Busy, Happy Woman LLC

 Today has been a wonderful day. My husband and I are committed to reaching out to other ministries to establish a connection and to see if there are ways we can work together. Today we visited a ministry in Raleigh and were so blessed by the worship, the sermon, and the warm welcome of the members.  The praise team led us in singing two very powerful songs: "Trading My Sorrows" and "He Made a Way." Almost everyone was singing along and the presence of God was strong in the place. Immediately after worship the speaker began his teaching in the book of Judges with Samson and how the Spirit of the Lord came upon Samson. The speaker moved from there to show everyone other Scriptures where God's Spirit is involved in using ordinary people in producing supernatural results. The speaker encouraged us to embrace the fact that God wants to use people to demonstrate His power.  What a refreshing blessing! Indeed, God has not changed in His desire to move in and through t...

Goodness, gracious! It boggles my mind sometimes how deceptive some folks can be. You can be minding your own business, doing your best to be helpful and get to along, and BAM! Out of the blue you find out that someone you thought was being friendly was really being a frenemy! That person has been saying and doing things behind the scene to undermine you; and the whole time they have been smiling at you and inviting you to lunch . What motivates these people? Why does someone deliberately seek out opportunities to "take down" someone else while pretending to have their best interest in mind? Why not use that energy to build a true friendship? Frankly, those questions are beyond my capacity to answer. I have my thoughts but I cannot "get in their head" to really see what is going on.  Here's what I do know. I don't have to worry about folks who choose to be a frenemy. The Bible says it better than I ever could: "The gossip of bad people gets them in trou...

"The hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world." This very powerful statement was in a poem written by William Ross Wallace in 1865. At the time of the writing, women did not have a great deal of standing so it is even more remarkable that Mr. Wallace understood the value of mothers. Mothers are very influential in the lives of their children. Today I want to give a "shout out" to all my fellow Moms, Mammas, Mothers, Madres...however you say the word, the sentiment is the same. Mothers literally lay their lives down for their children. Whether you gave birth to the child, or are a "step" parent, or have voluntarily extended yourself to "mother" someone, the love you share has an immeasurable impact. So today, whether your children are small and still very dependent on you, or fully grown and stand taller than you; rejoice in the favor God has shown toward you by entrusting you to care for and nurture His precious gift (Psalm 127...

Is there someone(s) in your life who could benefit from your wisdom? But the more you offer advice, the less they listen? Things keep getting worse for them and it is stressing you out to see what is happening? The Bible has answers for this conundrum.  Sometimes the approach to the situation may need adjusting. James 3:17 says "But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy" (King James Version). If we break this down just a bit, true wisdom has no ulterior motive, seeks to establish peace, focuses on living according to biblical principles, is characterized by a humble and exemplary lifestyle, does not show favoritism, and is not an "act" (is part of the person's character). In other words, if any of us seeks to offer wisdom to someone else, we must first examine ourselves. After that self-examination, then we are better prepared to offer...

How can there be a multi-car "pile up" accident at a light, at an intersection where the top speed is 35 miles per hour? I don't know how the accident happened but it did.   Yesterday, I was shopping for a birthday present. I came out of the store to see flashing blue lights across the parking lot. A gentleman coming toward me warned that there had been a bad accident. He advised to not go out the closest exit that led to the intersection, as there were several cars involved. As we were talking, other emergency vehicles arrived. I thanked the gentleman for alerting me and continued toward my car. In a few moments I could clearly see the accident was indeed bad.  I had used that same intersection to get to the store and it would have been the one I would have chosen to exit the shopping complex. If I had left the store a few minutes earlier, I might have been in the accident.   I prayed for the people involved. My hope is that no one was seriously hurt. And I tha...

As a Believer, I am committed to paying the debts I have and to minimizing the addition of debt as much as possible. At one point in my life, medical bills from my seriously ill spouse (who ultimately passed away) were crushing and depleted every resource we had built. After the death of my spouse, it took seven years of hard work and frugal living to pay off  what remained. It was such a relief to receive the final notice from the last creditor that the debt was completely paid.  But there is a debt that is greater than any financial debt. It is the price that sin exacts on the human condition; and the resultant misery has catastrophic consequences. Today is the day that many Believers celebrate the debt that was fully paid by Jesus on the cross. The Bible says it better than I ever could. "Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our i...

 Peter was in prison, guarded by 16 soldiers. The only "crime" he had committed was preaching Jesus' life, death, resurrection and redeeming love. King Herod had sought him out to add him to the martyrs (those who had died for believing in and preaching about Jesus). Peter was considered a formidable influencer of the people and the soldiers guarding Peter knew their lives would be required if Peter escaped. Herod had chosen a particular day to bring Peter before the people with the ultimate goal of setting the day and time for Peter's execution.  The news of Peter's imprisonment reached the church and the believers gathered to pray. The Bible lets us know prayers were going up to God around the clock ; not a moment went by without someone praying for Peter.   The night before Herod's appointed day an angel of God appeared in the prison, woke Peter up and helped him up. As the angel lifted him, the chains with which Peter was bound fell off. The angel told hi...