Every Good and Perfect Gift... The Book of James Bible Series

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Welcome back, friends!

We are continuing our study, digging into the Book of James, verse by verse! As always, if you are 'new' here, and you'd like to read our earlier posts in this series, you can catch up by reading them HERE! (--scroll through to the bottom of that post to find the List of Linked Posts in this Series!)

We are focusing on James 1:16-18 today and this is a very familiar portion of Scripture! So, just like last time, I invite you to say a quick prayer and ask God to highlight exactly what good and perfect gift He has to give you in today's reading! (Ya see what I did there?)

Our verses today are JAMES 1:16-18! 

We're starting off using The Passion Translation Bible:

"So my friends, don’t be fooled by your own desires! Every gift God freely gives us is good and perfect, streaming down from the Father of lights, who shines from the heavens with no hidden shadow or darkness and is never subject to change. God was delighted to give us birth by the truth of his infallible Word so that we would fulfill his chosen destiny for us and become the favorite ones out of all his creation!" (The Passion Translation)

Our portion of Scripture starts off with "So..." so... we should recap what was said just before this, right?  In short, in the verses before this, James told us to NOT lay blame on God whenever we are tempted or fall into sin! He explained what happens when we give in to temptation and how it turns into sin which over time leads to death! Then he goes on, "So, my friends, don't be fooled by your own desires!"

Like I said last time, It's us, guys! It's US, not Him! 

What IS Him... what we can accredit to Him are all the good and perfect gifts!  The actual translation of the word 'gift' can mean Legacy (--and Oh, what a legacy we have been grafted into!) and the word 'perfect' is an Aramaic word that means, “complete, wholesome, abundant, sufficient, enough, and perfect.”  

So anything --any gift-- that can fall into those categories... those come from Him!

Experience the Untold Blessings of God... The Book of James Bible Series

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Hello, Sweet Readers!

Today we continue on with our Study through the Book of James! If you'd like to read our earlier posts, you can catch up by reading them HERE! (--scroll through to the bottom of that post to find the List of Linked Posts in this Series!)

I realize this is slow going! We are simply taking a verse or two at a time, and reading it in several translations, and asking God to highlight something to each of us through the reading of this Living Word! Trust me... there are some very intense verses ahead of us --so we will be thankful to only be tackling a few lines at a time!  Today - we dig into James 1:12-15!

Maybe let's say a quick prayer on our own and ask the Father to open our eyes and our hearts and our understanding so that we can not just gain knowledge or wisdom or insight --but SO THAT we can live our faith out loud!

Let's go!

Our verses today are JAMES 1:12-15! Let's read together!

Let's dig in first, reading these verses in The Passion Translation Bible:

"If your faith remains strong, even while surrounded by life’s difficulties, you will continue to experience the untold blessings of God! True happiness comes as you pass the test with faith, and receive the victorious crown of life promised to every lover of God! When you are tempted don’t ever say, “God is tempting me,” for God is incapable of being tempted by evil and he is never the source of temptation. Instead it is each person’s own desires and thoughts that drag them into evil and lure them away into darkness. Evil desires give birth to evil actions. And when sin is fully mature it can murder you!" (The Passion Translation)

IF... IF...

"IF your faith remains strong..."

Spring is Coming... A Five Minute Friday post.

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I'm just going to jump right in... This is a Five Minute Friday post... which simply means I set a timer and free-write for five minutes flat. I then add graphics and format a bit, but the actual writing stops (or at least is given an asterisk!) when my timer goes off! 

Today, our one-word prompt is: GREEN

{GO!} 

Green...

I see the prompt and immediately my mind is all over the place! It's March - so of course I think St. Patrick's Day. I just wrote our March Newsletter and talked of Luck and Blessing and that is fresh on my heart... and then Spring! Oh, Glorious Spring! It's flirting with us here in my little corner of the world -but I have to admit I am hesitant to fully believe that Winter is gone and Spring is upon us! (I hope... of course! I am ever hopeful for all that Spring brings with it!)

I calm my thoughts and take a deep breath. I remember that in this space, more than my own words --I desire to share His words... to share whatever it is that HE is wanting to say to you. So I pray... just for a few seconds (because this is Five Minute Friday, after all!) and I feel Peace wash over me and I sense His direction!

The "Prosperous Life" fades away... The Book of James Bible Series

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Hey There, Friends!

Welcome Back to our Study through the Book of James! If you've missed our first few posts, you can catch up by reading them HERE! (--scroll through to the bottom of that post to find the List of Linked Posts in this Series!)

I hope you are enjoying going through James with me ever so slowly... verse by verse! 

Let's dig into the Word and help build each other up!

Our verses today are JAMES 1:9-11! Let's read together!

Let's dig in first, reading these verses in The Passion Translation Bible:

"The believer who is poor still has reasons to boast, for he has been placed on high. But those who are rich should boast in how God has brought them low and humbled them, for all their earthly glory will one day fade away like a wildflower in the meadow. For as the scorching heat of the sun causes the petals of the wildflower to fall off and lose its appearance of beauty, so the rich in the midst of their pursuit of wealth will wither away." (The Passion Translation)

Now, this is counter-culture for SURE, right? I mean - most of the leanest times in my life where the paycheck was non-existent or just wouldn't stretch as far as we needed it to, I can promise you --I didn't feel like boasting because we had been 'placed on high.' 

Of course not! 

HOWEVER, it helps to remember this verse is talking more about how - AS BELIEVERS, we have a heavenly inheritance that we can look forward to and count on!

Empowered by Confident Faith - The Book of James Series

Welcome Back to our Book of James Series!

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Hello there, Sweet Readers!

Welcome to the third installment of our Study through the Book of James! If you missed our first couple of posts, you can catch up by reading them HERE!

As I stated last time, my hope for this series is to have interaction in the comment section... I'd love for you to read along and then share your own thoughts, insights, prayers, or questions! 

Let's dig into the Word and help build each other up!

Our verses today are JAMES 1:5-8! Let's read together!

Let's dig in first, reading these verses in The Passion Translation Bible:

"And if anyone longs to be wise, ask God for wisdom and he will give it! He won’t see your lack of wisdom as an opportunity to scold you over your failures but he will overwhelm your failures with his generous grace. Just make sure you ask empowered by confident faith without doubting that you will receive. For the ambivalent person believes one minute and doubts the next. Being undecided makes you become like the rough seas driven and tossed by the wind. You’re up one minute and tossed down the next. When you are half-hearted and wavering it leaves you unstable (restless, disengaged). Can you really expect to receive anything from the Lord when you’re in that condition?" (The Passion Translation)

Now we know if a verse starts with "And" it may be a good idea to go back a verse or two, right?  We did just cover the previous verses, but that was a couple of weeks ago. So verse 4 reads: "And then as your endurance grows even stronger it will release perfection into every part of your being until there is nothing missing and nothing lacking." and then we move on to the "And" in verse five. So as you are walking along this process of missing or lacking nothing, if you find Wisdom is still playing hard to get --simply ask for it! 

Listen... in our Western culture where we put a HIGH value on education, we tend to want the wisdom first.  

A Little Valentine Fun... a Wisdom and Love Giveaway!

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Hello, Friends!

Well - I mentioned a few weeks ago that I was reading Joyce Meyers' newest release, In Search of Wisdom, and when I was done I would post a book review and host a Giveaway!  Since we are so close to Valentine's Day as well, I thought I'd throw in a little book called Love Letter from the Heart of God! 

See? Wisdom and Love! 

Perfect timing!

Simply enter below for a chance to win these two books! 

Sunrise... a Five Minute Friday post.

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Here we are, on a Saturday morning... and this post right here already surpasses all of our posts in 2020! In other words... It's only February and I'm already crossing off a goal for 2021!  Maybe next week, I'll even make it over to the Twitter Party for the FMF Community! (#fmfparty). 

This is a Five Minute Friday post... which simply means I set a timer and free-write for five minutes flat. I then add graphics and format a bit, but the actual writing stops (or at least is given an asterisk!) when my timer goes off! 

Today, our one-word prompt is: SUNRISE

{GO!} 

Sunrise...

I see the word prompt and I think immediately of the Hope I feel whenever I see the sunrise. (Which, to be honest, is not every day because -well, I am a fan of sleep!) But it's such a tangible glimpse of Glory and the Hope that comes with a brand new day!

As much as we love to go to the beach --(and we do!)  We are on the West Coast and mostly, we watch the Sun SET into the ocean and praise God at the sheer beauty. We rarely get up early enough to go watch it rise.  Watching the sun SET is powerful, too. Still filled with glory and satisfaction. 

God is so smart.  

How wise we would be to start and end each day,

simply receiving the gift He gives us through His creation!

"But as for me, your strength shall be my song of joy. At each and every sunrise, my lyrics of your love will fill the air! For you have been my glory-fortress, a stronghold in my day of distress." Psalm 59:16

"Invaluable Opportunities" Abound - The Book of James Series

Welcome to our Book of James Series!

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Hello there, friends!

Welcome to the second installment of our Study through the Book of James! If you missed our kick-off/introduction post a couple of weeks ago, you can read that by clicking HERE!

The plan is to post twice a month, and go through James' letter to the early church slowly, a few verses at a time, throughout this year! This book/letter is PACKED full of wisdom and challenges, so we're not going to rush our way through it or skim over the hard parts (as much as we may want to!)  

My hope for this series is that even more than with other posts, Y'all will interact in the comment section and share your own thoughts, insights, prayers, or questions! Let's dig into the Word together and help build each other up!

Today... we are simply going over James 1:1-4!

Oh, When We Long for an Easy Fix... a Five Minute Friday post.

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This year I have set a goal to write in this space more often. This is not a lofty goal... as I mentioned on January 1st, I only tapped out words here 5 or 6 times in 2020! Already - this goal has almost been met! Still... one of my favorite forms of writing here over the many years has been to participate with the Five Minute Friday community!

I have missed the free flow of a timed writing challenge --and even more so, I've missed the camaraderie of knowing we are not in this alone! Writing our heart out on a blank screen and hitting publish can feel oh so vulnerable and lonely... to be honest, I battled with that most of last year. It felt pointless... like it didn't really matter... But - it does matter! Even if I write these words and they only minister to me... they matter! So --let's get back into this routine!

This is a Five Minute Friday post... which simply means I set a timer and free-write for five minutes flat. I then add graphics and format a bit, but the actual writing stops (or at least is given an asterisk!) when my timer goes off! 

Today, our one-word prompt is: FIX

{GO!} 

Fix...

I see the prompt and immediately think, "Fix it, Jesus!"
(I mean, right?) 

No matter what we think is broken --in ourselves, our lives, our families, marriages, churches, country, world... whatever feels or looks or IS broken... we want it fixed! 

But if we are being totally honest... sometimes we don't really want the right fix... we want the EASY fix!  And, I'm sorry to be the one to tell you this but... Jesus? Yeah... He fixes things the correct way - going all the way down to the root. There are no shortcuts or quick-fixes with Him.  He's in it for the long haul and He sees the WHOLE thing from every vantage point!  

He's never in a rush... 

  It's not who He is or how He operates!

So while we long for an Easy fix, He longs for a Back-to-the-Original,-Never-Been-Broken fix... He longs, as He whispered to me softly on New Years' Day, Resurrection sometimes over Restoration.

The Book of James... An Introduction to our Study

Hello, Sweet Readers!

It's time!  

As I mentioned in an earlier post (which you can read HERE) I hinted at the possibility of doing a Bible Study through the Book of James this year!  

I'm not sure how many of you joined in a couple of years ago, but we went through the Book of Colossians, verse by verse... ever so slowly, over the course of a year! It was doable (new posts twice a month!) and so powerful! So this year, we will be following the same format and digging into James. This is the book of the Bible the Lord highlighted to me on New Years Day saying it will be a vital book for the Body in 2021! (I mean - in ANY year, right? But it feels like especially this year!) 

We will read a few verses at a time from James together and ponder the Truth and Wisdom that he lays out for us. The goal is to go slow again... to encourage some Community in the Comment section for you all to participate in as well, and to get through the entire book, a few verses at a time, by the end of the year!

In full disclosure, I am no Bible Scholar.  I mean --I love the Word and I have known Him for all of my adult life. I love to study and dig and read in many different translations... but I don't speak Greek or Arabic or Latin and, while I have studied the Bible for years and have been both a Pastor and a preacher, I don't have letters behind my name or a Bible College Degree tucked away anywhere! 

However, the goal of this series is to

When Your OneWord Revisits You... 2021

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Maybe you are not aware of the movement that is OneWord365... or maybe you are in the know and already have fully embraced your Word for 2021! I normally try to post a few times a year about my Word and let Y'all know how it is showing up for me, but 2020 was far from 'normal' and those posts just didn't get written! 

I've been doing this OneWord365 project for many years and yet, each December, I pray into what He may have for me and ask Him to lead my Word to me. (And --usually-- I argue and second-guess! It's fine. It's all part of my charm!)

My OneWord last year was... --wait for it... : GATHER!

Yeah... GATHER, you guys?! (You can't tell me God isn't funny!)

I wrote this at the beginning of 2020, regarding my OneWord:

"We are awake to possibilities... and we are opening our hearts and our hands (and our home, because --obviously!) and we're, once again, desiring to be intentional in how this OneWord shows up and shows off!"

I was intentional in the beginning of the year - and then, COVID.  

The Annual Prophetic Post for the New Year - 2021 edition!

Happy New Year, Sweet Readers!

We made it!  

Somehow we made it through the Dumpster Fire that was 2020 and, honestly, I'm sure we will find in the end, we are better for it.  But right now --well, right now, maybe it's still too soon!?

Here we are: January 1st! A Brand New Year... a Fresh New Start... and I think all of us are so ready for it! 

This has become an anticipated post around here... but it's been a tradition long before I started blogging (which was a long, long, LONG time ago! Way back before Blogs were a Thing... and then they WERE a Thing, and then they weren't a Thing but we still did them, and now they just may be becoming a Thing yet again?!) 

Anyway... long before I wrote this New Years Day post here for the public, I practiced this routine in private --and year after year, it proves to be... well, -True? Helpful? Accurate? (All of the above!? Yes!)

This is our Annual Prophetic Post for the New Year!

I always ask the Lord for a word or phrase that will speak to the Body at large prophetically over the coming year.  I also ask Him to lead me to a book in the Bible that He wants to be highlighted to us, for us, and through us, throughout the year as well.  

He is always so ready to meet with us... so ready to speak!


First - a quick look back:

I'll Do Better... Happy New Year!

I'm still here! I'm still alive and well! I'm still thinking about sitting in the chair to write --I just haven't actually sat down much to write as of late!  

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In fact, if I'm totally honest --this post has been in my Drafts folder since July? Yep... July!? I'm not sure if I have ever blogged LESS in a year than I did through 2020.  

Seven Posts... all year long. Seven. (And one of those was a Guest Post!) 

That's not great.  

I had plans... plans to edit and publish the Bible study and a few more mini-books from the 31 Days Devotional series.  I had plans to create more --not less. I DID manage to write the monthly newsletter each month this year, so there is that! But I have missed the sitting down to tap out words.

Here's the deal... 

Here's the ONE thing I would do differently in 2020...

Do you Feel Distracted? A Guest Post by Kelly Balarie

I know it's been a LONG drought of silence around here on the blog.  

It was sporadic at best through a long hard season and then --well, crickets really since going back to work!

I do write my monthly newsletter (she says, realizing it was due today and it's still waiting for me to finish and hit send!) However today, in this space, I wanted to invite a friend to share her heart with y'all! Many of you know and love Kelly already, but for those of you who may not have had the pleasure, let me just say --her new book, Rest Now, is just what we need! You're gonna want to get it so you can let the message work its' way into your heart and your actual life!

Without further ado: Kelly Balarie!

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I had no idea what was above me. I was focused on the stop sign to the right of me, or the people crossing the street, or changing the radio station in the car that day...I was not caught up in what was above me. But, suddenly - and I can't say why -- I looked up.

There I saw a brilliant display of nature. The sky was gorgeous. It was radiant, blue, red and purple hues strewn all over the sky. It seemed to convey the brilliance, the majesty and the beauty of God all at once. 

I would have missed it if I had kept my eyes on the million little things happening in front of me. 

A Collective Rebirth... a Five Minute Friday post.

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My, oh My! It's been another long, quiet absence! Who knew throwing in a job or two would so disrupt my writing routine? (The working women! That's who! They knew! )

I have been silent in many ways, processing all that our World is battling right now. If you've been around here much or know me at all, you know my bent is toward the positive... the Promises... the Yes and Amen's... the sunshine and laughter and joy! All this Heavy and Hard leaves me feeling --well, heavy and hard. It's so not my favorite! Still... I'm here, sitting in the chair, ready to see what pours out with our Word prompt...

This is a Five Minute Friday post... which, as you should know by now, simply means I set a timer and free-write for five minutes flat on the one-word prompt: BORN

{GO!} 

Born...

I see the prompt and my heavy heart goes immediately to the thought of how we need a Change. We need more than a restoration in our country. We need something brand new... We need a nation collectively being reborn!

My next thought goes to a quote I just read on Emily P. Freeman's blog.  She stated this: "Starting again doesn’t have to mean starting over." and I can't get over the relief of the truth of it!

Somehow, these two thoughts merge together in my mind and sink down deep and fast into my heart, and suddenly, I feel Hope arising!

His Ways are Higher... Perspective - a Five Minute Friday post.

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My, Oh My!  It's been a long pause, hasn't it? I'm hoping that at least Y'all are signed up for the monthly Newsyletter --but even that, as of late, hasn't quite exactly been monthly, per se!  I had a sweet reader reach out to me last week, taking notice of my absence! (Thank you, Connie, for your kind email!)

It has felt as if the enemy has, yet again, been after my Voice! In quite literal terms, I've been battling some sort of something for too long but I have turned the corner and am feeling much better! (Let me tell you, having allergies or any sort of cough or little bug is SO uncool right now! No one loves it!)  Anyway --here I sit, in this old familiar place, completely out of the habit of writing... but that hasn't stopped me from jumping right back in before... so Let's go!

This is a Five Minute Friday post... which, as you should know by now, simply means I set a timer and free-write for five minutes flat on the one-word prompt: PERSPECTIVE.

{GO!}

I see the word and my first thoughts go to, "Yes, please!"  

Oh My --how we need a bigger perspective than what we are often limited to-- especially lately!  As the Word so clearly states, His ways are not our ways... His thoughts are not our thoughts! 

We need to take a breath... back up... hold our tongue (and our opinions) for one hot minute and remember that no amount of experience, theories, data, or even experts are going to give us what He offers us for free... 
all day, every day!

Experience the Becoming of Who You Are - A Five Minute Friday post.

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My fingertips and my heart have been gently urging me back into this chair!  

It seems the last several times I have come to sit here, I end up frustrated in trying to format and edit a few projects instead of pouring out new words in this space! So today --I'm starting here and (depending on how this goes!) I will tackle the other things next! But first: This is a Five Minute Friday post... which, as you should know by now, simply means I set a timer and free-write for five minutes flat on the one-word prompt: EXPERIENCE... Let's go!

{GO!}

Experience... I see the word and immediately feel my age. I think of all the different areas in my life I have gained experience.  And I think of all the areas I am lacking experience still.

We're all in Process... 
    We are all Becoming...

We are all experts in some ways and inexperienced in other ways!

In a season where I am feeling my inexperience, learning a new job in a new field, relearning how to care for a toddler and teach her in the way she should go, and remembering how to worship without building walls around my heart... --I feel the pull to dwell on the things I do not know... --on the things I'm failing or flailing at and not doing so well...