Priceless Treasures to Make Your House a Home

What makes a home…a home?

Within the first eight years of my life, I moved multiple times.

I went from living with both my parents, to living with my mom, then living with my mom and grandparents in a new state, and living with a new stepfather and a new last name. 

No matter where I called home, something always felt missing. Like an emptiness went along inside heavy boxes and heavy hearts.

As a kid, I never knew how to define home. Then I watched The Wizard of Oz and heard Dorothy’s famous line, “There’s no place like home.” 

The Security of Home

It’s also said, Home is where your heart is.

I learned it’s more than brick and mortar with a roof over your head and a bed to sleep in. Instead, it’s where you go to escape the uncertainty of the world. And where you find security and certainty. 

But what if your home is uncertain and lacks the attention you need? Your body might be sheltered and protected from outside harm, while your heart isn’t. Exposed hearts are vulnerable to inside harm. 

So when I married and started a family, I was determined to make every dwelling place a place filled with the most important things in life. Not a perfect place, but a place where our hearts are fully alive.

Since we were in full-time ministry for over thirty years, we lived in many different dwellings and towns.

But you can have a house filled with beautiful and expensive treasures but be missing what your family needs most.

“By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures.” Proverbs 24:3-4 (NIV)

Priceless Treasures of Home

Let’s look at four priceless treasures that help us make a H.O.M.E.

15 of My Favorite Things About Spiritual Freedom

In America, we’re gearing up for the fourth of July to remember and celebrate liberty as a country. But sometimes we take our spiritual freedom for granted. 

So when I read a letter John Adams wrote to his wife, Abigail, about Independence Day in 1776, I found this interesting.

“I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty.” (Wikipedia, emphasis added)

Like Adams, many of our founding fathers looked to God for “the day of deliverance.” Likewise, we looked to God for our day of deliverance—our spiritual freedom.

My day of deliverance happened at sixteen-years-old; the Lord delivered me from sin and spiritual death giving me eternal life—something worth remembering and celebrating. 

Accepting grace became my first act of devotion to God Almighty.

So let’s look at 15 of my favorite ways we are free in Christ.

Spiritual Freedom in Christ

(1.) Jesus frees us from spiritual captivity. “The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners.” Isaiah 61:1 (NIV)

(2.) Real freedom comes when the Son sets us free. “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” John 8:36 (ESV)

(3.) True freedom means nothing masters us. (see 1 Corinthians 6:12)

(4.) Seeking God’s precepts helps us walk in freedom. “I will walk about in freedom, for I have sought out your precepts.” Psalm 119:45 (NIV)

(5.) Called to freedom to love and serve. “For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love, serve one another.” Galatians 5:13 (NASB)

Freedom For Holiness

4 Reasons Our Hope Lies in Christ Alone

There’s something I want you to know. You are never far from hope.

In tragedy, it is there. During dark moments, it covers with light. It soars above despair.

Life brings hurt, heartache, and disappointment. Hard places can dissolve every ounce of faith. 

But in an uncertain world, there is an undeniable hope, an unshakable anchor for our soul.

So, there’s a reason I named this blog community, Hope is Among Us. Why? Because I encourage a fresh perspective on hope based on biblical truths.

“For whatever was written in the former days was written for our instruction, that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” Romans 15:4 (ESV)

As the unexplainable happens in life, there are promises that bring hope near. Hope that’s real. And it’s only found in One, Jesus Christ.

Now let’s look at 4 reasons our hope lies in Christ alone. 

H – Hope has a name, Jesus.  

Hope’s birth took place in a lowly stable. Hope grew into a man and carried out the heavenly Father’s will.

Jesus came to die for me and for you—for our salvation and the salvation of all willing to embrace real Hope in the Lamb of God.

God sent Jesus from the throne room of heaven to take our place. Beaten, bruised, and pierced with nails, His blood spilled on a cross. And He bestowed forgiveness on us to cover our sins.

Jesus saves us from condemnation, wrath, ourselves, other gods, and eternal death. But salvation also brings new and abundant life with Jesus as the Savior of our souls and a spiritual way of life.

Jesus is our hope for this life and the next.

“Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” I Peter 1:13 (ESV, emphasis added)

Someone Worth Finding: A Father Who Found Me

“I love you.” His voice reassured as he tenderly kissed my forehead. He had found me.

Hopeful imagination of my biological father. A time he was absent in my life. A girl can dream.

My being so young and the passing of time had a way of causing memories to escape. I had forgotten what he was like. I knew he was out there somewhere. And I hoped to be found by my father.

My mother’s hands were full with me and my twin sister. So, she scooped everything up—including us—and moved from Texas to her hometown in Virginia.

Soon we were fortunate to have a wonderful stepfather come into our lives. A man who cared for and loved us as if we were his own daughters. To this day, I’m grateful for him.

But I’d seen my birth certificate.

The document contained everything, with no empty spaces or blank lines. Every section complete and filled in with facts and x’s: names and numbers, places and times, signatures and dates. 

Yet sometimes x’s only mark the spot where hurt dwells.

Line seven of my birth certificate held a name. But my life held a blank space and my heart an empty place. The place meant for a biological father.

And something caught my attention when comparing my birth certificate to my kid’s certificates years later. My children’s certificates of live birth list the mother’s name first, directly following child’s name.

However, my birth certificate from The Bureau of Vital Statistics, Texas Department of Health, lists the father’s name first, directly following my name.

To Know a Father

I wanted to know my father. Would I be a daddy’s girl? I wondered if I could sit in his lap or if he wore cologne. Maybe he would hoist me to his shoulders so I had a better view of animals at the zoo.

7 Truths From the Bible to Know Jesus Loves Me

Jesus loves me, the Bible tells me so. 

Love is one of those hard to define terms we overuse and misuse. Instead of like, we use love for everything from possessions and food to our favorite sports teams and celebrities.

Honestly, I use love to describe my affections for cinnamon rolls, pasta, Chai tea lattes, boots, the Hallmark Channel, and sunsets. 

And in life’s hard moments, we may lose the loving feeling. For me, abandonment extinguished the emotion when my dad vanished from my life for a few years.

Sometimes love fades when hearts break. My heart broke after friendships dissolved and family members died including a baby in utero. I lost hope in love.

Jesus Loves Me

And all the moments I felt unlovable? Now I know how much Jesus loves me. If you know my story, then you know I felt unlovable for years. Watch the short storyline video on my home page.

But the love of Jesus brings us out of the darkness and into God’s marvelous light. We find hope for true love in the kind of love that goes to the cross.

Maybe, like me, at some point you questioned if anyone really loves you. But the greatest love story ever told is also our love story if we know Jesus. 

So, put to rest, once and for all, any doubt about God’s love, never question if Jesus loves me.

Scripture gives us the truths about the love of Jesus.

1.) I am loved: Jesus Loves Me

“I have loved you with an everlasting love.” Jeremiah 31:3 (ESV)

Receive God’s truth:  I am loved. The Bible tells me so. 

Not Separating God’s Goodness From His Holiness

Do you hear people separating how God is good from His holiness?

During college, I worked at a jewelry store in a local mall. So I learned the cuts and facets of diamonds and other gems. The multi-faceted parts of these stones make each one brilliant and stunning.

In the same way, God bears many characteristics as God. But we often only focus on the feel-good parts of God’s character. Like how God is good and loving, but not how He is also holy and just.

Yet, all the attributes of God working together are what make Him God. Each fascinating facet of the Almighty makes His glory brilliant and stunning.

When we practice separating His goodness from His holiness or His love from His justice, we lose the full nature God. 

In essence, we detach who He is from what He does. But the two are one and the same. 

Good and loving and holy and just are not only who the Lord is, but also what He does! 

Not Separating God’s goodness

Since the beginning of time, God’s goodness is weaved throughout the chapters of His-story. It started with creation when He saw everything He made was good. 

Goodness is seen when God rescued His people. It’s revealed in Bethlehem’s stable and narrated in Jesus’ ministry. It’s told at the foot of a bloody cross and reported as a victor in an empty tomb.

Now, we see His goodness in our lives through every blessing and promise of Scripture. We are living testimonies to God’s goodness.

“I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living!” Psalm 27:13 (ESV)

God is good and does good. (Psalm 119:68)

Letting God Heal Your Wounded Heart

A team of nurses and doctors cared for my dad’s failing body. I prayed day and night that the Lord would touch his body and heal him. But after thirty days in the hospital, he breathed his final breath.

Losing my dad brought a heartache I’d never known. The grief threatened to swallow me alive. When your heart seems to shatter in a million pieces, you wonder if it can ever be put back together. 

Do you relate to this kind of wounding to your heart?

Wounded: Heal Your Heart

Afflictions can not only attack your physical body, but also your heart—grief, loss, despair and other heart-wounds. Both your outer body and inner self need care and lots of it.

Sure, you are responsible for part of this care like desiring a healthy body and guarding your heart from the wrong influences.

But the ultimate care-giver for your heart is not your spouse or best friend. It’s God himself. And it’s not reading a self-care book on healing your own heart or a religious or human meditation practice. It’s God himself. 

God’s Heart Care

Who better to tenderly and lovingly watch over your heart, care for your heart, and heal your heart than the God who created you. Just as the Lord transforms your spiritual being from the inside out, He heals you from the inside out. 

Because let’s face it, a wounded heart affects so many things about a person. Things like your countenance, outlook, relationships, peace and hope.

Inside-Out Healing: Heal Your Heart

So let’s look at each of these areas our troubled heart affects and the ways God brings inner healing. 

Countenance. Maybe you’ve heard these sayings. The pain was written all over her face. His face said it all. 

Our face often reflects our heart. 

When your heart’s broken or sad, smiles never come easy. “A happy heart makes the face cheerful, but heartache crushes the spirit.” Proverbs 15:13 (NIV) 

Praying Over Your Loved Ones for Salvation

Are you praying for someone’s salvation?

If you nodded, I have an encouraging story for you.

Wow! and Praise Jesus! resounded in my soul. And I rejoiced. I cried happy tears over a long-awaited answer to a prayer I prayed over 5,000 times.

You see, when my twin sister and I were little, our father disappeared from our life. My mom and stepfather took us to church, but we didn’t understand much about God or prayer. 

Along about fourth grade, my dad reappeared and wanted to be a part of my life again. I’ll never forget what he told me at nine-years-old, “People think there’s a God, but there’s not.” 

Not understanding it at the time, I knew later my dad was an atheist. This confused my young heart, wondering, Is God real and does He love me? 

Yet, I was in church and Sunday school each week hearing about the God of the Bible and about Jesus.

Do you have family and friends who need Jesus? Jesus loves us so much, He died for us. Christ died for you and me, our loved ones and the world.

My Salvation Story

Want to Admire Your Spouse? 6 Practical Ways

Do you admire your spouse?

Because it’s easy in our present day culture to applaud and think highly of others. 

Perhaps our admiration commends what someone has accomplished. Or we like what a person stands for such as courage, integrity, character and faith. Maybe we look up to people in the spotlight, online or offline.

But when was the last time you told a friend how you admire your spouse and why? Better yet, when was the last time you expressed your admiration directly to your spouse?

Admittedly, I fall short in this area with my husband. And it’s sad. I want to change that. 

While to admire isn’t included in conventional marriage vows, I believe there’s a place for it in our marriages. 

So let’s unpack 6 practical ways to A-D-M-I-R-E our spouse.

A – Abandon self-admiration in your marriage: Admire Your Spouse

Nothing puts a damper on admiration for your spouse quite like thinking too highly of yourself in the marriage. Thoughts may try to invade your mind of how much more you contribute to the marriage, care for the kids, make money or conquer most marital areas better. 

Christ is our example of not thinking too highly of ourselves when He humbled himself on the cross. “Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.” Philippians 2:3 (ESV)

Ask the Lord to help you view your spouse with eyes of humility and how you can build them up in your marriage. A spouse who’s admired will joyfully rise to the occasion.

D – Decide to focus on the praise-worthy attributes

10 Powerful Rewards for Following Jesus

Following Jesus has great reward.

Sure, we also know there are costs.

Such as the call to deny our desires and pick up our cross.

Family and friends may disown us.

Or, we can suffer persecution and ridicule.

Still, let’s not forget the powerful rewards. And one greatest reward of all. I list ten rewards here and save the best for last.

(1.)  Reward of Eternal and Abundant Life: Following Jesus

“I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.” (John 10:28)

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10)

(2.)  Reward of Righteousness

“If you know that he is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him.” (1 John 2:29)

We follow Jesus in a foreign culture of unrighteousness. And those who refuse to follow Him have destruction as their end. 

Because “enemies of the cross” make their belly a god and glory in shame. Since their minds are set on earthly things. “But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.” (See Philippians 3:18-20)

Do we desire to follow Christ and His righteousness, Sunday through Saturday, 24/7?

True disciples not only want to follow Jesus, but also follow through by seeking to stay on the path of righteousness.

(3.)  Reward of a Good Shepherd: Following Jesus