Encourage One Another (and build each other up!)

-By Jen H   "Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven , whose sin is covered." (Psalm 32:1) I started September with a necessary, quiet change: an early morning devotional. After multiple honest conversations with Rich, I had to face it—I wasn't in a good place. My familiar tendency to just keep going without ever slowing down had compounded into feelings of anger and resentment . I realized the core issue was a widening gap between the knowledge of God I hold in my head and the reality of my heart—all because I hadn't been consistently carving out time to reflect and read the Word. The Weight of Silence and Deceit Waking up at 7 AM to dig into Psalm 32 felt like a desperate move. The first verse speaks of blessing for the one "in whose spirit there is no deceit ." As I reread the passage, the Lord held up a mirror to my heart. In conflicts at work and home, I was defensive, accusatory, and blame-shifting . I was puffing myself up, denying my co...

 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. -Ephesians 2:22

-By Jaimelynn Matthew 14:29-31 29 He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” 31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”   When I read the story of Peter and Jesus on the water, I thought, ‘If I was in that situation I’d probably be able to trust God and walk to him on the water. It’s my purpose to know and love God, and glorify Him, of course I would be able to!’ But many of God’s teachings are easier said than done. In my current season, God has been growing my faith and teaching me to depend on Him. And most times it’s not comfortable, maybe even painful. It’s my desire to follow God’s plan for my life, because I love God and trust that He knows what is best for me. But when the trials come, I quickly turn to pray and hope that God will help, save, or comfort m...

I decided to take a break from writing last week, so to those who are reading now, thank you! I tried to keep all my posts really concise before because I thought that'd be more digestible. But since I'm not advertising my blog at the moment, I'm going to write a bit more "freely". So this one might be a bit long, so before that, I just wanted to say that I appreciate you!