A free 30-minute session for us to get to know each other and discuss high-level concerns.

This session is our typical one for either recurring appointments or even just once in a while ones for you.

This session is our typical one for either recurring appointments or even just once in a while ones for you. This may not seem like enough time, but sometimes little snippets of meetings can move things along for you, too.

Promises Are Meant to be Broken Well, that is not actually true, but it is a folklore statement that helps people shrug off the guilt when they decide to break the promise or not keep their word. Whether making a promise or a vow is a sin, is a strong NO. We too easily lose track of some details in our words and in our intentions, but it is the 'breaking of the vow' where the sin lies. Jephthah's Daughter The infamous story of Jephthah is one of a vow that made is too lengthy to include here, but please read the entirety with this link; Jephthah's Vow . Essentially though, it all boils down to this one verse where he makes his vow, " And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the LORD, and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands, then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, shall surely be the LORD'S, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering. " ( Judges 11:30-31 ) Well... God did honor Jephthah's plea to deliver the children of Ammon into his hands, but he was so arrogant and sure of himself, he never considered just HOW his vow could play out. Jephthah was a man of his word, even to the point of losing his only daughter. He was NOT about to break a vow to God. Promises and Vows Can Be Good Jacob made a very good and very wise vow; to trust in God. Genesis 28:20 tells us, " And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on... " Later as the people of Israel were facing yet another enemy, they made a vow. Numbers 21:2 reads, " And Israel vowed a vow unto the LORD, and said, If thou wilt indeed deliver this people into my hand, then I will utterly destroy their cities. " Deuteronomy 23:22 reads; " But if thou shalt forbear to vow, it shall be no sin in thee ." Should a Christian make a promise? This article on GotQuestions.org helps clear that up, and essentially "A Christian should make a promise only if he or she fully intends to keep it." The Gotcha About Vows Vows or promises in and of themselves are not a sin. It is the breaking of the vow or promise where God warns us about the calamity to follow. Deuteronomy 23:21 reads; " When thou shalt vow a vow unto the LORD thy God, thou shalt not slack to pay it: for the LORD thy God will surely require it of thee; and it would be sin in thee. " Then, getting over to Ecclesiastes 5:4 we can see, " When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed ." We are not doomed when we break a vow, though. Vows are not an unforgivable sin but be very careful if you approach a vow thinking "Oh, I can always be forgiven for this" in your heart. There is another great article here on GotQuestions.org regarding forgiveness for broken vows to God. This article concludes with, "Breaking a vow is serious, but it is not an unforgivable sin. God forgives believers when we come to Him with a contrite heart. God’s love, grace, and mercy do not end. No failure, including breaking a vow, can separate us from God’s love in Christ" Now-To the How-To Another saying that seems to parallel the one I opened with is; "Never make a promise you cannot keep". Ecclesiastes 5:5 reads; " Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay. " Here are a few hurdles we face when it comes to making a promise or a vow; The Future: we cannot see the future, so making a promise or a vow is your way of ensuring or guaranteeing that a 'thing' will come to pass. We make a marriage vow to our spouse, but all too often cannot fulfill it whether by choice or fate. Regarding a promise or vow, make every effort to give yourself time to think about it, time to ruminate over it, and time for the Lord to lead you, too. Many times, the urgency of a matter may not allow you to take the time you need. Be very careful in these times and instead of making an actual promise or vow, use the "I will do the best that I can" or the "...with every fiber of my being" approach. These may help you recognize that we are walking fallibility and there are things that can be out of our control. But, we are also reliable, dependable, and certainly faithful to follow through in our commitments. James 4:13 - 4:17 reminds us; " Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that. But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil. Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin ". God's Will: we do not know God's will for us. Many times, we use a vow or a promise to provide assurance to others that we 'will' complete a task, or follow through with our intentions. Romans 12:2 reminds us, " And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. " Paul even reminded the Ephesians of going to great lengths to add more assurance of our word or our intentions. In James 5:12 he tells them, " But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation ." Good Intentions: we do not always have the best of intentions. Many times, we can schmooze someone, we can offer assurance, we can sound hopeful and honest to others, but deep in our hearts we know we 'can' get away with not fulfilling a vow. It is deception in the purest form and while it hurts others, it damages us even more. We become callous and our conscious gets desensitized to the guilt, the shame and the sin of this trait in our lives. In 1 Timothy 4:2 we read; "... Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; " We must be careful to be honest, to be forthright, and certainly to be true to our own conscious, too. 2 Corinthians 1:12 reminds us, " For our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our conversation in the world, and more abundantly to you-ward. "

I have an opinion, but I don't have a microphone. I have a perspective, but I don't have a microphone. I have a solution, but I don't have a microphone. I have a voice, but I don't have a microphone. I have a plan, but I don't have a microphone. I have a way, but I don't have a microphone. I have a strategy, but I don't have a microphone. I have encouragement, but I don't have a microphone. I have an answer, but I don't have a microphone. I have an alert, but I don't have a microphone. I have a joke, but I don't have a microphone. I come with hope, joy and love, but I don't have a microphone. It is rather sobering and more-so rather humbling to look around me and realize that I am not even in the right place on this stage of my life; the microphone is way over there.

Psalm 40:2-3, Psalm 42:5, Psalm 147:11 Today's devotional encourages us to avoid falling into pitying ourselves and getting lost in 'our demise'. Lingering there leads to an ugly darkness and ultimately hopeless depression, separation, and even death. The key component begins with getting stuck thinking of yourself and your woes, which is a trait of selfishness. Our Father is our only hope for getting and staying out of this deep, ugly place. Especially because we are then focused on Him, and potentially those around us... And selflessness can begin. His ray-of-hope can reach any depth, so rest in knowing His peace will touch you. But, don't get trapped resorting to that knowledge and going ahead and allowing yourself to sink deeper! Even thinking, since He can find me anywhere, I'll just keep sinking and give my sorrow more time ' work itself out ' See... When you are sinking, you are not looking up with hope, but down with despair. Looking up is not enough though, even though His light reaches the deepest depth. It is your act of reaching up to Him to take His hand, your action of trust that He will ' draw near to you ', too. Also, notice that we are not 'instantly' out of the depth, so our trust (and grip) must remain focused. He will gently pull us back out of that mire, that place of anguish, guilt, and shame. As we are coming out into His light, our sin (the anguish, guilt, and shame) are gently cleansed from our lives, and He covers us with His righteousness... and sets us back on the path of His will, the path of His leading, which is the path of His life itself. Restoration is such a wonderful and completing process.

Playful, original takes on English words that start with “dis”, providing short entries of humor and insight by G.W. Bill Elliott, Jr. Dis-n-Dat Many English words have ‘dis’ in at the beginning to indicate a ‘not’ condition (Dissatisfied means “not satisfied“, or Disregard means, “to not give regard“, or even Disqualify means “no longer qualified“, etc). Here is my spin on what these words would really mean… well… to me, anyway! Enjoy…. or NOT! 1 of 62 Disable What Cain did to his brother, Able. Previous Next

Insight Writings These are many of the writings you can use to help lead and guide you through the searchings of your heart. Filter Found 5 of 26 Items per Page Read More Attending Idiots Unaware This is a spin on that saying for 'attending angels unaware', but it is the angry, mean, and troubling angels we need to watch for moreso. Angels, Idiots, Unaware Read More Choose Me! Good choices…. bad choices. How are we EVER to distinguish the right ones from the wrong ones?? This may help. Choices, God's Will, Follow Read More Dead Weight We often wonder why our lives are not ‘going anywhere’. And, usually, it is because you are ‘pointed’ in the wrong direction… and, since you are NOT moving, it is SO much tougher for the Lord to redirect you… because twisting that ‘wheel of your life’ is causing SO much strain, and stress, and twisting on the ‘tires of your life’… Moving, Weight, Direction, Follow Read More Deep End of the Pool In the swimming pool of life, it is so much easier to do the backstroke through our lives…. No?? Just calmly stroking through the waters of our lives… looking up to the heavens and enjoying our ability to stay afloat in this pool… with style, grace, and dignity. What a precious sight, in and of itself. But, as you can see… this is shallow and incomplete. Let's learn to ease into the deep end of the pool of life! Deep, Life, Shallow Read More Demons & Exorcism This is a story about not only being ABLE to cast out demons, but why even bother… Demons, Exorcism, Cast Out, Holy Spirit View More

Week: 6 Spiritual Practices and Rest Rhythms: rest, prayer, habits that sustain life. This week focuses on sustainable spiritual rhythms that integrate rest, prayer, and habit into a whole-life formation plan. It highlights Sabbath, contemplative practices, and simple daily disciplines that replenish rather than deplete. The emphasis is on creating patterns that protect soul health and enable long-term faithfulness. Objectives Integrate short practices into daily life. Learn Sabbath and rest as spiritual practices. Establish simple, repeatable spiritual rhythms. Reflections What one practice will I keep after this week? How does rest change my relationship with God? What prevents me from resting? NowTo the HowTo Accountability/Tracking Commit to one weekly rest block and log it; partners check in about obstacles. Community Action Arrange a group “mini retreat” (30 minutes) focused on rest and a guided breath prayer. Creative Project Design a weekly rhythm card (work, rest, worship, service) to post at home. Leader Prompt Offer three short, adaptable practices for rest and invite participants to pick one to try. Personal Practice Try a 10 minute Sabbath pause this week and journal one change in mood or clarity. Previous Week Devotionals Pants First, Then Shoes 4 min read Too often, we dive into solving our problems without checking in with the Lord and tend to ask Him for direction once we have totally boogered things up! This devotional helps remind us that God's sequence of 'faith first' is always the right way to go. Pleasure Points 3 min read Yes... at first glance that does seem like a questionable title for a devotion, but today we are getting encouragement about keeping our contact with the Lord current, consistent, and much more second natural in our lives. The thing about 'pleasure points' is that there are countless points through our day when we receive/obtain pleasure, satisfaction, or even just comfort through things we do, things we consume (eat, drink, inhale, etc), and even the interaction we have with others. The... Get Ready To Relax 2 min read Odd title, I know. At the drop of a hat, if not sooner, I can be in rest-mode... and linger there for a seemingly endless span if time. Who needs to 'prepare' to relax, anyway? Well, our devotional today actually reflects on our 'before your day begins' time. One of the very hardest things to do is not do things, not prepare, not get ahead of yourself, and certainly ahead of the Lord as you face the day. It is SO easy and rather natural to 'get to it', right out of the gate, right as your... Fresh Ain't Easy 2 min read Our devotional today helps us reflect on our relationship with God and Jesus in a similar light. Just because we've been 'around the Lord' for a while, doesn't mean our zeal, excitement, and yearn is going to remain strong. Keeping our hearts and mind set on Him is not easy, keeping it fresh does require diligence on our part, attention to His presence in our lives. Quiet Trusting Baby Steps 2 min read Not sure about you, but sometimes I find it hard to start something or commit to something when I think/feel there are too many steps, unsettled details, or even if it's just 'too complicated' or confusing. Over the course of my life though, I have been learning to break-it-down into smaller, manageable pieces... keeping their own stresses and uncertainties separated. Our devotional today encourages us to approach our faith and our time with the Lord the same way. See, more times than not we... Because You Can 2 min read Once you make it a habit of spending exclusive time with the Lord (because you can), the trials, the struggles, the tumult of life... View More Next Week