At one time or another, we have all felt the need to just “get away”. Maybe we want to get away from a stressful job or from our husbands, or perhaps even our children make us want to get away. At times we can each feel overwhelmed with life’s pressures and responsibilities.
Read MoreI can’t tell you how many times I’ve watched as my daughter danced and played around our living room and thought, “What would I give 20 years from now to come back and relive this moment? What would I give to hold her? What would I give to tickle her? What would I give to dance with her?”
Read More“I am not going in there. You guys go ahead and I’ll stay on the porch,” our realtor Carla stated as she held her nose and unlocked the front door to a foreclosed property that we were considering buying. The house had had the water and electricity turned off for months, and the musty odor of neglect made my eyes water before we even crossed the threshold. The dilapidated outside and overgrown yard had deterred buyers for over a year - but not us.
Read MoreMany start their day with a long list of things to accomplish. It’s not uncommon for people to have 10, 20, or even 30 tasks they want to complete by the end of a particular day. It can be overwhelming, and it provokes a question: where do you even start? Even if you’re able to check off several tasks from your to-do list, you may still feel defeated at the conclusion of the day because of all the things that you didn’t get done. This is a recipe for exhaustion.
Read MoreOctober thirtieth, nineteen eighty-eight. Standing in the parking lot of Eastland Baptist Church for the first time. We had just relocated to Tulsa from Denver, this being the first Sunday we were in town. Sitting in the car, a little nervous, we were greeted by John Egbert who accompanied us into the church and began introducing us. We immediately felt home.
Read MoreThe Bible instructs us to always be sharing the Word of God with our children. But in this modern age of internet, extracurricular activities, and general busyness, how can we make room for daily spiritual instruction?
Read MoreMusic plays a fundamental part in these three roles of corporate worship as it unites our thoughts and mends our emotions. Each week I count it a privilege and a responsibility to lead the music at Eastland Baptist Church. I see my main purpose as helping us to refocus on God through the use of music, and hopefully stir greater devotion to Him. I know that my own life can be filled with so many distractions that I need these times to tune my heart.
Read MoreThis was nothing like I expected. My official job title was “lifeguard” and yet there I was cleaning bathrooms, mopping floors, and picking up trash.
Read MoreIf I were to ask you, “what is the world’s most valuable resource?” what would come to mind? We often think of things that are rare: gold, platinum, etc. These things are valuable because there is a limited supply relative to the demand. Limiting a necessity creates high value. Although we often think of physical things when we think of resources, the world’s most valuable resource is not physical.
Read MoreParenting is one the most rigorous jobs on the planet. Ask any mom with young children, and she would most likely agree that it can wear you out.
Read MoreI Love My Church Sunday at Eastland Baptist Church here in Tulas, OK, is always an event. You are guaranteed to have fun and fellowship while building memories with your family and friends. But this year, was something special. You might even say, it’s the best thing we’ve ever done!
Read MoreIn his book Willpower Doesn’t Work, Benjamin Hardy said, “Journaling is a powerful therapeutic and healing tool.” From my experience, that statement is a fact. Here are some ways consistently journaling has helped me, and if you choose to make it a part of your life, these are also ways it could be a help to you too.
Read More“Mooooom, I need you!” That can be a glorious call or words that make you want to hide. As a mom of seven, I have often heard those words. Being a mom isn’t an easy task, but it is a blessed one.
Read MoreRemember when you fell in love with your spouse? The warm fuzzy feelings, the late night dates, and long conversations. It’s a wonderful feeling to be in love. So you got married. And then life hit you hard!
Read MoreOften, we put more faith in our small amount of money than in God’s limitless resources. If we do this, we are robbing ourselves of amazing blessings.
Read More“For millions of Christians, God is no more real than He is to the non-Christian. They go through life trying to love an ideal and to be loyal to a principle. But a loving person dominates our Bibles. A living person is present, speaking, pleading, loving, working, and manifesting himself whenever and wherever his people have the receptivity necessary to receive the manifestation.”
Read MoreI polled our Sunday School class to find out what we thought could have been Samson’s age when he brought down the house on Philistines and killed them and himself. I hadn’t thought much about it myself. As it turned out, most of us imagined Samson to be in his late 20’s or early 30’s. A lot of us imagined that he was reckless young man and kamikazed his life from an early age. Then I read the last verse in Judges 14…
Read MoreThe words that we use are powerful and they have an impact on those around us. A hammer can be used to tear things down or build things up and our words are no different.
Read MoreMark’s Gospel is a “busy” book in which Jesus seems the busiest, moving from one event to another. In his “Gospel of the Servant” narrative, the emphasis is on the deeds of Jesus more than on the words of Jesus. One of those many deeds is recorded in the first twelve verses of chapter 2. It is an account that displays the extremes to which four men went to take a paralyzed friend to Jesus, the only One who had the power to change his condition.
Read MoreAs travelers through life, God never intended that we make our journey alone. There are simply too many obstacles and challenges to navigate without the help and assistance of others. Plus, life is simply too grand not to have someone to share the joy and wonder of it all with.
Read More