Habits
Lisa Schnedler
They Did What Was Right in Their Own Eyes

Each year, I listen to a daily audio Bible podcast—and complete the Bible in one year. This year marks my sixth year through the Bible.

Why don’t I stop?

Every year, I learn new aspects of the Bible because each year, I am in a different place in my life, and the Holy Spirit speaks to me where I am.

The Bible is always fresh! It is always alive!

It is the only book that has a Living Spirit within it.

Each year, when I get to Judges in the Old Testament, I say, “Oh boy!” because I know what is ahead.

They Did What Was Right in Their Own Eyes
Lisa Schnedler
What Passover Means to Christians

Passover begins this evening.

It is one of the most significant Jewish Holidays, commemorating when the angels of God “passed over” the Hebrews as the firstborn children and animals of the Egyptians were killed—all because Pharoah would not set the Hebrews free as God commanded.

With this final plague on Egypt, Pharoah agreed to free the Hebrews so they might begin their journey to the promised land.

God instructed the Jews to commemorate the first Passover, when they had marked their houses with blood, alerting the angels to “pass over” their homes.

Christians draw parallels in their faith,

What Passover Means to Christians
New/Renew
Lisa Schnedler
The Days After Easter...

This week, I was listening to a minister on the radio who noted that in the days after His resurrection, Jesus did not appear to Pilate to tell him that he had been wrong in ordering His crucifixion.

Jesus did not appear to the Jewish leaders and chastise them for not believing and demanding His death.

He did not appear to the Roman soldiers who nailed Him on the cross.

Why?

The Days After Easter...
Lisa Schnedler
Holy Week

Today, I was drinking in the beautiful hymns of Psalm Sunday. They are majestic, powerful, and inspirational!

Among my very favorites is All Glory, Laud and Honor. When I close my eyes and listen to the lyrics, I can feel all the emotions I imagine those present at Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem. The hope. The joy. The expectation.

As Christians, we carry the hope, joy, and expectation at our Lord’s second coming. Feel this excitement. Play this song and sing along. It is a wonderful way to enter into the spirit of Holy Week.

What are some of your favorite Holy Week Hymns/ song?

Holy Week
New/Renew
Lisa Schnedler
An Irish Blessing

My mother is Irish—which makes me Irish as well!

One of my favorite blessings is The Irish Blessing, which is a favorite benediction of my forefathers—and so appropriate for St. Patrick’s Day!

It is a great blessing for everyone—even if you aren’t Irish!

An Irish Blessing

New/Renew

What the Bible Teaches Us About Surviving Tough Times

What the Bible Teaches Us About Surviving Tough Times

It seems that nearly all of the stories on the news today are bad. From weather to politics, from rioting to murder, it seems the news stations can pick from a wide range of heartache and terror to hold our attention, amping up our anxiety levels.

And, it does seem that the whole world is experiencing an increase in troubling times.

From an assassination in Japan to church burnings and murders in Nicaragua, from skyrocketing gas prices to mass shootings at town parades, what are we to do to face these times—and to find joy while we endure them?

Here are just a few things the Bible tells us:

Working Hard Does Not Mean Staying Busy

Working Hard Does Not Mean Staying Busy

I love reading articles and blogs that make me think.

I recently had that privilege—when reading an article in the African edition of The Gospel Coalition, entitled, “Pastor, You’ll Burnout if Your Idea of Hard Work is Worldly.” (April 27, 2022)

How can you resist a title like that, right?

The author of the article, John Koning, notes that the Bible is full of references to the need of pastors to work hard. Paul himself states that he, “worked harder than all of them.” (1 Corinthians 15:10). But what is the Biblical definition of “working hard”?

A Lesson in Overcoming--and the Beauty of Simplicity, Family, and Light

A Lesson in Overcoming--and the Beauty of Simplicity, Family, and Light

Carl Larsson was born on May 28, 1853 in the Gamia Stan neighborhood of Stockholm, Sweden. His parents were extremely poor, and his childhood was not happy.

According to Renate Puvogel, in the biography she authored in 1994 Larsson, “His mother was thrown out of the house, together with Carl and his brother, Johna. After enduring a series of temporary dwellings, the family move to present-day Ostermalm. As a rule, each room was home to three families.”

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Finding Contentment in Good Times and Times of Need

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Finding Contentment in Good Times and Times of Need

The internet is an amazing place.

At the press of a button and just a few clicks, images from our family and friends, from our church and our community, from our nation and the entire world, flood in.

Happy images of babies and grandmas, of puppies and cows, of rich food and lovely sunsets.

Those have not been the images on display this week.

War.

Unprovoked war.

Fear.

Death.

A Missionary from Africa Gives Us Thirty-Six Tips for Reducing Stress

A Missionary from Africa Gives Us Thirty-Six Tips for Reducing Stress

Tha pandemic seems to have stressed out the entire world.

From avoiding it to surviving it, from trying to escape it to trying to live with it, we seem to have been given all sorts of advice, and nothing is quite clear, other than we are fed up with it and want it to be gone.

This type of ongoing upheaval and uncertainty naturally stresses us. And, not knowing when the end will be also causes anxiety. So how do we live with this?

Recently, I read some great tips shared years ago by Nona Freeman.

Who was Nona Freeman? She and her husband were…