“The day was drawing to a close, and the twelve came to him and said, ‘Send the crowd away, so that they may go into the surrounding villages and countryside, to lodge and get provisions; for we are here in a deserted place.’ But he said to them, ‘You give them something to eat’ They said, ‘We have no more than five loaves and two fish—unless we are to go and buy food for all these people.’ For there were about five thousand men. And he said to his disciples, ‘Make them sit down in groups of about fifty each.’ They did so and made them all sit down. And taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd. And all ate and were filled. What was left over was gathered up, twelve baskets of broken pieces.” (Luke 9:12-17 NRSV)
When Jesus fed the five thousand plus, His action was pretty simple. He didn’t hand-deliver lunch to each and every person individually; yet each piece that multiplied was as sanctified and miraculous as the original loaf or fish from which it was broken. He blessed it, broke it, and gave to His disciples. His involvement was needed no more after He spoke the blessing, put His hands on the work, and assigned the roles; and yet His fingerprints and DNA were on every piece that went forth.
It’s not likely that even the disciples had the responsibility of hand-feeding each person; moreover, it probably had to have been an efficient, quick-moving chain reaction of them sharing to a group, and then folks passing down the line more and more and more only to find there was still more than enough.
What could be any cooler than a miracle where everyone gets to be involved in what God is doing?
Imagine being in that crowd, holding a piece of that food, saying to your neighbor, “Check this out…I’m breaking it apart and sharing it with you, and look! My piece is still as big as it was before!”
Our Lord has already equipped us for the supernatural in the 21st Century, too! Now we are the ones with an opportunity to pass His blessings on to others as we partake of what He has freely given…and we find ourselves actually wanting to take part in perpetuating the process.
The miraculous has that effect. When we have tasted His goodness firsthand, we no longer wish to be mere spectators or recipients-only; we want to feel a miracle multiplying as it passes through our fingers. We want someone else to get as big a kick out of watching God at work as we ourselves are.
I wonder…did trust issues keep some from breaking their piece apart and sharing; or instead of passing a portion to the next person while they waited their turn, did they interrupt the flow and hold on to what was meant to keep moving down the line, others having to reach around them to keep the process in motion? Would they get up or scoot away from the seated crowd, eating their portion with their backs turned, fearing lack, instead of receiving with grateful hearts and being willing to bless someone else, too?
Faith may not have come easily for some; but yet the mercy of God had still worked to provide for them, too — the reluctant ones would miss out, however, on the thrill of watching God’s multiplication at work in response to the demonstration of their own faith. And I have to wonder if part of the reason there were twelve baskets of leftovers (aside from the fact that Jesus Christ never underdoes a thing), is that a few who really grasped the enormity of this moment were so excited to participate in His miraculous provision, that they kept breaking and breaking and sharing!
Don’t live on autopilot today. God has enabled you to partner with Him in blessing those around you and demonstrating His goodness. Take what you’ve been given and set a chain reaction in motion by sharing it with the rest of the world. When you feed one, whether in the natural or in the supernatural, whether in the physical or in the spiritual, you are actually part of feeding the five thousand!
Lisa Crum is the author of CALL THOSE THINGS: BIBLE-BASED HEALING CONFESSIONS. She serves on the administrative staff of Regional Church of God in Delbarton, West Virginia; she is also a part of the worship band and praise team and ministers weekly through singing, playing the keyboards, and saxophones.
She has had a keen love for and gifting in writing since she was very young. In recent years, she began sharing her devotionals and teaching articles through social media, blogging, and printed publications.
Lisa is a lifelong resident of southern West Virginia, specifically the coalfields of Mingo County; and she loves the rural life she’s been blessed to share with her husband, Dana. The great love of her life is the Lord Jesus Christ, to Whom she gave her heart at the age of seven.
Lisa is also an Ordained Minister with the Church of God, Cleveland TN.
You know, I used to kind of laugh in disbelief at those videos of people who were in very shallow water but thought they were drowning. I wondered to myself why they didn’t just stand up and save themselves.
But anxiety and depression can be described like that same scene. When you know that you are fine and could just stand up to save yourself, but instead your mind tells you that you are drowning and that everything is falling around you and you’ll never get out of it.
You feel you’ll never be able to stand up out of the water.
Fear, anxiety, depression… we all struggle with something. And whatever our something is, the devil fights to use that against us as often as he can.
For some it’s porn, alcohol, atheism, denial, sexual immorality, abuse, or any number of struggles. Mine has always been fear.
I didn’t realize it until I got older, but the devil has been working on using fear to bring me down my entire life.
Little bits would pop up here and there, but with the grace of God, I kept trucking along. It was my divorce that almost broke me, though.
I changed after my divorce. I looked at the world through the eyes of betrayal and hatred. I looked at myself that way too. I didn’t believe good could come after it. I didn’t believe I was worthy of God’s plan anymore. I wondered what was so wrong with me that my husband would betray me in the deepest manner and treat me like his worst enemy.
The devil almost won.
It has been four years and I still struggle. I still wonder what could have been. I am happily married with an amazing life full of so much grace. I have succeeded at everything I’ve put my mind to. I have conquered my hardest days. I have fought to be where I am today.
And yet I sit here with the feeling that I am drowning and lost. I sit here like God isn’t still on the throne. Like all hope is lost.
When I know better, I suffer in silence.
In this world we will have trouble, but do not fear for I have overcome the world, the Lord says.
Sometimes I get angry at God and the fact that He didn’t just stop Adam and Eve from sinning. That He didn’t just stop Satan from being Satan. I mean, He is God for goodness sake. He gave us free will and because of that, we experience turmoil and pain.
We hear of unexplainable evils in this world. We are taught this is a BATTLE. We are instructed to put on our armor every single day.
Satan will stop at nothing to destroy every glimmer of hope and joy in your life. Make no mistake — this IS a battle and there will be a time when you will have to choose this day whom you will serve.
I struggle but I have hope in the one who saves. I hurt but I have a rescuer. I cry but I know a God who died to wipe my tears away. Who took on the pain for me, who took back the keys to hell, who is powerful enough to rescue me time and time again when I fall. Who is one day coming back again and who gives me hope and a future. Who keeps me going, who forgives me each day, and who loves me and you with a love I’ll never be able to understand.
I know that God and I hope you do too because He is worth it.
So go, pick up your mat and start walking towards Jesus… actually, RUN!!
It’s time to remind the devil who we are in Christ, and that we have the final say for our thoughts, actions, and healing. We do not have to remain defeated. Remind Satan we know the end of the story and it’s victory in Christ Jesus.
We have already defeated our worst days and we don’t have to give in to the hopelessness and pain. We are more than conquerors and we have WON!!
Reach out, ask for help, be honest with your struggle because I promise you that someone else out there has struggled with the very same things.
The devil loves to tell us we are the only broken ones and that we are alone, but isolating is the worst thing you can do. People care so deeply about you and God really does have an amazing plan for your life. And when the devil tries to tell you that there’s no hope or that God has left you, hold onto the following verses.
It’s okay to struggle, but it’s not okay to stop getting back up! You are never too broken or lost for God to rescue you.
——— Romans 8:31-39 ———
31 What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34 Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.
35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?
36 As it is written:
“For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Hannah Smith, author of the Moving Mountains blog, is a woman who feels she has experienced a lot of life in her 33 years.
At 19 years old, Hannah joined the Army. After moving around the country, getting a divorce and losing what seemed like everything, she landed back where God wanted her in Ohio, even though she fought the whole way. She is now a devoted follower of Christ and seeks the Lord with all she’s got.
Hannah is married and a RN, but works as a stay-at-home mom to her 3 children per instruction from the Lord.
She loves to hike, travel, drink coffee, and talk about Jesus. Hannah also has a heart to create a home and life in which she can be a safe place for the hurting and the broken. Her biggest piece of advice would be to never tell the Lord you will never do something- because He will most likely then ask you to do that very thing, LOL!
To her readers, Hannah says, “I believe that God set every single one of you reading this apart, for such a time as this. It is my hope and prayer that God would use the words I say to change your life in a way you and I never thought possible!”
“From a pilot’s perspective, flying ahead of a storm requires knowledge of weather before and after departure, what kind of turbulence to expect, and how and when to deviate from storms. Pilots are trained to instinctively handle inclement weather — with or without visibility — but by no means are they flying alone.”[1]
Airline pilots expect storms. Airline pilots train for storms. Airline pilots react to storms and lead through them when they are deemed unavoidable.
What about church leadership in terms of storms? Are leaders prepared to lead through storms? How do leaders react when encountered by storms? Storms are not new for church leadership. However, what is new is this colossal storm named COVID-19?
Prior to 2020 most pastors, worship leaders, youth leaders, administrators, kids’ leaders, teachers, or anyone for that matter had not heard of COVID-19. Instead, many were simply leading churches and ministries having no foresight that the new year was about to divulge a looming disaster.
From the beginning of the pandemic through mid-year, most if not all churches still find themselves spinning to react in a fruitful manner to the storm called COVID-19.
Storms are not new; always have there been storms that threaten the normal function of ministry. Learning how to lead through storms is the repetitive issue for leaders. In the same vein, just as an airline pilot has to spontaneously respond to conditions found while leading the plane, so do those who lead people through various storms. However, the storm named COVID-19 is a game changer.
To worsen the matter, the church is all over the place in every denomination in terms of how to respond to the storm. Some churches and ministries, for example, are reportedly seeing revival and renewal while others are discouraged due to lack of interest. In some locations, such as in California, pastors are being threatened with arrest warrants and loaded with threats of hefty fines if they proceed with in-house worship.[2] However, other churches in other states have resumed as normal. Still yet, others are offering online-only forms of worship, or are gathered on parking lots for outdoor worship. The response has been anything but organized.
What about the aspect of leading in the storm with pressure from the people in the fuselage? To make matters worse, there exists pressure upon leadership to lead through the storm from the aspect of the people; Christians have all responded to church and COVID-19 in any way but unified. For instance, some find no worry in gathering, while others refuse to enter a church building. The pendulum swings wildly; some Christians will shop in malls and eat in restaurants, however, will not return to church gatherings or even participate online. On the other end of the vast pendulum swing, believers demand in-house services and will be discouraged if they are not made available. Some Christians fight over being forced to wear masks, while others protest attendance if masks are not enforced.
Moving forward, one cannot ignore the cultural pressures of the storm; most shopping malls are open, stores have resumed operation, vacation destinations are in full booking season, pools are being swam in, amusement parks are selling popcorn, and the vast majority of local sports are playing ball. Nevertheless, numerous church leaders are sitting in the cockpit contemplating the next move to lead people from the mall and stores back to engaging in worship.
Leaders, believers, and worship/church gatherings have to find a way through the storm. Absent of a divine miracle, COVID-19 is here for the long haul; this storm will not be over soon unless God eradicates it, therefore, leaders must find a way to navigate the church forward.
Leaders must find a way to navigate the church forward.
Sports have found a way; coaches and players haven’t given up and quit. They still play. They have found a way through the storm. Businesses and restaurants have found a way through the storm; they have remained open and customers still arrive. The shopping malls have found a way through the storm. Vacationers, protestors, and amusement parks have found a way through the storm; people haven’t given up. The church, Covid or no Covid, must find a way through this storm as well.
Leadership, storm or no storm, is about influence; the only way to cause people to follow is to have strong relational influence. In contrast, leadership must never be purely transactional. In other words, leaders will be extremely unsuccessful in leading through the storm simply by commanding believers to do anything. Instead, there has to be an influential lead and follow. Therefore, church leaders must lead through this storm by example. This is a key navigational component for success in leadership, however, it is especially true when leading in a storm.
Church leaders must lead through this storm by example.
Remaining in the vein of the airline pilot, if caught in an unavoidable storm how do they lead through it?
1. They slow down. [3] In other words, they reduce the speed of the plane; the strong fluctuations of the storm’s vertical forces will be less likely to damage the aircraft if they are flying at a reduced speed.
Church leaders need to slow down. Take a deep breath. Rest. Pray. Study the Word. This would be a perfect time to draw closer to God than ever before. Exhausted leaders are unfruitful leaders.
The fact is, God saw this storm coming and did not divert the church around the storm. Absent were words from the tower (heaven) informing leaders to bypass COVID-19. Therefore, God saw it coming and holds the answer of how to get through this storm. God is faithful, and God will guide (1 Cor 1:9; 1 Cor 10:13).
Furthermore, if leaders exhibit a calm resolve it will be reflected within the people. Leadership is influence. Therefore, lead with influence by maintaining a calm resolve that this too shall eventually pass, and that God will lead to victory. Leaders that are spinning out of control produce followers that are spinning out of control.
Leaders that are spinning out of control produce followers that are spinning out of control.
What the church needs in this storm are leaders who example the way out by trusting God and not allowing fear, worry, stress, or panic to crash the plane. Be vocal about it and believers just may follow the example of a restful, safe, and calm resolve.
2. They disconnect autopilot. [4] Pilots take control and pay attention during the storm. Simply stated, this is not the time for leaders to be in a state of lazy mediocrity. This is not a time to be taking God or the role of leadership for granted. Likewise, this is not the time to be in a state of denial or spiritual slumber.
Wake up. Pay attention. Press in. It recalls the words of Peter as he said, “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour (1 Pet 5:8). Meanwhile, share this mentality. Preach and teach it. Voice it constantly on social media. The displayed and transparent example just may influence believers within the church to snap out of autopilot as well.
3. Pilots focus on maintaining attitude control. [5] Rephrased, they stay calm and avoid freaking out. They apply patience and keep their emotions in check. This must be applied to pastors and leaders during this storm called COVID-19 in equal fashion.
The fact is people see the leader’s attitudes and are influenced by them; this works for the good as well as the bad. People can hear it in the leader’s voice, and they can see it on his/her face. What have your social media feeds reflected during this storm? How has the church been influenced by your communication? Have you reflected joy and peace or fear and fret? Also, what attitude has been expressed before the people about the importance of church gatherings?
If leaders do not express an attitude that gathering is essential, people will reflect the same attitude. It may take time and a slow intentional effort, however, eventually people will be influenced to see the light in the darkness of the storm if the leader’s attitude is positive. The best way to example a forward path through this storm is to keep the attitude in check.
4. Lastly, pilots do not turn around. [6] Once found within an unavoidable storm, the last thing a pilot does is attempt to turn the plane around. Doing so increases already heightened structural stress on the aircraft.
Leaders, the only way out of this storm or any storm is to lead forward. There is no going back. There is no retreat. There is no option to quit now. People must hear this in your voice, and they must feel it in your messages, posts, and facial expressions. Leadership is influence, and the best thing a leader can do in this storm is lead forward with influence upon people with a no quit spirit.
Leaders must not talk about surrendering services, neither giving up on the vision/mission of the church or ministry. Now is a great time to cast fresh vision, and to exude joy about the possibilities of a great and fruitful future. Leaders need to talk about life after the storm. Point the people beyond the storm and lift their spirits with the forward look that this too shall eventually pass, and the best days wait ahead.
Express that in the future ministry may be adjusted, however, point them to the future, nonetheless. Leaders lead with influence and looking forward will yield positive flight plans.
Whether you are a church goer or a church leader, remember that leaders lead through influence. Therefore, influence people through this storm by slowing down, disconnecting autopilot, maintaining your attitudes, and by refusing to turn around.
Pastor Toney, along with his wife Monica, serves as the pastor of The Refuge Church in New Martinsville, WV. Prior to this assignment, he led in a revitalization for twelve years of a church in Wayne, WV.
Pastor Toney is passionate about leading the church into revival and into an encounter in the presence of God. He believes that a presence driven church will experience the glory of God, and he strives to lead as a committed pastor of the people.
Pastor Toney is an Ordained Bishop with the Church of God (Cleveland, TN.). In addition, he holds a Bachelor’s degree from Lee University, and he recently completed a Master’s degree from Lee University as well.
Engage: occupy, attract, or involve (someone’s interest or attention); establish a meaningful contact or connection with
When you face troubles and hard times, how do you react?
Everyone reacts differently — some people panic, some people get stuck in denial, some people jump straight to negativity, and others simply begin to figure out how to solve it.
But the one thing we should have in common as born again children of God is to engage with God during these hard moments.
To engage with God us to involve Him in our lives, in our problems, and to establish a meaningful connection with Him.
However, oh so often, believers instead disengage during crises.
If we’re honest, when trouble arises, we find ourselves becoming preoccupied with reacting to the situation.
And in these moments where we should be drawing closer to God, we withdraw from Him.
Maybe you blame God for the situation.
Maybe you’re angry He didn’t stop it.
Or maybe in all the stress you just forgot to engage with Him.
But according to the Word, every good and perfect gift comes from above. God does not do anything to harm us. Bad situations are not orchestrated by God.
That’s something to remember.
When bad situations and hard times come, we should seek God. Lay everything at His feet. Ask for peace, understanding, and wisdom.
We should be actively engaging with Him, not disengaging.
So the next time troubles come, remember to seek God and allow Him to lead the way, trusting that He’s got this. It’s going to be okay.
Maddisen Sauls is the smile and voice behind the Everyday Joy blog as well as the author of the Word of the Week posts and the editor of by leaps and bounds. Throughout her life, Maddisen has worked as a reporter for small town newspapers, a School Age and Preschool teacher, and has acquired her ministerial license.
An avid book reader and lover of the written word, Maddisen is passionate about using her favorite medium to reach the lost and the hurting, and to offer encouragement and hope to those struggling through life.
Following her battle with depression, Maddisen has made it her mission to help other people through this journey and to bring joy to the lives of the people around her.
You can find Maddisen on Instagram @maddisen.paige
Oh, did that seem a bit forward for our first time meeting? My apologies. Let me introduce myself. Hi! I’m Telina and I tend to overthink, well, pretty much everything. I also get in my own way, a lot.
Let me explain. I am a creative and I have a ton of things that I want to do at some point in my life. My brain almost always has a lot of things going on, which is good but can also be not so great at the same time.
When you have a lot of things that you want to do, it’s easy to become overwhelmed.
For example, I write music and love to sing. However, I have had dreams that I’ve been afraid to chase because my brain runs away with me.
Let’s say I have an awesome opportunity to do something with my music and before I know it, my brain has me out on tour every weekend. The thoughts that run through my mind, instead of just being happy and enjoying the small opportunities that are presenting themselves to me are, how will I do it all? How will I still take care of my kids and husband and my home and be a pastor’s wife?
It’s times like these that I have to slap myself in the face and say, “Slow down Beyonce, no one is asking you to go on tour.”
I have to say that it’s a little embarrassing to admit to you the way my brain works. Part of succeeding is being able to see yourself successful. I must say, I have that part down pat. That can be good, but when it overwhelms me before I’ve even started anything, it can be the very thing that stops me from beginning. In a nutshell, I get in my own way.
A couple months ago, a friend shared an online challenge for Christian artists, songwriters, and worship leaders with me and thought that I might be interested in it.
Now, speaking of overwhelming, there have been so many things to pop up online lately because of the limitations of doing things in person during the quarantine. There are so many good things available, it can be hard to distinguish what the good, and also, right thing is for me. I was trying to limit myself to just those things that were right for me so I was slow to say yes.
I looked at the challenge and saw that it was free, which was a good thing. It was only a seven day challenge, so not too long of a commitment, another plus. I still wanted to make sure it was the right thing for me to devote my time to.
As I looked at the challenge, I realized that one of the speakers was one I had heard before and that my friend and I had been able to meet a year or two previously. I decided to do it.
During that week, I was ministered to in such a way that things I had been wondering if they would ever come to fruition began to unfold right before my eyes. I knew that God had done this on purpose.
The week long challenge ended but I was able to stay connected and have now committed to a life long membership to a mentorship with Brad Guldemond, who led the challenge, and a small group who came out of the week long challenge.
The way it all came about is amazing and something that I’ll have to tell you about at a later time. It was the first challenge he had ever done of this sort and he had some questions, but decided that if certain people said yes to certain things, he would say yes to continuing on with it.
One of the phrases that really caught on during the challenge is that you never know who is on the other side of your yes. I am so grateful that the person he was asking something of said yes. I’m thankful that he then said yes to coordinating the challenge, that my friend said yes to sending it to me, and that I said yes to doing it!
Guess what? During the first month of the mentorship program, I’ve learned that there are different types of artists. To be successful, you do NOT have to be on tour full time and be gone every weekend! Of course, it would be great to do that, if it’s what you want to do. But it’s not completely necessary. It’s not an all or nothing kind of thing. It is possible for me to write music, lead worship at my church, lead worship for other churches and conferences when I am comfortable with it, and still be successful! I am the one that controls my schedule, right? I know that doesn’t seem like a mind blowing revelation for you, but for me, I needed to hear it from someone else!
Do you remember the scenario I told you about earlier? The one where I was on tour and unable to fulfill any of the other responsibilities I had because I was exhausted from traveling the world in front of millions of people? I was kinda hoping you had forgotten about that. I don’t expect you to have as wild of an imagination as I do, so maybe you can’t relate to that kind of thinking.
But maybe you can relate to an extent. Maybe you have things that you want to do too. Maybe you don’t know where to start.
Here’s what I want you to do: Make a list of the things that you see yourself doing at some point in your life. Maybe you catch yourself thinking about crocheting blankets as an older lady for all of the new babies being born in your church or neighborhood. Maybe you have a desire to stand in front of thousands of people and proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ. Maybe you would like to write music and share it with the world.
Here’s what I want you to know: It’s okay to dream! I am so glad that you are allowing yourself to dream of doing things that you’re not doing right now.
Sometimes, when you’re a dreamer, you can almost feel guilty for wanting something more than what you have. Especially when what you have is awesome and you are abundantly blessed.
I want to assure you that dreaming of something more is not being ungrateful for what you already have. It is just allowing yourself to be open to everything that God has placed inside of you and doing everything you can to allow those things to come out of you. The problem comes when we start to chase the dream more than we chase the One who gives us the dream. I’ve been there and done that and I promise you, you won’t get anywhere, except frustrated, quick.
Here’s what I want you to do: Think of what it is you want to do. Make a list if there’s a lot. If you can’t think of anything, think about what you daydream about and take note of that. Then pray about your list and ask God to give you favor in what it is that He wants you to do.
Once you decide what that is, I want to challenge you to take one step toward that dream. It doesn’t have to be anything huge. As you take your first steps toward your dream, pray that God will begin to open up doors, if it’s what he wants for you, or that he will begin to give you wisdom to go in a different direction.
Maybe you are 20 years old and your dream is to crochet those blankets for all the babies around you as an older lady. It’s not your dream for yourself in this moment, but for later. Go ahead and buy yourself a hook and some yarn and learn the chain stitch. You don’t have to be crocheting full blankets tomorrow. You start by buying the supplies and learning the simplest thing first.
You ask, “How will I learn the chain stitch when no-one around me crochets?”
We are blessed with so much readily available information right now. With just a click of a button you can learn just about anything you want to learn. Take advantage of that. Get on YouTube and look up a video. I’m sure you will be able to find multiple videos to teach you what you want to learn for free.
Maybe you see yourself proclaiming the gospel in front of thousands of people but don’t know how that will happen. Why don’t you ask your church if they need a Sunday School teacher? Even if it’s only once a month. I can almost guarantee that there will be a place for you. Study and teach that lesson like you are doing it for Jesus himself; you kind of are, right?
Do you want to write music and share it with the world? Go ahead and start writing songs. Enjoy those songs in your quiet time with the Lord. Share them with your family. When you’re comfortable, make a YouTube channel, and share them with anyone who will listen to them. In the meantime, seek out any information you can find on how to do it better and be a sponge and soak up the information and apply it to your writing. Then pray for God to open up doors and be willing to walk through the doors He opens for you.
Maybe this isn’t as glamorous as what you were thinking.
Zechariah 4:10 says: For who hath despised the day of small things? for they shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel with those seven; they are the eyes of the Lord, which run to and fro through the whole earth.
The New Living Translation says, Do not despise these small beginnings.
So many times, when we see people who have attained what we desire, they have a story we don’t know about. Unfortunately, we tend to only see the success. Many times, you wouldn’t want to walk the road that led them to their success.
Also, have you noticed that the people that seemed to have it come easy didn’t have what they needed to be able to sustain their success?
We all have a story. Many times, I feel like the dream is just a means to teach us things, namely how to get closer to God. If God just let us have our dreams without any of the journey it took to get to it, He would most definitely be doing us a disservice.
There are so many things that get in the way of our dreams. Life is hard and throws us a lot of curveballs. There’s enough of that without us getting in our own way. So please, do yourself a favor and get out of your way!
I would love to hear from you. Please leave a comment and let me know what your dream is and what small step you plan on taking to get out of your way.
Telina Frye is the author of Dare to Dream, as well as a pastor’s wife and mother to her 13 year old son and 10 year old daughter.
She is a singer/songwriter and a natural born dreamer. Telina is also credentialed in the Church of God as an Exhorter and holds a Minister of Music License. She serves as the worship leader at the church where her husband serves as lead pastor.
Telina loves having deep, meaningful conversations about what is and what could be. She hopes this blog will inspire readers to dare to look past what is, see what can be, and reach for the impossible.
Last weekend I took off to spend time with my son and two of his friends, as well as friends of mine who were also camping.
Friday evening was filled with cooking burgers on the grill and making s’mores. The kids sang songs and laughed. Then the kids went fishing and ended with Billy catching a snapping turtle.
Saturday morning started off with breakfast on the wood fire. I fried scrambled eggs, sausage patties, and sausage gravy fried potatoes.
Then we all took off to the lake to swim. It was so hot so the water felt good.
I got to go out on a paddle boat with two of my friends. It was beautiful to see all of God’s creations — buds, flowers, trees, and water.
Saturday evening was cooking out again, but this time we had tacos. I had premade meat and seasonings ahead of time. I got lettuce, cheese, and sour cream to complete them.
Later in the night we played music, laughed, and just became close.
Sunday was our last day. So I took the boys out to a local restaurant for breakfast. What a beautiful little hidden gem. There were pancakes, omelets, and french toast on our table.
I took a picture of the boys and forgot the food. They were hungry.
While I was there I got to spend a lot of time by myself and talking with God. It’s nice to know He’s always a talk away.
There were three wonderful kids we got to spend time with as well. One of the girls took to Billy. She followed him everywhere, just like a little sister would do.
Billy said to me at one point, “Mom, it sure would have been nice to have a sister to bother me.”
I said, “Son, it wasn’t in God’s plan.”
I think after she followed him around he might have changed his mind. But Billy enjoyed every minute of it.
Sunday night we decided to leave early. We were all tired and missing our own beds and private bathrooms (we had an outside toilet).
I didn’t miss the noise, the T.V., or my phone.
I just enjoyed time with family and friends.
So for this blog I have no real recipe for food. Only a recipe for love and friendship and family.
1 Corinthians 13:13 says, “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”
I hope you enjoy all the pictures I have to share.
Share your summer memories with me.
Stay tuned for more homemade recipes and blessings from my table to yours.
In addition to providing delicious recipes on her Faith and Food blog, Tina Rucker is a proud mom to her 18 year old son, happy wife to her husband Joel of six years, and the spearhead of the Five Loaves Food Pantry ministry in her local church, open twice a month.
Tina has worked in the food industry for over 25 years, and has a heart and a passion to serve, feed, and provide for those in need.
So this week has been crazy! So many changes in my life have taken place.
One thing that has happened is I started restoring my relationship with my aunt! The reason this is big is because, for a long time, we didn’t talk. She had hurt me and my family pretty badly. Like she had stolen from us and lied to us, and just really didn’t live the best life. It grieved me
because we used to be super close. We had so many sleepovers.
But recently her son had a birthday party, and for the first time in six and a half years the WHOLE family got together!
It was amazing!
We talked and laughed and it was an amazing time! It was like God turned back time and we were family again.
Since this happened, God has really helped me to forgive her and we have had a really good talk.
I have had to learn a lot about forgiveness.
Forgiveness is very hard for me! I have struggled with this my whole life. But the bible says that we should forgive as Christ forgave us.
In Matthew it says if you forgive others who have sinned against you, you will then be forgiven. To me that’s a pretty serious charge. If you can’t forgive, it will hinder your blessings.
I know, I know; it’s hard! But if you don’t you are hurting only yourself. And, the people whose life you are going to touch need you to not be hindered!
So forgive the people who have hurt you. It just might lead to a restored relationship.
Remember friends, God loves you and so do I!
Also, remember to head over to my Overcoming Autism Hannah’s Story page on Facebook!
Hannah Benson — known for her big heart, her kindness, and her eagerness to serve — is the author of the Overcoming Autism blog.
Hannah was diagnosed with Autism at the age of 14, and now uses this media platform as a way to reach out to those living with Autism and other handicaps. Hannah shares tips and coping skills for those with Autism and for family and friends of those who have been diagnosed; she also relates her life to stories in the Bible and chronicles the lessons she’s learned along her journey.
Hannah Benson can be found on Instagram @hannah_benson94 or on Facebook on the Overcoming Autism Hannah’s Story.
I love art. I think it’s beautiful how someone can take a picture in their head and transfer it over onto a canvass or sheet of paper.
I love how people use it to express emotions and relive good memories, or just use it in whatever way they see fit.
It’s so beautiful, but unfortunately, the artistic gene never manifested itself in my life.
I remember in middle school art class when the teacher would come and look at everybody’s stuff, she’d say stuff like, “Good job; maybe just shade a little more here and [insert other artsy recommendations here].”
Then she’d get to me.
I think she only complimented my art one time in my art class career. Mostly she just grabbed my brush or whatever we were using and started to work over my stuff to help me out a little.
Years later, my sister and my mother were going to attend one of those art classes and invited me along. I said no because I’m terrible at it and I wasn’t going to bother trying and inevitably embarrassing myself.
However, not too long after this I did attend an art class due to the prodding of my mom.
The class was fun, if a bit stressful to me because I just kept thinking, “I need to make sure it looks good. It needs to look just like the instructors.”
As the instructor was making her rounds, she came up to me, looked at my work and said that it was looking good but it was too neat.
“Don’t be afraid to get a little messy with it.” she’d said.
And you know what, she was right. When I stopped focusing on making it perfect, and instead got a little messy with it, it looked so much better.
When I reflected on this moment later, I realized how this can apply in our lives. At least, for me.
I’m a perfectionist, so I’m always working to make sure something is perfect. And when I don’t feel it will be perfect, I push it off to the side and procrastinate on it.
But not everything is going to be perfect.
Sometimes, you have to get a little messy.
When you watch those home makeover shows, they often have to dig everything out to make it look better.
They have to make a mess in the process to get to where they need to be.
It’s part of the process.
And oftentimes in life, things won’t look perfect. Things won’t go as planned. But that doesn’t mean we don’t move forward in life. That doesn’t mean we don’t try new things.
Life is messy, but we can’t be so afraid to get messy that we miss out on life.
So I encourage you today to ask yourself this: what have I been holding back on? What have I been too afraid to do? What has my perfectionist qualities kept me from pursuing?
And finally ask yourself: is this something God wants me to do, to pursue, and to go after?
If the answer is yes, then move forward today! Don’t let these things hold you back.
Live the life God has for you, and don’t be afraid to get a little messy with it. In the end, God can take all of our efforts and make it into a masterpiece worth showing off. We just have to pick up the brush and start.
Maddisen Sauls is the smile and voice behind the Everyday Joy blog as well as the author of the Word of the Week posts and the editor of by leaps and bounds. Throughout her life, Maddisen has worked as a reporter for small town newspapers, a School Age and Preschool teacher, and has acquired her ministerial license.
An avid book reader and lover of the written word, Maddisen is passionate about using her favorite medium to reach the lost and the hurting, and to offer encouragement and hope to those struggling through life.
Following her battle with depression, Maddisen has made it her mission to help other people through this journey and to bring joy to the lives of the people around her.
You can find Maddisen on Instagram @maddisen.paige
Integrity: the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles; the state of being whole and undivided.
When we hear the word integrity, we so often think that it simply means to do the right thing when no one is looking.
And that’s true.
However, there is so much more that is behind that word.
Integrity is a quality.
The definition of quality is “the degree of excellence of something.”
So integrity is being honest and having strong moral principles, and doing so with a degree of excellence. This means to work your hardest to do these things.
I’m sure most of us strive to do this on a regular basis. We strive to be honest and stand up for what’s right and do what’s right.
However, integrity is also the state of being whole and undivided. And I believe this is the part we so often overlook.
To be undivided means to be “concentrated on or devoted completely to one object.” And one meaning of the word whole is “with no part removed; all of something.”
So integrity is to be whole and undivided, which is to have all of us devoted completely to something with no part removed.
Applying this definition of integrity to your relationship with God, ask yourself this: Do I demonstrate integrity in my walk with God?
Integrity in your walk would look like you being completely devoted to God, giving Him all of you, and not holding anything back. That would mean that we surrender everything to Him.
This week I encourage you to choose to have integrity. Strive to be whole and undivided in all things. Work with excellence in your pursuit.
As you go about your week, remind yourself of this word. Hold onto it and strive to apply it to your life.
Doing these things can make all the difference.
Maddisen Sauls is the smile and voice behind the Everyday Joy blog as well as the author of the Word of the Week posts and the editor of by leaps and bounds. Throughout her life, Maddisen has worked as a reporter for small town newspapers, a School Age and Preschool teacher, and has acquired her ministerial license.
An avid book reader and lover of the written word, Maddisen is passionate about using her favorite medium to reach the lost and the hurting, and to offer encouragement and hope to those struggling through life.
Following her battle with depression, Maddisen has made it her mission to help other people through this journey and to bring joy to the lives of the people around her.
You can find Maddisen on Instagram @maddisen.paige
Oftentimes I find myself looking back at one of my favorite experiences I’ve had the opportunity to be a part of. I was nineteen and looking for something new when this opportunity came along: a summer internship at my favorite place to be in the summer.
Typically, my time at this place was limited to three weeks (if my work schedule allowed it, that is) but this opportunity meant living there the entire summer during all the camps.
Taking the internship was such a great decision, and I learned a LOT from it. One of which I want to share with you today.
It was a mundane moment, really, but the Lord took it and showed me Kingdom principles through it.
Living at the ranch had its perks. The other interns and I stayed at the hotel they have there, and there’s one thing available all day long that they don’t have anywhere else on campus: coffee.
If you’ve ever been to a summer camp, you know how much of a need that coffee is. Or maybe not, but for me it definitely was. And it must not have just been me as one of the cabin leaders asked if I, since I had access to it, could get him some coffee. I was feeling pretty generous that day so I went up the hill and got him some.
After getting the coffee and giving it to this cabin leader, someone else asked me where their coffee was and why I didn’t get them any. In response, I told them that I didn’t know they had wanted coffee because they had never asked for any.
Then it hit me.
They never asked for coffee, and therefore it wasn’t made known to the one who could get it for them.
At that moment, two scriptures came to mind:
“You have not because you ask not” – James 4:2
and
“Ask and it shall be given to you” – Matthew 7:7
Sometimes we don’t get what we need or desire because we don’t ask. Philippians 4:6 says to make your petitions known to God. He wants to fulfill your needs and desires, but He wants to hear from you. He wants you to ask Him and make your petitions known.
I can hear some of y’all asking yourselves, if God is all-knowing, He then knows exactly what I need so why do I even have to ask?
Yes, God knows exactly what we need before we even ask Him for it (see Matthew 6:8), but God wants us to put our dependence in Him by asking Him and telling him our needs, wants, and desires.
Not only does the Bible say to ask, but it also says to keep asking, keep seeking, and keep knocking (Matthew 7:7). All too often we ask God for something once and expect to get it right then and there, but God is not a genie. Other times we give up too soon. God does things in His timing, not ours. Your blessing could be right around the corner, so never give up! God is always faithful to answer us and meet our needs.
Looking further down in that same chapter in Matthew to verses 9-11 it explains good gift giving. If we know how to give good gifts here on earth to our kids, friends, or family members, “how much more will your Heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask Him.” (v. 11)
God wants to give you good gifts. He wants to bless you. He wants to heal you. He wants to meet your needs and see you prosper. So when you take your needs to God and ask Him, know that He is a good gift giver.
Another thing I want to add on as well… When the cabin leader asked for coffee, he was specific and asked for cream. He was specific when he asked, and God wants you to ask in the same manner — specifically.
My Nana could testify to this. If you knew my Nana, you’d know that she is a social butterfly and loves to be on the go. At one point, her and my Pawpaw had only one vehicle, and he would take it to work leaving her at the house with no car and no means of getting anywhere while he was at work.
So every morning, my Nana would look out her front window at the empty driveway and thank the Lord for providing for her a little, green, four door Ford Aspire. Every day for a couple of months she faithfully did this, even with the discouragement coming from my Pawpaw telling her not to get her hopes up. She instead replaced that negativity and replaced it with what God says: ask and it shall be given to you. Sure enough, one day my Pawpaw brought that exact same car home: a little, green, four door Ford Aspire.
You see, she asked for specific and she was steadfast in her God knowing He would follow through on His Word. Because she didn’t allow the negative words to stop her, the Lord was able to bless her with the car.
So if you were to ask for a bike, nothing specific, you might not get one in a color you fancy. But if you were to ask for a specific bike in a specific color, making your request known to God who loves to give good gifts, He would give it to you.
The point of the whole thing is to ask, be specific, and never give up.
If it looks like it could never happen in the natural, never give up!
If it looks like, from a human point of view, that it’s too late, don’t give up!
If your hope is being lost, DON’T give up!
Though people may try to get you to give up and think negative and not get your hopes up, you stand on the Word, tell them what the Word of God says, and never give up!!
God is working and He is moving on your behalf, so don’t give up on Him. Keep on praying. Don’t look at your circumstances, or allow what’s going on around you or what people are saying move you, but stand firm in Him knowing that He WILL come through because HE is a FAITHFUL God.
Keep on praying and never give up. This is effective prayer.
Stand firm in Him.
Caleigh
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7 “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.”
M A T T H E W 7 : 7 – 8 N L T
An adventurer and coffee enthusiast at heart, Caleigh Ball has a passion for reaching out to others to inspire them to live with intention and purpose. As an ordained minister, she spends her time ministering as a youth pastor and is actively involved in Arise Ministries as the vice president and bookkeeper as well as one of the ministers. She enjoys life with her husband, Emmanuel, and their cat, Alaska, in their home state, Almost Heaven West Virginia.
by leaps and bounds 