Tag: Corrie ten Boom

Finding Time For Faith

Finding Time For Faith In A Fast-Paced World

Finding time for faith

Do you ever feel like your “to-do” list is a mile long?

You may have the best of intentions, but hours later the sun is setting and you remember that you didn’t open your Bible, not even once.

Or, you didn’t tune into a Biblical sermon, not even that.

Guilty.

I hate to say it, but that has happened to me. 

Christian writer and Holocaust survivor, Corrie Ten Boom, once said:

If the devil cannot make us bad, he will make us busy. – Corrie Ten Boom.1

That is so true.

As Christians, finding time for faith should be a priority, but have you noticed how life often seems to get in the way?

We become like robots rapidly moving from one task to the next. We are overworked, overstressed, and spiritually undernourished. Our culture promotes “bigger and better” and subtly challenges us to keep up. Whew! Who made these rules anyway? Satan loves to keep us running in circles trying to beat the clock. If he can distract us, he can minimize our usefulness to the Kingdom of God. Satan may be the Prince of Darkness, but he is also the Duke of Distraction. – gotquestions.org 2

For me, getting up around 4:30 in the morning is the best time to do my Bible study. I don’t even need an alarm anymore.

Sometimes I miss though, and I’m kicking myself hours later. 

You may have a similar time crunch – getting ready for work, having quality time with your kids, attending their sports events, making meals etc. 

No one ever said that it would be easy.

Not easy considering all of our daily responsibilities, but oh so important.

Finding Time For Faith Through Prayer and Bible Reading

The Bible contains God’s Words to us.

His divine guidance for the experiences and emotions we go through in this life are God-breathed into the words on those pages.

I want to hear what God has to say, don’t  you?

None of us are perfect and a few misses will naturally happen, but don’t let the devil completely take over your life with busyness.

Bible reading and prayer will enrich your walk with God.

Guaranteed.

Your word is a lamp to my feet
And a light to my path. – Psalm 119:105, (NASB).3

Isn’t that what life is all about?

Bringing glory to God, honoring Him, learning about His character through His Word and through the earthly ministry of His Son, Jesus.

Spending time with the Lord comes in many different forms, but there’s one daily prayer I wanted to share with you that you can access easily online.

It’s called “The Lift Daily Prayer” with Jack Hibbs.

Between 10-15 minutes long, the daily video begins with a Bible verse, an explanation of its meaning, and then it ends with prayer. You also have the option to share your prayer requests in the “comment” section where believers from all over the world can pray for you specifically.

This is not meant to replace the reading of God’s Word in any way, but it is an option to get you started.

Psalm 119:105

# # #

1 Corrie Ten Boom, (1892-1983), Christian writer and Holocaust survivor. Quotation courtesy of AZquotes.com. Accessed 14 October, 2025. Corrie Ten Boom quotation

2 Quotation from gotquestions.org, from “What does the Bible say about busyness/being too busy? n.d., para. 1. Web. Accessed October 14, 2025. Retrieved from Bible Busyness.

3 Scripture quotation is from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation.

Share

Trust The Engineer

Memories To Celebrate

celebrations and memories

Last month, my husband and I celebrated our wedding anniversary.

The day brought back many special memories for us, including our honeymoon trip to Orlando, Florida.

Have you ever been to Walt Disney World?

We had a blast.

Exploring the parks and, dare I say it, riding some of the thrill rides became one big daily adventure.

But I have to admit something here.

I’m not a fan of roller coasters. Look at that picture below.

Does that look like fun to you?

I’d feel better if you didn’t say yes.

trust the engineer

The idea of riding at top speed in a cramped coaster going backwards, forwards, and upside down doesn’t send me running to be first in line.

That trip was the first and last time that I got up the courage to ride one of Disney’s famous roller coasters, “Space Mountain.”

Are you familiar with it?

I figured it would be scary, but an extra level of terror was taking the ride in complete darkness.

No overhead lights?

Say what?

I screamed a few times . . . and I think I even stopped breathing at one point.

If you think about it – people put an awful lot of trust in roller coaster engineers.

Life is Full of Twists and Turns

None of us are perfect, nor do we lead perfect lives.

That’s why I feel confident in saying that we’ve all had our share of anxious moments.

We can plan out our futures ’til we’re blue in the face, but an unexpected circumstance can arrive at any time and throw us off course.

As someone close recently shared with me, for many years she “was coasting through life without much of a care in the world.”

Then a visit to her doctor resulted in a dreaded cancer diagnosis.

For you, it might be something else, the news of which hits you right in the gut.

Perhaps,

You’re broke and now your car needs a new transmission.

Your child has cancer.

A family member betrays you.

Your teenager hates you.

Your house flooded, a total loss.

Insert your particular circumstance.

What gives?

Does God love me less than everybody else?

Trust The Engineer

Countless times in my own life I’ve wondered why bad things happened.

During those vulnerable moments, I’ve asked God, “Why?”

You and I both need to remember that nothing that happens in our lives is a surprise to God.

Our challenges are part of a, sometimes painful, learning process of what it means to be a Christian.

We must trust Him, no matter what, even during life’s heartaches.

Stay the course.

Persevere.

we must trust Him no atter what

Heavenly Father, You alone are Most High God and deserving of all praise.

Thank You for sending us Your Son, and for Your saving grace.

Our lives are in Your Hands.

Help us to have confidence in You, Lord, as we navigate

through each challenge in our lives.

Grant us the peace of mind that only comes from You.

In Jesus Name, Amen.

###

Share

Happy New Year 2018

Dear Friends –

I hope your holiday was filled with a sleigh-full of Christmas joy and love. (If you’re one of those folks who had a “White Christmas”, please don’t tell me, I just might get jealous.)

Christmas in Texas was happy and fun, but it flew by way too quickly.

It seemed like one minute we were putting up the tree and getting together with friends, and then the next, it was Christmas Eve.

Christmas 2017

Alas, we had no snow, but it was sweater-wearing, wear-your-hat, cold.

Brrrr!

We hunkered down, played games, and lit a cozy fire in the fireplace.

We didn’t roast any chestnuts, though. (Does anybody really roast chestnuts, or have we been duped by that song all these years?)

Christmas movies took over our TV.

I’m not sure how it happened. They just took over, like they do every year. (wink, wink).

Feel free to call me a Hallmark Channel addict. I can always figure out the romantic endings before they happen, but who cares? (as long as the guy gets the girl)!

Goodbye Christmas, Hello New Year                 

Can you believe 2018 is here?

A New Year can bring with it exciting opportunities.

We’re already working on our list of “things to do,” which by the way, includes several more trips to the gym.

Darn all that Christmas food. No one can eat just one.

Christmas goodies

How about you? Do your New Year’s resolutions include losing some Christmas pounds?

Or maybe pursuing a new job?

Planning for a new baby?

Considering a fun vacation?

There’s so much to look forward to and yet, along with the good times, no doubt, the year 2018 will also have its share of challenges.

Challenges Will Come

Challenges are a guarantee. (Sorry about that, but the Bible tells us so.)

Please allow me to help.

Here’s my number one, please-pass-it-on, don’t-forget-it method to help you face the New Year with more confidence.

Trust God.

That’s it.

It doesn’t matter what the circumstances are. Keep praying for His guidance.

Trust God.

Two words packed with meaning. (It’s in big print, because it’s so important.)

He knows what He’s doing. (also important).

I know, I know, as humans we sometimes think we can do things better and faster.

Father, forgive us when we try to get ahead of You.

There’s a big difference between asking God “why?”, and blaming God.

Corrie Ten Boom, a Holocaust survivor, knows a lot about suffering in life and yet, with great humility, she yields her trust to God.

Corrie Ten Boom

Wisdom From Proverbs

We may not like some of the challenges to come.

It’s human nature to want them all to be over with. (like, yesterday).

I get it.

We should trust Him, even when we don’t understand, and our hearts are downcast.

Going forward, we’d do well to commit Proverbs 3:5-6 to heart.

5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
    and do not lean on your own understanding.
6 In all your ways acknowledge him,
    and he will make straight your paths. – Proverbs 3:5-6, (ESV).

When you look in the mirror each morning, remember that you are loved.

Bumps and bruises will come as you learn life lessons in patience and perseverance.

Please don’t lose heart.

In a topsy-turvy world where words like “Compassion” and “Grace” are sometimes lacking, as Christians, we know the living God Who created those very words in the first place.

Trust Him, and He will lead.

Happy New Year 2018, and thank you for stopping by!

Happy New Year

###

*Scripture quotation is from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, copyright © 2016 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

**Corrie Ten Boom quotation, as quoted from Christian quotes.info

Share

Touchdown!

Unfortunately, I’m not talking about the football kind of touchdown.

It’s Springtime in Texas.

While that’s a good thing, there’s also a downside.

It’s a time when tornadoes come out to play, wreaking their havoc, destroying property and, in some cases, lives.

storms in our lives

*Photo credit at the end.

Last Sunday night, tornado weather came knocking at our door.

Dangerously Close

We were monitoring the weather throughout the evening. According to the forecasters, the supercell heading our direction was, by all initial appearances, weak. Even the weatherman didn’t seem impressed. In fact, he spent more time on the storms heading north and south of us.

We almost stopped watching the weather, thinking everything was fine.

building tornado

**Photo credit at the end.

The storm cluster heading our direction suddenly exploded into a big tornado. It briefly touched down seven miles from where we live.

Storm chasers shared pictures of the funnel cloud on social media.

Several minutes later, the warnings for our area started to come in, a siren went off, and my phone app announced, “Warning. Tornado is in your area. Seek shelter.”

Uh oh.

The sky turned pitch black dark, and the wind picked up considerably.

We headed to our shelter and hunkered down on the floor.

Huge hailstones (up to softball size) pummeled our house, sounding like dropping bombs with each strike.

Then I heard what sounded like glass smashing.

It went on and on.

Hail continued crashing on top of our house as part of the funnel cloud roared above us.

hailstones

All Clear

We are praising God today that the other families in our neighborhood and we are all safe.

Our roof took a beating, and there’s damage to our outside lighting, but those things are repairable.

Thank you, God, for keeping us safe.

Like that powerful storm, awful circumstances can quickly explode in our lives. An emotional bomb drops, and it can instantly undermine our peace.

This Bible verse is taped to the wall of our storm shelter. It reads:

***20Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen. – Matthew 28:20, KJV.

He is always with us. That is our assurance.

Nonbelievers don’t understand it, but as Christians, we can hold the words of Scripture in our hearts when the “storms” come in our lives.

There is no better peace than the peace that He can give.

Corrie Ten Boom, Christian heroine

Don’t know where to start with scripture memorization?

Here’s one suggestion, with verses specifically about fear.

http://www.biblestudytools.com/topical-verses/fear-bible-verses/

I hope that is helpful.

God bless you this week!

###

*Photo courtesy of Sarah. Shared with permission.
**Photo courtesy of Jessica. Shared with permission.
***Bible Reference: King James Version, (KJV) Public Domain.
****Corrie Ten Boom quotation, as quoted from Christian quotes.info

Share

Praying for Your Spouse

Hey, good-looking!married couple

That means you. 🙂

Sit down for a sec while I ask you an important question that all married couples need to ask themselves.

(p.s. This has nothing to do with who fell in love with whom, first! It’s funny the answers you get when you ask couples that question.)

No, the real question is …

Did you know that you should pray for your spouse every day?

I would love to be able to say that I do, but my honest answer is “sometimes I forget.”

Every day?

I’m lucky if I can remember where my reading glasses are.

I know that praying for my spouse is what God wants me (and you for yours) to do.

Even when they’re being a stinker?

Yes, even when they’re being stinker.  🙂

Praying for your spouse can happen almost anywhere. You can pray while you’re in bed at night, on your lunch hour, or in the car. How about in the bathtub?

Sure. Why not?

I am going to make a conscious effort to pray for my husband every day from now on.

Appreciate your spouse

Ideas About What to Pray

Here’s a little guideline:

  • Your spouse’s relationship with the Father.
  • That he/she will make wise decisions during the day.
  • That he/she will keep the faith and avoid temptations.
  • Pray that he/she will have a good day at their jobs.
  • Pray also that you will be a better listener and partner to your spouse.

Please commit to praying for your spouse. It’s the right thing to do.

After all, your spouse is a gift from God.

Delight in God and Delight in Your Spouse

Praying for your spouse

When’s the last time you told your spouse how much you appreciate him or her? Just a simple and heartfelt expression like, “I’m blessed to have you in my life.”

Then, if you really want to put some icing on the cake, why not add,

“You SURE ARE good-looking!”

Trust me.

It works.

You’re welcome.  🙂

Share