I was blessed to attend a ladies’ day this past weekend at a sister congregation here in Cookeville. Laura Jenkins was the speaker and was covering some of the much-needed and well-studied information from her book Thought Garden. A group of ladies from my congregation has been basing devotionals on this book for some time so it was good to hear the author add more insight to some of her thoughts. While there, she referenced some of my “special” verses – special to me because of a time in my life where they upheld me and gave me strength. They are so special that my sweet brother and sister (in-law)…

Today’s post is short, but oh-so-heartfelt.  Who knew that pushing the gas pedal could be so hard?! I had put the car in reverse, but I had to force myself to push down on the gas. Why? Because I was leaving a part of my heart there. It took actual mental and physical effort to make my foot push down. Once I stopped heave-crying and began to just ache, my heart and mind turned to God. I knew I couldn’t do this without His help. And then, another thought intruded. I was leaving my son in a place where he was loved… Where he was excited to begin his life…

So many things have been going on in our world today that cause us to think only of the bad side of life here on earth. There is much sin and wrongdoing all around us. Just turn on the news and you’ll hear all about it. Our daily walk as Christians who are trying to live for Christ and lead others to Him sometimes gets more overwhelming with each passing day. We become loaded down with the heaviness of sinful living and illness around us and we lose sight of the wonderful life that is set before us. Often we fail to see the bright side of living the Christian life.…

Today’s article is once again inspired by listening to devotional songs as I was driving. Aside from the main point I would like to make, may I take a moment and suggest that taking the time to find, download, and create playlists of devotional songs is a fairly easy (and enjoyable) way to center your mind on God and His goodness in your life! The words from our title today help me. I am one who often gets overwhelmed by all the things I “have” to get done. I just returned from a week at Horizons on the campus of Freed-Hardeman University. The theme of our week was “Still.” I…

On a recent road trip, I decided to listen to worship songs for most of the drive. Some I hadn’t heard in a while and I love hearing the meaningful words paired with beautiful harmonies. One thought that crossed my mind was the picture from the movie Inside Out where our emotions have control of the switchboard in our mind. While I think Joy is in control a lot in my brain, sometimes that little red guy gets his hand on the level and amps it up!  However, the words in our title song struck a different chord with me based on a recent ladies class lesson where we talked…

Most of the readers of this blog can probably finish the Biblical phrase “testing produces …” without too much trouble. If you can’t, please look up James 1:3. As we are nearing the end (finally) of our state testing window, this phrase has been on my mind quite a bit. In fact, I have questioned it. As a special education teacher, I am called upon to give the same test multiple times, often with different accommodations. Some of these sessions have been with students who may have a known disability that impacts their test taking. Others have simply been make-up sessions for students who were absent from the general population…

I’m going to revert to a technique I used in my former life as a high school teacher. I’m going to give you a pop quiz. Unlike the pop quizzes I gave then, this one only has two questions. 1. Who sang the theme song for the 1980 movie Fame? 2. How many members of the cast can you name? I find it a little interesting if you are having a difficult time with either or both of those questions. That is especially true since these two lines are repeated throughout the song: I’m gonna live forever.Baby, remember my name. Since I never saw the movie, I’m totally unaware of…

I had noticed how dusty it was. It looked like a lot of kids were enjoying the sidewalk chalk that our PTO had supplied during recess. There were drawings of teachers and rainbows. Lots of writing practice (that they didn’t even know was writing practice). But all the lines were getting blurry. The chalk had been there for a while and it was fading. Fast forward a day or two to when I took this picture from a window above the same sidewalk. We had gotten a little rain and I noticed something about that faded, dusty sidewalk chalk. A little bit of water had made it bright and fresh…

I am typing these words on a rainy Sunday afternoon. I’m just getting kind of settled in after worshiping with our church family and going with some of them to sing at a local nursing home. I hope that I can get what I’m thinking finished before it is time to worship again this evening. Somewhere along the line, it seems to have been a common practice to omit the third verse of a hymn that has four verses. I’m not sure when or where that practice started, but it is not an uncommon one.  This morning, our song leader led us as we sang a hymn that is probably familiar…

At Central, we quite often sing the old hymn, “How Long Has It Been?” This song, which talks about our prayer life, asks a series of questions that, basically, is meant to cause the singer to reflect on the frequency and fervency of their prayers. I recently referenced the song in a sermon and used the opening lyric/question to remind people of the song. The song opens by asking, “How long has it been since you talked with the Lord / and told Him your heart’s hidden secrets?” After quoting that line, I then admitted that, sometimes, I don’t like singing that song very much because I don’t like the…