Rejoice Always…Really?

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand Philippians 4:4-5 ESV It is a constant throbbing pain. Some days I “feel” every bone in my ankles, fingers, and wrists. It is exhausting and depressing. So when I come to Philippians 4:4…
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A Battle

A Battle By Angela Mackey They. People I trust and love People I hide from If THEY knew… If they knew what I thought If they realized what I have experienced THEY would call me names… Heretic. Foolish. Liar Progressive. Conservative. Wrong. Or would they? I do not know because I hide.
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Culpable?

Culpable? by Angela Mackey It happened before A leaving, a void, a rift   I see it. How it happened. Where we have been. Will they listen? Decisions tabled Waiting, flailing, languishing I see it. The coming storm. Will they listen? Do I dare? Bitterness whispers Tearing, ripping, wounding I see it. The anger roiling.…
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EnJOYing Election Season: Cultivating Joy in the Chaos

EnJOYing Election Season: Cultivating Joy in the Chaos

“Evangelicals for Harris” are all CHINOS — Christians In Name Only. God is not fooled. Neither should we be fooled. My Social Media feeds are full of vitriol…from both sides of the political divide. “How can any Christian vote for a convicted criminal, rapist, insurrectionist, etc.” And it grieves me. The Bible says that all…
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Art and Beauty: How to Embrace Beauty to Change Culture

“I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn’t say any other way… things I had no words for.” ― Georgia O’Keeffe Sometimes we forget that God created beauty. At least we evangelicals who value utilitarianism above beauty and art do. We forget that God is the original artist. He paints on canvases…
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A Reason to Go to Church: God’s Presence and Joy

“Silence is the perfectest herald of joy. I were but little happy if I could say how much.”  Claudio, Much Ado About Nothing, Shakespeare God does something special when His people come together as a congregation. When we sing, take communion, baptize people, listen to the preaching of God’s Word, His presence comes to us in a special…
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Joy and Presence

Just a note…I have missed sharing this space with you all. So through prayer and planning, my goal is to post here twice a month. I hope you are blessed. Where Joy is Found You [the LORD] reveal the path of life to me;in your presence is abundant joy;at your right hand are eternal pleasures. Psalm…
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Intimacy, Holiness, and Power

“Lord, who may dwell in your sacred tent? Who may live on your holy mountain?” Psalm 15:1 My heart echoes the cry of the psalmist. How do I get close to God? How do I develop a deep and abiding relationship? Can I move-in with God? What must I do so I can dwell with…
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Discipline and Missions

The word God gave me this year is discipline… I am flat out bad at it. I feel constrained by schedules and when I don’t accomplish tasks on the days I plan I chastise myself. But then I don’t plan my time and so I have a stack of things that need mended or a…
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God Did It – A Conference, A Call, and You

In case you didn’t know, last week I spoke at The M.O.M. Initiative’s Better Together Conference. Here are some pictures of the conference.   I flew on a plane to Jacksonville, Florida and met with 22 authors and speakers who shared break-out sessions and keynotes to several hundred women. It was a sweet time of…
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Pressing In

Some days lay us low, stress us out, and there we stand as if naked – our sin and faults airing dirty. Our dreams of the picture perfect family and getting ready for school without drama shatter about us. Those days hang heavy as God gently but firmly chisels away the yuck to free us…
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Because Feeling Small is Really Good

Tears stained my cheeks – crying was becoming a habit. One I didn’t particularly enjoy, but perhaps God needed me here. My emotions raw over the hugeness of the dream only He could bring about. “I feel small,” I confessed to my friend. “When I talk about the dream, the goal God is laying on…
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Giveaway information and Fasting

Today I have a post up at The M.O.M. Initiative and they are having two weeks of great give-aways. Check out the post Sibling Squabbles here. Yesterday I fasted from the time I woke up until 3 PM. I wonder if God uses fasting to show me how desperately sinful I am. I acted cranky,…
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Faith, Hope, and Love

“And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.” 1 Corinthians 13:13 Faith, hope, and love I often wondered about these three. They all seemed so docile and personal. Depending on where I place my hope, faith and love these things could lead to selfishness and self-righteousness. This…
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Just A Note and Scripture Memory

Last night I had about 50 or so youth from my church in my backyard. They swam and played a game called pickle ball. It was a lot of people and I noticed something about myself. When I am distracted by people and things, I don’t pray. I turn off my brain and forget. I…
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Hunger

“How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord Almighty! My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. ” Psalm 84:1-2 My stomach made that crazy loud empty sound and I felt like I hadn’t eaten in weeks. It had only been…
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Finally…

I did it. Finally. . . I finished memorizing the book of James. I thought it would take me about 6 months, instead it took over a year. . . SIGH. The good thing is I am now DONE! I am doing a happy dance. I plan on reciting James in a YouTube video in…
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Water for Our Thirsty Souls

I look out my window, drops of dew mixed with last night’s rain cling to its surface. The damp world reflects the morning sunlight causing colors to appear more vibrant. As if awakened by the cooler weather and rain birds fly, bugs swarm, and hummingbirds visit the feeder outside my window.   The rain awakens…
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Time for Joy

There are times when life weighs heavy and laughter is difficult to find.   Times when: men open fire on a full movie theater… adults use and abuse children they are to protect… people ignore signs of abuse to protect their image… jobs are hard to find… the future seems dark and twisted… dear friends…
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Burdened or Carried

Religion is tough – a list of rules and rituals we must follow to be pleasing to God. If we only do enough things right then maybe God will be pleased with us. Religion is grueling work and there is no way to measure if you have done enough to please God.   A relationship…
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