it meant to love God. I’d heard...
Nicole O'Meara
For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died...
Treva Barnard
“Love your neighbor as yourself.” -- Mark 12:31When Jesus commands us to love our neighbor as ourselves, He implies that self-love and self-care are not selfish but foundational to fulfilling His command. To truly love others well, we must first nurture our well-being—spiritually, emotionally, and physically.Self-care is an act of...
Nancy C. Williams
“And the Lord, He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed.” – Deuteronomy 31:8My beloved husband and I were once roped into serving as contestants for a homemade version of “The...
Charlaine Martin
And now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you all that you ask, for all my fellow townsmen know that you are a worthy woman. She replied, "Wait, my daughter, until you learn how the matter turns out, for the man will not rest but will settle...