3 Steps To Becoming Debt Free
Recently, our family became completely debt-free – no mortgage, no car payments, and no credit card bills. We’ve entered into a new arena of truly enjoying our income. Since we don’t have the weight of debt, we can share our resources in significant ways with others. There are plenty of resources out there that can […]
Share Your Story And Plant A Seed
Did you know there are people all around you that don’t know the truth about God, Jesus or the Bible? God put you right where you are so you can share your story with them and plant a seed for Him to water. Your story, who you were before God intervened and the way He […]
Be A Warrior For God
Have you ever thought about being a warrior for God? Do you ever read your Bible and think about all the battles God fought and how He used people to do so? God’s strength and power won these battles. Today I want to share an example of that with you. Over the years, my husband […]
What Is The Body Of Christ?
Have you heard the phrase “the body of Christ” and wondered what it meant? The Church consists of its members who are the living body of Christ. In many ways, God’s work is accomplished through this body of Christ. We are the hands and feet of Jesus. God designed each person in the church to […]
A Life Changing Invite
In The Beginning… “I hate going to church.” That is what I told myself for the majority of my life. I grew up on the south side of Chicago in an Italian/Irish neighborhood. Firemen, policeman, mechanics and all sorts of blue collar workers. I grew up in a traditional Catholic community and I went to […]
Love Is The Greatest Gift
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. – 1 Corinthians 13:13 NIV The green room at church is the place where our church worship team hangs out before service. In the green room, we have this chalkboard that lays out the service plan. I haven’t been […]
Fasting Is A Way To Grow
Fasting may be a new concept to many, but it is a powerful tool that God gave us to grow in relationship with Him. When we put off a physical need, and we focus our energy on God, we learn to trust Him. It is when we acknowledge that He is the one true source […]
The Haves And The Have-Nots
We have all heard the phrase, “The Haves and the Have-Nots.” While many associate this time of year with gifts, time with family, and time away from work, it is also an unfortunate opportunity to polarize the “Haves” and the “Have-Nots.” Society and the media we consume, allows us to place ourselves into one of […]
What’s The Big Deal?
Pulse Student Ministries held a kickoff event for the 2019-2020 school year and the turnout was incredible – 119 students ranging from 5th graders through seniors in high school. The plan was simple: play games (bags, 9 square, spikeball, etc) and cookout burgers and hot dogs. The night was a success. The students had fun, […]
The Best Birthday Gift
For my daughter’s birthdays, we have always requested that people don’t bring a gift. We have the means to get her what she needs (toys, clothes, etc.), and she has very generous grandparents. Also, the rest of the family typically loads her up at Christmas time. As her birthday rolls around each year, no one […]
You Are Perfect As You Are
What if you lived a life where you weren’t up at night worrying about how you are going to make everything perfect for your kids? Do you worry about money, or stress about the number of things on your to-do list? Do you have a spouse that you feel like doesn’t recognize your worth? Doesn’t […]
Joy Even On The Worst Days
Africa-where the Lord called me to serve. Without even thinking about it or analyzing it, I said yes. There is an unspeakable joy I’ve had in my life, even on my worst days that I’ve never had before that can only be filled by God’s plan and purpose for my life. This was my second […]
Praise God And Give Thanks
Since my husband and I became parents, we have been fortunate enough to take a trip every winter. We head to the Wisconsin Dells to splash around the indoor water-parks with our children. It was a trip my husband took often with his parents, and one he wanted to recreate with his own children. After […]
Finding Joy Within The Battles
As you continuously fight life’s battles, it’s important to take time to stop and take care of yourself. This will allow you to have the right mindset, enough energy, and be able to feel God’s love. Taking this time for yourself will allow you to overcome anything. God made you with a body that you […]
When Serving Becomes God’s Voice
Over the past few years, I have had the privilege of serving in Kid Village a few times a month in the toddler room. Our time there consists of playing, cuddling, and distracting adorable 1-2 year olds while their parents are in church. A few weeks ago I was asked to move to the elementary […]
Get Up And Do Life
I knew I needed to get up because there were a ton of things to do. Tasks to accomplish, dishes to clean, floors to sweep, laundry to do, lunch with a friend…but I could not get off the sofa. I can’t explain why, I just could not do it. For hours. Days. Lunch was canceled, […]
Moments of Choice Can Change Your Course
1066AD: William the Conqueror defeats the Saxon king and the future of Britain is forever changed. 1914AD: The heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire takes a wrong turn and WW1 becomes inevitable. 33AD: A Jewish teacher is crucified and raised from the dead so all people can be saved. There are moments in time that […]
Get Off Your Donkey To Help
How many times have you seen people in situations that just break your heart? How many times have you said to yourself, “If only there was something I could do to help”? Do you ever get the urge to help out and volunteer somewhere, but you just don’t know where or how to go about it? […]
Communion Is All About The Heart
The Last Supper Go out, order in, buy a few pizzas, cook a big meal? It only took 3 rounds of Rock, Paper, Scissors to make the decision, but a fancy meal at home it was. An Easter dinner in our home complete with ham, sweet potato casserole, spoon-bread, and all the fixings, was just […]
Calling All Men
Men, this isn’t going to be a normal Blog post. I am not here to write about something I have read recently, or how a message from our Pastors has affected me. I am here to drop the gauntlet. I am here to swipe my proverbial glove in your face and to challenge my fellow […]
Listen and Obey
I’ve learned so much about Heart for Africa, that without even going there, I fell in love with the mission. God placed it on my heart to get involved. Then I made the choice to listen and obey even though I had no idea why. That has been one of the BEST decisions of my […]
We All Have Something To Offer
I can’t do it. I don’t have time. I am not good enough. I have nothing to offer. Those are all the thoughts we have when someone asks us to serve. Trust me, I have had those thoughts numerous times. I still do. I am not perfect. But this is what Jesus asks of us. […]
God’s Presence In Swaziland
Nervous – Prior to leaving for our trip to serve at Project Canaan in Swaziland, I was very anxious. Normally I am a very at ease traveler, but this was much more than that. I was a full blown crazy woman. What was I worried about? I nervous about leaving my kids for 11 days […]
Be A Voice, Not An Echo
Coming Home Coming home doesn’t seem like it should be hard. But when you see up close the beauty of God’s creation, His grace and mercy, His provision and His people doing “the work” really, really well, it feels sacred and my heart aches to return. Anyone who asks me about our experiences in Swaziland […]