November 5th is THE big day for our country, but choosing the right candidates may seem as difficult as selecting just the right donut on a wall of dozens of scrumptious varieties.  This post is in no way intended to be political.  I’m not about to advocate for one candidate over another.

[Georgia] cared about what was going on in your life. She possessed a kind and gentle spirit. The love of Jesus overflowed from her heart and touched the lives of those around her. She was a “bundle of sweetness”. If you were her friend you were honored and blessed. She truly was a treasure.

I don’t know about you, but Autumn brings a sense of dread to me.  All the beauty of Spring and Summer fading away and the thought of a cold, bleak winter coming soon makes me sad.  I enjoy the beauty of fall, but in the back of my mind I know something worse is just around the corner.  But then…. I read John 4:35 and it spoke to my heart. 

King Solomon was the third king of Israel. Known for his incredible wealth and power, Solomon reigned for 40 years during one of the most prosperous times in Israel’s history. According to Scripture, “The king made silver and gold as common in Jerusalem as stones” (2 Chron. 1:15). Solomon was known for his extravagant lifestyle, taking 700 wives and 300 concubines. He is credited for the building of a lavish palace and the temple to house the Ark of the Covenant. But perhaps most of all Solomon was renowned for his wisdom,

A short time later, Kamryn was at the same spot digging and poking around again. When we inquired the second time, we received the same answer…. “Nonna, I found a dinosaur!” John smiled as he replied to her, “Are you sure it’s not just a big bug?” “No, it’s not a bug,” Kamryn stated with tremendous conviction while waving her stick in the air.  She lowered her stick to point to her discovery an exclaimed… “Right here!  It’s a dinosaur! Come and see!!”

For several weeks now, as I've come home from another doctor/or test appointment, and checked the mailbox, I have found cards of encouragement and prayers.  Among those cards have been many from WVABWM board members - past and present.  The sentiments expressed in these cards has been uplifting with scripture passages and love.   But, what has touched my heart the most has been  the "personal" notes these women wrote to me inside the card.  

In contrast, when a seemingly unreal report about Solomon’s wisdom reached the Queen of Sheba, she did not accept the words of others about Solomon. Instead, she traveled over 1,300 miles to explore the claims for herself. In doing so, she found that the accounts of Solomon had not even captured the full scope of the truth she experienced in a face-to-face meeting with the man. The encounter caused her to praise the Lord (vv. 5–8).

Mary Kassian started the book out with a retelling of her first fist fight… with her brother…. which she won/lost??…. you have to read the book to discover the end result! Of course she was a just a kid at the time, but it gives the reader the insights of how a girl feels being called weak. Kassian didn’t write about how to become physically strong. She wrote about how to become spiritually strong.

In one of his letters to Timothy, Paul mentions the “weak women” of the Ephesian church where Timothy was ministering. Kassian sets the stage by introducing the reader to these women and does an outstanding job of helping us visualize them and the culture in which they lived. It surprised me as these ladies were not how you typically viewed women in the first century… treated as second-class citizens with no rights, no voice, no power. Instead, the Ephesian women were affluent, educated, well connected, prominent, powerful even. But they were not spiritually strong.

I have to admit, working on a big project like the Spiritual Growth Retreat (SGR) is a huge undertaking! Kim Pickrell, the SGR Coordinator, will never admit to how hard she really works - and probably worries - over the many little details. If you attended SGR last year, you know Kim is a very creative and articulate perfectionist (I mean this in the most endearing way!). God will put a beautiful idea in her head knowing that she is going to run with it with all of her might and power. She is a living illustration and demonstration of 1 Corinthians 15:58…

The Old Testament book, 2 Chronicles is our Bible Book-of-the-Month (BBOM) for August 2024. Below is a brief introduction to the book from the Learn Religions website. You will also find additional studies to help you learn more about this interesting book in the WVABWM Facebook private group. Join us this month as we explore and learn more about the history of the kings of Israel as recorded in 2 Chronicles.

During the Women’s Leadership Conference in Mexico with Debbie and Keith Myers, I had the privilege of giving directions and an example of how to share a testimony. It was such a blessing to give my own testimony because it helped the women see that there are people in the United States that live very kindred lives. Growing up in poverty myself, I used my story to connect with the women as my experiences, emotions, and challenges were very similar to what several of them may encounter in their lives today. I used a simple 3-step framework to organize my story in my mind so it would flow similar to a journey along a path… A journey that started on the path God had chosen for me, then me veering off onto my own path, but then returning to God’s plan once again. I shared how, at first, the path I wanted to take looked so fun and exciting. But it quickly turned into sin which required repentance, a change in my life, and redirecting my steps back to the path God had for me.

When sharing your testimony to an individual,

What do you look for in a leader? For generations, God’s people hoped for a leader to take them into battle. They wanted a problem-solver, winner-take-all, charismatic leader. Instead, God gave someone they did not expect...His Son Jesus. In direct contrast to the characteristics of popular leaders then (and now), Jesus was known for humility.

From Kim Pickrell…. Director of Spiritual Growth Retreat….

The theme "Straighten Your Crown, Girl" came after a conversation I was having with my daughter. I was telling her that I just did not have an idea for the retreat this year. I had been reading, looking through devotional books, praying, talking with friends, but nothing was coming. My brain was totally blank!

My daughter said, “Let me send you something. It might help

Sunday, the last day of the retreat, six women were appointed to the CICEM’S (Council of Indigenous Christian Evangelicals of Mexico) National Board. This is the first time in their history that women will have a voice and influence in representing women from their 6 regions and 35 churches in CICEM. That weekend was the first national gathering of their leaders and our team was privileged to be a witness to this landmark and monumental event.

The weeds had overtaken my beautiful garden! My husband did a great job of watering the flowers and vegetables while I was away on the mission trip to Mexico, but I knew he wouldn’t do anything else. He isn’t a gardener, and that is ok. I had accepted the fact that I had my work cut out for me when I got home and was just thankful I still had a garden to weed.

I grabbed my gardening gloves, clippers, spade, hoe, and trusty little garden wagon. As I stood at the edge of the garden assessing the damage, I was determined…..

As an educator, I am blessed with summers that I don’t have to go into the office and classroom. Although I’m (technically) not under contract, I do still work here and there over the summer preparing for future classes, researching, and other random projects. But for the most part, summer for me is about getting work around my house done. Each summer I create a To Do list that includes a variety of projects I plan to work on while I have time. My list is usually long with the hopes to get everything marked off, but the realization that I won’t get to everything. So I prioritize my list with the most important first and the least important projects that can wait until next summer if absolutely necessary. This is my eighth summer as a professor, and I have yet to mark off every item listed. And that is OK.

Well…. no, it’s not always OK. Actually…. it’s rarely OK that I leave tasks left uncompleted. To be perfectly honest, that drives me nuts! But I have to tell myself that it is OK because I tend to fall into the trap of making a “Do More" list instead of the typical “To Do” list. My Do More lists have morphed into major undertakings during some summers, and I also noticed a growing similarity year-over-year of two primary characteristics which tend to be flaws….

A reminder that sometimes interruptions are actually the very thing we need in the moment.

I was able to see the northern lights from Camp Cowen tonight. Not because I remembered to go look for them. But only because of an “interruption.”

At campfire, when the pastor was giving the evening message, my youngest tapped my arm and whispered, “Mom, I have to go to the bathroom.” I answered, “Do you think you can wait until the message is done? It should be done soon.” She whispered back, “Do you think it will be long? I’ll try to wait.”

Just a few seconds later she whispered, “I can’t wait.”

I like to put together the MMM over the weekend when I have time to pray and think about what to write for a morning devotion. I wasn’t able to accomplish that this weekend. Here it is Monday morning, and I am still struggling to hear the message God wants me to share. I prayed last night before I went to sleep and again this morning. But as I laid there in my bed this morning, the sound of birdsong spilled in my window filled with praises and adoration for their Creator. It was at that moment that God spoke to me with the following message…..

I am located in one of the greatest places in the world to listen to birdsong. That is my opinion, not a proven fact…. But I stand by my conviction with confidence. :) I live up a West Virginia hollow (a.k.a. holler). I’m sure you’re familiar with the term. Our holler is very narrow with hills on both sides leaving only enough room for the “run” or creek and the one-lane country road. All of the houses, barns, and other buildings are built on the sides of the hills. As a result of the landscape, our home is nestled in a sort of natural bowl surrounded on all sides by giant black walnut, sycamore, and various other trees. Multifloral rose proliferates alongside blackberry vines, forest flowers, and ferns. All sorts of creatures can be seen and heard any day (or night) such as deer, bear, coyotes, bobcats, box turtles, squirrel, chipmunks, skunk, fox, and more. There are so many birds in the trees that only God, Himself, could count them all. Just as I’m writing this, a beautiful male cardinal lit on the porch railing near me. I just filled the bird feeders over the weekend, so I believe he was thanking me in his own subtle way.

I wish I could put it into words just how beautiful and soothing it is to be witness to this grand choral performance. Each bird singing its own song yet……

Job is said to have lived sometime between 2100 BC and 1900 BC in the land of Uz. The beginning of the story starts out with God having a meeting with his heavenly beings when Satan suddenly intervenes. After questioning God’s overprotection of Job, God invites Satan to test Job, first by taking his possessions and second by taking his health.