In the Vine

"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you." - Philippians 4:4-9 I absolutely love this passage. There is so much meat in these six verses. I think they truly sum up how to live as a Christian, in a relationship with Jesus Christ. 1. Rejoice in the lord, ALWAYS - Key word being ALWAYS. No matter the circumstances, ...

Lately, I’ve been convicted by how much I worry and stress about the future.   I tend to let what could or could not happen tomorrow affect my happiness today.   There are plenty of problems with this. First, I have absolutely no control over what is going to happen a minute from now, let alone tomorrow or the next day. Second, the most effective way to live is to live one moment, one breath at a time, surrendering each and every decision.   When I am spending my time stressing over outcomes of certain situations, I am not living this moment to its fullest. If you know me, you know I am a planner. I'm organized with my plans almost to the point of OCD. Yes, it’s good to plan and we do need to do a certain amount of that, but plan with the idea in mind that God can do whatever he wants with that plan. My devotional a couple days ago started out, “Bask in the luxury of being fully understood and unconditionally loved. Dare to see yourself as I see you: radiant in...