Tag: relationship with God

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Answering His Call

Answering His Call

On October 2, 2017, our family was struck by tragedy when my husband’s only brother was murdered – shot and killed in his own driveway while heading out to work. In the days that followed, the Lord clearly called us to share our story and our hope with others. It started with my mother-in-law sharing at his funeral. From there, my mother-in-law, niece, and I have been walking through every door the Lord has opened to us to offer His hope to others.

Sensing that our call was not just to a particular church or denomination, but rather to the entire community, we sought the Lord about where to go and how to start.  Continue reading “Answering His Call”

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Eyes on the Prize

Eyes on the Prize

The Olympics: The torch, the ceremonies, the medals, and the athletes. Night after night, we are engaged by the competition and by the inspiring background stories of the competitors. They have trained for years, investing endless hours in the gym, on the slopes or on the ice, just to compete here. Each one has a unique story, some of which are full of adversity along their paths to the Olympics – injuries, the deaths of family members, financial distress, etc. We are inspired by their ability to overcome their circumstances and to focus on the end goal: a medal.

Every person faces adversity at some point, and like these athletes, we must focus on the end goal.

One of my own challenges came in the form of my cancer diagnosis a few years ago. Continue reading “Eyes on the Prize”

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New morning, new mercies!

Sunrise and New Mercies

It was about a year ago that we had our last “normal” family meal to celebrate a family birthday. On January 21, 2017, our extended family came together to watch a church basketball game coached by my two college-aged sons, and then we went out for lunch to celebrate one of their birthdays. Birthdays were never missed in our family. My parents would call, usually early in the morning, to sing “Happy Birthday” to the one celebrating, and we always tried to have a family meal sometime around the birthday. Family time is important to us, and we have been incredibly blessed to live close to our extended family so that we could be together for these fun occasions.

Within four weeks, we celebrate three birthdays each year in January and February. So, when the next birthday came on February 16, 2017, we had planned a family dinner on Friday the 17th. But everything changed on February 16th. Continue reading “New morning, new mercies!”

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This is Personal

Personal Testimony

The Great Commission gives Christians our purpose in life: We are to go and make disciples of all nations and teach them what the Lord has said (Matthew 28:19-20, paraphrase). We are not just saved from eternal condemnation. We are not just saved to go to Heaven one day.

We are also saved to live here on earth as witnesses – witnesses for Jesus.

If this is what all Christians are supposed to do, then why does it seem so hard? Why is it so intimidating? Continue reading “This is Personal”

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New Year’s Resolutions

New Year's Resolutions

By Sheri Ellington

At the end of each year, we look back and we look forward. We evaluate the past and set new goals for the future. Or maybe we realize that we didn’t meet a goal, so we roll that goal over to the new year. I want to share about my recurring New Year’s Resolution, how I finally achieved it, and how it changed my life. In fact, I hope that you will consider setting this as a goal for yourself, and at the end of this article, I will offer you some practical tips to get you started. My New Year’s Resolution started way back in my childhood, about forty years ago.

Continue reading “New Year’s Resolutions”

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Hope: Handcuffs for Grief

Hope Handcuffs for Grief

By Sheri Ellington

Like many others, we are facing our first Christmas without close family members. My mom and my husband’s brother died this year. She died after a short battle with cancer, and he died at the hands of a murderer. Both sides of our family are hurting. Each person is dealing with the grief in his own way. If you are in a similar situation this Christmas, dealing with the mixed emotions that come with grief and holiday festivities, my prayer is that this will be a blessing to you.

First of all, it is helpful to acknowledge that we all grieve differently, and that we cannot look at others from the outside and know how they are coping on the inside. From my own experience and observation, there are many ways to process grief. Some cry, while some are quiet; some stay busy and try to get out of the house as much as possible, while some long to withdraw into isolation and avoid all celebrations.

There is no magic formula for grieving, but there is a Godly and biblical way to grieve: with hope.

Continue reading “Hope: Handcuffs for Grief”

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Just a Light Bulb

Just a Lightbulb

By Sheri Ellington

Christmastime is such a fun, but busy, time of year. There’s so much to do to get ready – making lists, shopping, baking, decorating…ah, decorating. Most of the decorating is fun, but there is one part that can be very frustrating and really try our patience, at least at my house: the lights!

It can be challenging to get all of our lights to work – inside of the house (on the banisters, on the Christmas trees, in the windows), and outside of the house (around the doors and on the shrubs). When it can take so much time to decorate and can even be frustrating when things don’t work as they should, why do we do continue to hang Christmas lights year after year?

Can you really imagine Christmas without the lights?

Continue reading “Just a Light Bulb”

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God’s Will for You in Christ Jesus

Be Thankful in All Circumstances

By Sheri Ellington

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

If you’ve ever been encouraged to memorize scriptures, then you have to love verses like 1 Thessalonians 5:16 and 17! “Rejoice always,” “pray without ceasing!” Got it! Two verses memorized! Maybe we should add verse 18 since it is part of the same sentence (notice the commas, not periods, at the end of verses 16 and 17): “give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

Three verses, one sentence, twenty-two words

Why is this statement in 1 Thessalonians so important?

Continue reading “God’s Will for You in Christ Jesus”