Soul Sister Time

            Returning from a mission trip, I’m more aware of the work of the Holy Spirit.  I love the way the Holy Spirit works in my life.  I’m always a little bit surprised and can never get used to the way He works.  I love considering the intimate and personal connection God has been able to make with me because of my faith in Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit.             What stands out to me from my recent trip was when the Holy Spirit wanted order and quiet in a meeting I was leading.  I am not easily distracted by what is going on in the room when I am speaking.  I speak to adults and if they want to listen, they will listen; but they are free to leave and do whatever they need to do.  When I was teaching about Jesus and what it means to be a sinner, there was a conversation going on in the back of the room.  I usually don’t h...

            I'm not much of an accountant.   I basically try to spend less money than I make and go from there.   So far I have been able to get away with it living by this philosophy.   However, I do take account of how I live my life here on earth.   I could be more mindful of my choices, and I have a lot of help from the Holy Spirit.   My spiritual account is the most important account I will ever be held responsible for.             There is a healthy reality that God has made clear to us in His word.   Though heaven is about relationship and faith in His provision of His Son Jesus Christ to cover our sin, how we live here on earth will matter in eternity.               It doesn't hurt us to give regular attention to this account as best we can.    ...

            Miracles are not extraordinary; they are ordinary .  This is what Father Ted Nelson taught me in our time together.  Father Ted exited this earth’s journey on October 31, 2014, at the age of 88.  I am so blessed that I had the chance to know him personally.  He was one of the happiest and most joyful people you would ever meet.  His was the name I wrote down in Bible study books when they asked who is the most spirit-filled Christian you have known?  I never knew Father Ted to sin around me; but if he sensed he was being the least bit prideful during our conversation, he was quick to point out his blunder then quickly move on to teach me about his great love for God.             Most people loved and admired Father Ted.  He always conceded the fact that others thought highly of him until they met his wife Lee Ann.  They a...

            I live in Dallas, Texas, where the first person with Ebola had symptoms (patient zero) while already in America.  Suddenly a part of town that rarely gets attention (mainly impoverished) was flooded with a national media barrage.  One sick man created frenzy around our nation.  Everyone was on edge and many in Dallas still are.  The local news has a calendar to count down to when the last person who rode on a plane with a nurse infected while treating patient zero has passed her 21-day observation period, and we can all feel safe.  Then we should have nothing to worry about, right?             The degree of worry and upset that three Ebola victims in Dallas has created in our nation and around the world is astounding compared to what we really need to be worried about.  The truth is, the number of our days here on earth is known by...

I love to pray biblical prayers.  I’m grateful that God is willing to listen to my babble and lists, but I feel even more connected to Him in prayer when I pray His own words back to Him.  Typically I pray the Lord’s Prayer two times a day.  I try not to do it as a ritual, but as an example of how Jesus tells me to pray.  I reflect on the meaning of each phrase to me as I say it.  I have been drawn to the Prayer of the Canaanite woman in Matthew 15:21-28.  It has become a model for me.   Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon.   A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly.” Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.” He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.” The woman came and knelt before him. “Lor...

            While celebrating our 75 th Anniversary, our church is going back to the basics remembering what we have been about all these years.  Our values as a church have never changed.  The basic value that caused a group of people to gather together and start a church 75 years ago was inspired from recognizing the boundless gospel.  The boundless gospel is the beginning of every real Christian church.  Our church founders wanted to spread the gospel to a section of Dallas where the gospel could reach more people.             As I have I have been reflecting on and teaching this value, I realized how easy it is to begin with the boundless gospel and then think we understand it and move on to deeper things.  The truth is that the boundless Gospel can never be comprehended—it is truly boundless.  It is so amazing, so incredible that I could...

            I spend my life trying to follow Jesus and teach others how to follow Him also.  I love to hear how unique each person’s story of transformation in Christ becomes.  There are no instant formulas to transformation and Christlikeness.  I stopped looking for the formula long ago.  There is a pattern of transformation.  Christians for centuries have been talking about spiritual growth using three stages—purgative, illuminative and unitive.  I have recognized these patterns in my own transformation and in the lives of others.  I find them helpful to understand what is really happening to our souls.             I am astounded when I find myself at peace in a storm or not fuming at someone who has acted against me.  That is not me!  I know that it is Christ living in me.  How does that happen?  How do we open ours...