Not Feeling Very Thankful? Instead, Focus on God’s Faithfulness

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Today we are featuring an article instead of the typical devotional. "What are you thankful for?" Have you heard this question lately? November is the month it seems everyone insists on tackling this topic. We make lists, we try to journal, we blog, we go around the table at Thanksgiving dinner and try to get our children to say that they are thankful for something (and hopefully something that doesn't require batteries!) But what if you are not feeling particularly thankful right now? Sure, we are told to give thanks in all circumstances (1 Thessalonians 5:18), but don't we also serve a God who understands what we are going through and who won't anger when our well of thankfulness starts to runs dry? Yes, we do. God does … [Read more...]

What Do You Do When You Aren’t Feeling Very Thankful?

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Some days we can easily see all the blessings in our life despite the suffering. Other days we just see --and feel!-- the pain! How do you find encouragement when you are stuck in those blues? Here are three books we think would bring you through those slumps, and if you click anywhere on today's e-flyer it will take you to our store in the "Endurance books" section to find even more encouragement! PRODUCT LINKS: How to Live Right When Your Life Goes Wrong | Finding Hope When Life is Not Fair | Have You Felt Like Giving Up Lately? … [Read more...]

Where Is The Justice?

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46 million people are on food stamps, 15 percent of Americans. July saw the highest level of layoffs in 16 months, the steepest jump since the recession. The president promises that the next few months will be about jobs. The reporters says it's all about. . . Jobs. Jobs. Jobs. But talking about jobs doesn't make them materialize. People are still hungry. I read Jeremiah 33:2-3. "'This is what the Lord says, He who made the earth, the Lord who formed it and established it-—the Lord is His name: 'Call to Me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.'" Life is messy. But God is still on the throne. He says to call to Him and He will answer and He will tell me … [Read more...]

What She Learned Lying Down, Angela Dugi Shares Her Reflections

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Bridget Gazlay Through my conversations with Angela Dugi, author of What I Learned Lying Down: Hope for the Chronically Ill, I saw that God did indeed meet her needs during her times of devastation. She struggles with chronic fatigue, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, osteoporosis, and asthma, and yet God has provided for her in miraculous ways. God has used her illnesses to teach her five life lessons: First, we must gain an eternal perspective "God used my weekly trips to the cancer center to teach me that, and much more." Because she is chronically ill, she could empathize with others who were hurting. She knows firsthand (after fourteen years) how encouraging words helped her to survive when she thought she could not … [Read more...]

Beyond Pain: Job, Jesus, and Joy – Excerpt From New Book By Maureen Pratt

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How do we find joy in the midst of suffering? How do we rise above our pain and attain lives of purpose and bright light? This work focuses on the story of Job and the life of Jesus to show that pain can encourage, nurture, and help us find joy--if we keep the faith! Note: The following article is an excerpt from Beyond Pain: Job, Jesus, and Joy, reprinted with permission of author, Maureen Pratt. Many of you know Maureen as you have read her previous book, Peace in the Storm and watched Rest Ministries founder, Lisa Copen, on Maureen's TV show of the same name. This book is available at Amazon (where you can read Lisa Copen's review) among other places. JESUS: Our Light and Our Hope . . .but we even boast of our afflictions, … [Read more...]

Part 3 of 3: What Can We Learn From Job?

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Can We Believe in a God Who Allows Suffering? Part 3 of 3: What Can We Learn From Job? By Bridget Gazlay This is a 3-part article series. Part 1: Reflections On Job Part 2: When We Question God Yesterday's article was about how we naturally question God, but we need to always remember that God is in control of all of our circumstances and situations and has our best interest at heart at all times. Today, we will look at what we can learn from Job's story? How can we apply this to our own suffering? Your situation might not be directly caused by sin (although there certainly could be consequences of sin). God is with you and sees everything you are going through, and even allows it. We don't like to think that God … [Read more...]

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