Blog Archives
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Football: The Struggle and the Victory
In school you are taught that there are four seasons in every year. However, for the Swart household, there are […]
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4 Dangers of Neglecting the Bible
Neglecting the Bible is nothing new in this world. But what we’re facing today in the West involves proclaiming Christians moving away […]
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Why Your Kid is Obsessed With Video Games
Video games offer a world for your kids where they are the ones with power. The lure is easy to […]
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Blessings That Can’t Be Bought
A father took his family on a vacation to Washington, D.C. so that his two children would have the opportunity […]
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What Can Chickens and Scary Moms Teach Us About Jesus?
If you’ve done much reading through the Gospels, you know that Jesus has a long history of picking the most […]
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Wine at the Wedding and A Future Miracle
John 2:1-10 chronologically records the first miracle recorded in the Bible that Jesus performed: Turning water into wine at a […]
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Three Kinds of Worship
One Sunday morning a small boy was sitting by his mother during the morning worship service. Like most small children, […]
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Put Your Clothes On!
I have a love/hate relationship with my morning routine. There are things I absolutely LOVE! There are things I absolutely hate! […]
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9 Reasons You Should Study the Bible (Right Now)
Why should you study the Bible? It’s old. It’s long. There are a lot of weird names in it. And […]
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Three Aspects of the Unchanging God
Sadness wrenched through my heart like a knife stabbing into my chest. A lump swelled in my throat and I […]
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The Gospel is Your Redo Button
Have you ever wished for a “Redo” button? Have you ever had a day that started off so completely on […]
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Want to Feel Full? Pray This Prayer.
Around 9:00 every night, my dog Duke stares longingly up at the cabinet above my husband’s recliner. He knows exactly […]
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Five Steps to Understanding the Bible
At one point in my life, I wanted to be an archeologist. I thought it would be amazing to dig […]
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Where We Are, Where We Should Be
(Originally published March 2016) I haven’t weighed in much on the current political environment. Don’t get me wrong I believe this […]
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Reflecting Our Owners’ Character
In an article in the New Yorkermagazine, author Malcolm Gladwell writes that vicious dogs are often not inherently vicious, but are […]
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Divorce: Beauty From Ashes
Divorce. In American society, it has become the norm. In fact, the United States has the sixth highest divorce rate […]
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Satan’s Four Favorite Tactics
Satan has been sowing seeds of deceit in my family. This is not surprising or unique because Satan is a […]
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Our 3 Excuses for Not Reading the Bible
I make excuses for not reading the Bible every day. And this is coming from a pastor. A formally-trained-in-biblical-theology pastor. […]
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Tending the Gardens of Our Lives
It’s too nice of a day to stay indoors! The flowers that the kids and I planted are doing GREAT, […]
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Comparison-itis and Christ
by Joyce Parker When I get in a room of other women that I don’t know very well, I’m not immediately uncomfortable. […]
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Three Reasons Your Prayers Should Always Include Praise
My wife and I are old school. We try really hard to teach our three daughters their manners. We believe […]
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God of the Mountains and Valleys
“For you, O God, have tested us; you have tried us as silver is tried. You brought us into the […]
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Three Reasons to Have Patience
1 – Because love is patient “Love is patient,” (1 Corinthians 13:4). Anyone else think “ouch” Yeah, my hand would […]
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My Spiritual Journey
A SEASON OF GROWTH Time moves quickly from us, never returning. It’s our most valuable, non-replenishable asset. We can make […]
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From Your Big Sister
Dear baby, This is Melody, writing to you the night before you are born into this world. There are a […]
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Discipleship Part One: How Did Jesus Do It?
It wasn’t until after my first year of college that I was truly saved. You’re probably thinking, what does that […]
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Static? Move Closer to the Tower
I hate static. Not like the kind that makes your clothes cling to you. I’m talking about static on the […]
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How to Control Your FOMO Once and for All
FOMO (the “fear of missing out”) is a real thing, and it’s more intense than ever. We’re afraid we’ll miss […]
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How to be Content in Three Acts (#1 of 3)
First Timothy 6:6-10 says, ”But godliness with contentment is great gain.For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing […]
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From Worrier to Warrior
My imagination ran wild…What if my friends or the kids got too close to the edge? What would happen then? And how far down was it?
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Static In Our Lives
I hate static. Not like the kind that makes your clothes cling to you. I’m talking about static on the […]
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He’s Already There
Searching… My email is like the pit of despair. I keep everything, you know, just in case. Like all the […]
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Your Truth or My Truth?
In people’s lives, there must come a time when they decide for themselves what they really believe. Because I grew […]
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If It Feels Right, Do It?
“A system of morality which is based on relative emotional values is a mere illusion, a thoroughly vulgar conception which […]
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To Each His Own?
“That may be true for you, but it’s not true for me.” Has anyone ever said this to you in […]
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The Evil in This World
The most formidable problem against Christianity isn’t whether or not God exists, but rather, if he does exist, why he […]
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Saved to Serve
In people’s lives, there must come a time when they decide for themselves what they really believe. Because I grew […]
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What Happens When You Pray?
Do you ever wonder what happens when you pray? Sometimes we need a reminder. You may value prayer and you […]
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Prayer Doesn’t Fix Everything, But It Changes Everything
I’ve been a praying person for much of my life. Has it worked? Has it fixed me entirely? Apparently not, because I […]
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Resurrection: The Burden of Proof
The conception and rise of Christianity in the first century was due to the resurrection of Jesus, and so profoundly […]
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Crucifixion: His Agony, the World’s Redemption
“Jesus died on a cross.” We should not be able to utter that without an utterly overwhelming shudder of awe, […]