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

The Seven Sticks

The Seven Sticks

Most of Aesop’s fables ring as true today as they did when he wrote them—600 years before Christ.

How can these short stories speak to us more than 2,000 years after he wrote them?

It is because though times change, the essence of what makes us “human” does not. We have the same fears, desires, and hopes as those who lived throughout the centuries.

We simply are not all that unique.

And, that is why the Bible continues to instruct us today. People are people. And, we are pretty predictable.

A good example of Aesop’s fables being relevant today is the story of the Seven Sticks.

The Stench of a Small Dead Mouse

The Stench of a Small Dead Mouse

My husband and I own a farmhouse outside a small town. Whenever we leave how for a few days and then return, one of the first things we do is check the mouse traps to see if there are any dead mice. Most of the time, we don’t really have to examine the traps. Even the tiniest of dead mice, if dead for a number of hours, give off a distinct odor. Left for days at a time, they become so putrid that you can hardly enter the room.

This was the case about a month ago when we returned to our home and found—through the distinct “dead mouse” smell—the tiniest of dead mouse that had met its demise while we were gone.

We had arrived late in the night, so my husband put the dead mouse—trap and all—outside to dispose of later. The problem is, he forgot about it.

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:

When a Door Opens....

When a Door Opens....

Why are we so often a people without praise on our lips?

I include myself in this category.

God opens a door—and what do I do?

I question it first.

“Did God open the door? Is it safe to go through? What would happen if I went through?”

Now, all of this is highly logical.

Martha—not Mary.

God does tell us to “seek” before we “find”.

But, once we have explored the option and believe it is God’s doing, what do we do then?