Manipulate: control or influence (a person or situation) While watching mindless videos on the internet, I came across a video speaking on manipulation. The man in the video was talking about how we often give advice to others saying, “Put a worship song on and drive around and worship God.” But, he said, we can…

Continue: persist in an activity or process; recommence or resume after interruption. Where are you at in your relationship with God today? Are you on fire and running forward? Are you struggling and stuck at a roadblock? Have you stopped moving, sat down, and got comfortable? Or have you started to wander off the path…

Patience: the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset. How many times have you heard the phrase, “Be patient”? I’m sure we’ve all had a variation of this phrase repeated to us over our lifetime.  However, no matter how many times it’s said to us, it’s still hard…

Shift: change the emphasis, direction, or focus of It’s time for a shift.  It’s time for a change.  And it takes your effort and your involvement to make it happen. So many times we want a change. We want a closer relationship with God; we want to be better examples; we want, we want, we…

Different: not the same as another or each other; unlike in nature, form, or quality; distinct; separate For the majority of my life, I have felt like there was something wrong with me.  You see, I’ve always been “different”. Not really someone who was bullied or left out all the time, but I never quite…

Hope: a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen; a feeling of trust Hope is not lost. Recently, a young child I work with asked me to help him search for a “lucky charm”, or a four leaf clover. He had high hopes that we’d find one. But I knew better.…

Wield: have and be able to use There’s a difference between having something, and using something.  For instance, I have a blender, which I got to make smoothies. But I don’t use my blender much anymore. Although I’m able to use it, I don’t. It just sits in my cabinet, getting dusty, and waiting to…

Exhaust: drain (someone) of their physical or mental resources; tire out; use up (resources or reserves) completely. Have you ever waited too long to put gas in your car?  I did. Once. When I first got my car (a 2006 Honda Civic that I was so proud of) I was meticulous with it. I made…

Arrive: reach a place at the end of a journey or a stage in a journey Ahh, Spring. It’s so sunny and so pretty. The flowers are blooming, the sun is shining, and I am smiling. I love the sun; I love warm weather. And with warm weather comes vacations. We’ve planned our vacation; have…

Still: deep silence and calm; quieten There are so many times that we are instructed to be still before God. Psalm 46:10 (a fairly well-known verse) says, “Be still, and know that I am God.” Also in Psalm, in chapter 37 verse 7, it says, “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him;…