Help For a Flagging Quiet Time

Does your quiet time need revival? Maybe it needs a complete overhaul? Maybe it needs resuscitation. Here are some ideas to help you revitalize your quiet time or as I call it communion time, since it is the time when I commune with God and He communes with me. Focus first, on putting yourself in God’s presence by remembering who He is. Maybe focus each day on a certain attribute of God. E.g. love, justice, mercy, faithfulness, or power and praise Him for this. Or you might focus on the names of God and exactly what they mean to you … Continue reading →

How Soon We Forget!

How soon we can forget the way God acts in our lives! This is one of the advantages of keeping a journal. For years I’ve been a huge fan of journals for quiet times, probably way back since I read ‘A Man Called Peter,’ by Catherine Marshall. I call mine a communuon journal because it records my communion with God, Bible readings, prayers, thoughts and how God speaks to me. This morning I plucked put one of those old journals and looked at the first page. Like Courtney I’ve been feeling a bit disenchanted with novel writing recently. I was … Continue reading →

Out of Place

Have you ever met someone and you know their face is familiar and you know them but can’t think where from? I have great difficulty with this one, especially if I can’t place the person in the right context. It happened recently. I saw a guy at choir and couldn’t determine if it was someone I knew from tennis or not, because he was dressed differently. In the end I realized it was. This weekend my husband kept thinking he knew this guy but couldn’t figure out where from. It turns out he is our new mayor and his face … Continue reading →

Is It The Right Time?

Have you ever picked up a book and not been able to get into it? Then, another time you’ve come back to the same book and enjoyed reading it. This is hardly surprising. According to author Doris Lessing “You have to read a book at the right time for you, and I am sure this cannot be insisted on too often, for it is the key to the enjoyment of literature.” The above quote came from Mid august issue of Buzz Words – a newsletter in Australia for writers of children’s and young adult books. This was a reprint from … Continue reading →

The Ultimate Life Coach

Today I was behind a learner driver on the way into town. This learner was belting down the highway at 100 kilometers an hour, which is the signposted speed. Except learners are not allowed to go over 80 kilometers per hour. If he’d read and taken notice of his rule book he would have known that rule. Maybe he did know and simply chose to ignore it, because when we got to roadwork where the speed limit was signposted as 80kph he dropped his speed to 90kph. When it dropped to 60kph he slowed to around 70kph. It made me … Continue reading →

Unlocking a Bible Passage – Part 2

Yesterday we looked at unlocking a passage of scripture and seeing how to apply it to your life. I hope you had fun going through Acts 3 and dividing it up. I’d love to see what some of you came up with. I’m sure there would be some similarities and some differences with what God revealed to me. Anyway here is mine from Acts 3 Divisions Acts 3: 1-11 Peter, in Jesus’ name and power, heals a lame man. Acts 3: 12-18 Peter seizes the opportunity to teach people about Jesus. Acts 3: 19-26 Peter urges his listeners to repent … Continue reading →

Exclusivity Or Not?

An argument arose between the disciples as to who was the greatest, Luke 9:46. Jesus not only heard the argument, He knew what they were thinking, Luke 9:47. Does it scare or concern you that Jesus knows your innermost thoughts. He knows what is behind the words we say and the way we act. So, what did Jesus mean by placing a child next to him and saying what he did in verse 48? Jesus wanted to overturn all their ideas about greatness. He wanted the disciples to be not self centered and exclusive, but welcoming. What about you? How … Continue reading →

How Can You Know God’s Will for Your Life? Part 1

Is it possible to know God’s will? Do you want to know God’s will for your life? If so how could you go about it? Let me share my experience. Back in 1991 my husband and I were considering whether to sell our home in Sydney and move to Orange, a rural area of New South Wales, where his job was being relocated. During this time, I was working my way through Discovering God’s Will by Warren and Ruth Myers. The book stated that in major decisions and by following principles in God’s Word, specifically Romans 12:1-2, we can determine … Continue reading →

Should Christians Get Tattoos or Piercing?

In addition to the question of whether Christians are justified in getting tattoos and piercing, I’d like also to keep in mind other types of permanent procedures that some would go as far to suggest is mutilation. Appearances have evolved even in many Christian churches as they have in secular society. It’s not for me to suggest what is right or wrong when the apparel remains modest and gender specific as the Bible states. But what about fashion that is relatively permanent like tattoos and piercing along with more severe disfigurements? Some argue that our flesh will perish anyway and … Continue reading →

Holiness vs. Legalism: Drawing the Line? My Conclusion

In part 1 I shared my struggle with drawing the line between holiness and legalism. I touched on the way we dress and music. Then in part 2, I talked a bit about churches which seem to miss the mark as well as celebration of holidays and who we choose to associate with. I’ve by no means come to a final conclusion in my heart. I don’t know that I ever will because God is constantly growing me. Once I think I have something figured out, God unveils something else for me and I realize I am still just a … Continue reading →