Bees and Blessing

You heard it here first: Seeking God, Loving Others will not be coming with us into the new year. It’s been an amazing time recording podcasts about simple Christian living but I’m making the transition to better line up with where I am in life. Bees and Blessing will go live next Friday, January 6th. It’s a podcast about homeschool, homemaking, and home life. If this isn’t for you, I understand but thank you for being apart of Seeking God, Loving Others!

Did you know that there is a biblical way to handle difficult relationships? God's word is filled with instruction on handle money, familial issues, and even conflict. As believers, we operate by a different set of laws. In this episode, I'll talk about how to approach conflict in a relationship using God's word.

Have you ever tried walking against the force of a lazy river? It’s hard, but not impossible. I’m sharing how I intentionally chosen to pursue a life of less over the pass few years and how surprisingly, it has made my life feel more abundant than ever.

Does your Christian walk ever feel dry and stagnant? In addition to remaining in Christ, it’s important to remember the desire and passion we had for God when we were first saved.

Summer is winding down and it’s time to shift into fall! Today’s episode is about bearing fruit in the season you’re in. Jesus told his disciples before his arrest, death, and resurrection they had to remain in him in order to bear fruit and it’s no difference for us!

Hustle. Grind. Work. These are the prescriptions we’re often given by society as the only way to have our goals accomplished and live our best life. But I’ve found that the constant hustle leaves so many of us drained, depleted and even further from our goals. I’m this episode, I’ll catch you up on where I’ve been and how I’m choosing the valley in this season to make room for what’s important for our homeschool this year.

I love living in a part of the country where I get to experience seasons. While summer is my favorite, I can appreciate the unique things that each season gives. I love the color of the leaves in the fall, the cleanness of a fresh winter snow, and seeing the trees regain their green jackets of leaves in the spring. If we aren't careful, we can take for granted what each season has to offer in our lives and grow to either resent where we are or cling to a season that has been gone for a long time. In this quick episode, I hope you enjoy joy talking about how we can appreciate whatever season of life we are in.

I recently read a book by Dan Charnas called Work Clean. Amazon describes the book as "The first organizational book inspired by the culinary world, taking mise-en-place outside the kitchen. Every day, chefs across the globe churn out enormous amounts of high-quality work with efficiency using a system called mise-en-place—a French culinary term that means “putting in place” and signifies an entire lifestyle of readiness and engagement. In Work Clean, Dan Charnas reveals how to apply mise-en-place outside the kitchen, in any kind of work."  Of course, my mind went to how can this apply to the life of a believer? Are there certain things that we can put in pace as believers to live highly effective lives that influence the Kingdom of God? Of course there are! Good gave us a sort of spiritual mise-en-place in Ephesians 6:10-18 when he welcomed us to put on the full armor of God. In today's podcast, I'll be talking about this armor and how to use it!

Hello friends! I have been gone for a few weeks but I’m excited to be back and share all of the things that have been happening. This is just a life update so if you don’t care about my life, you can skip it and I’ll cry later!!

I have been stuck in the book of 2 Kings with the Shunammite woman for months now. I suppose “stuck” is not the best choice of words. Stuck has a negative connotation and implies that someone is in a place they’d rather not be. So I’ll say that I’ve been “stationed” in the book of 2 Kings. There is a purpose, a responsibility assumed when someone is stationed, like in the palace guard or in the army. I feel like I can’t move on from this story because God keeps showing me more things the longer I stay there. (That’s a whole different message!) As I get ready to leave the land of Shunem, I wonder where God will take me next. The final installment of this series ends with the last event recorded from the Shunammite woman’s life. In 2 Kings 8:1-6, the Shunammite finds herself in need of one last miracle from God.

As we finish this story about the Shunammite’s son, let’s look at why it’s important to be patient in the process. One click buying and same day delivery are great, but our culture is losing the ability to wait for results. But sometimes the answer to our issues are found by being patient during the process.

Optimistic thinking, positive affirmations, good confessions. You may have heard of these ideas. You make think they're crazy, or maybe you do them everyday. But confessing good things over you life is nothing new. In fact, it's Biblical! Join me to day as we talk more about the amazing life of the Shunammite woman from 2 Kings 4.

I read an amazing book last year by Jon Acuff called Soundracks. He talks about replacing negative patterns of thinking with helpful, positive ones, or as he calls them new soundtracks. This idea is not new. Philippians 4:8 encourages us to think positively as well. "Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." In 2 Kings 4, there is an account of someone who did just that. Instead of focusing on what was going wrong, the Shunammite woman (I talked about her last month in Make Room) confesses boldly "Everything is alright!" when literally everything was falling apart. Over the next few weeks, I'll be writing and talking about her story and the incredible testimony of God's provision, healing, and restoration in her life.

We’ll, I’ve gotten the chance to practice what I preach! What do you do when life just gets a little crazy and you’re doing everything you can to keep it together? You stay consistent in what really matters!

Today, I'm chatting with my friend, Amy Wolfe, the Director of Development for Safe Families Wisconsin Chapter. When Amy and her family opened their home to two little girls in 2019, she had no idea that this decision would open her eyes to the opportunities we have as the body of Christ to be a blessing to our community. Safe Families for Children is a family preservation movement motivated by radical hospitality, disruptive generosity, and intentional compassion to keep children safe and families together. They bring church and community together mobilizing an army of volunteers to advocate for vulnerable children and socially isolated families. Their goal is to grow a national movement of change agents passionate about protecting children and preserving families in communities across the nation and the world. The Gospel Comes with a House Key: Practicing Radically Ordinary Hospitality in Our Post-Christian World  https://www.safefamilieswi.org Here is Victoria's story What is Safe Families?

There is an amazing story in 2 Kings 4 about a woman who isn't even named but whose story has been used as an example of radical hospitality and disruptive generosity to this day. What would happen if we opened our hearts and homes to others to be the blessing and impact that God has called us be? Find out in today's episode what happens when we make room.

Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up. James 4:7-10 We've declared this a Year of Yes for God. We've identified the distractions and how to overcome them. So how do we actually say yes? Thankfully the answers are found in the book of James.

What is one of Satan’s favorite tools to use against God’s people: distraction. He may not get us to curse someone out or lie to your spouse, but he can get us distracted. I want to talk about 3 types of distractions that will keep us from giving God our best yes this year.

Let’s give God our best Yes in 2022! I recently watched the movie YES DAY and began to wonder what would happen if we gave a YES DAY to God? What if whatever God asked us to do, we did it? What if when we saw the homeless person and felt the pull to buy them dinner, we did it? What if we prayed for the cashier at Walmart that is clearly having a bad day? We have an opportunity every day to commit to give God our best YES!!

Solomon wasn't leaving the building of the temple of God up to chance. In 2 Chronicles 2:5 he says, “The temple I am going to build will be great, because our God is greater than all other gods." The temple that God has given us (our bodies) should be great. Our families should be great. Our finances should be great. Our relationships should be great. Our churches should be great. Why? Because our God is great! You don't have to have all of the answers, because you can seek the God who has them. But you can take some time to prepare as best as you can and leave the rest to Him.