Barb Twigg
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Get Over It!
SUM family, today we have a guest post from one of our long-time SUMites, Jan Bittner. I'm so happy to hear her voice on here as she has walked a great story. So now, over to Jan: By Jan Bittner “Get over it,” I felt God say to me just a month after my husband…
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My Trip To Israel, by Barb Twigg
Recently we shared Barb Twigg's testimony about her looking forward to the trip of a lifetime — to Israel. Now that she has been on that trip, here's the second part of her story. Over to Barb — I saw my dream in person! Except it wasn’t the empty tomb opening. It was the place…
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Headed to Israel! A Guest Post by Barb Twigg
Headed to Israel! I’m headed to Israel with 46 others from our church, one of which is my sister. But the fact this is happening is quite the God-orchestrated trip. Back in 2020 I had a dream that I was in the Oval Office with President Trump and all the secret service surrounding us. One…
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And So We Reach Friday: Thank You for the Blood
Friday, the day of all days! Matthew 26:47-27:66, Mark 14:43-15:46, Luke 22:47-23:56, John 18:2-19:37 There’s a song I heard this week for the first time called ‘Thank you Jesus for the Blood’. Well, as we come together on this little place in the web, that’s what I want to say to Jesus today Thank you…
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Thursday, the Last Supper …
Jesus spends Thursday with his disciples. Matthew 26:17–29, Mark 14:12-25, Luke 22:7-20, John 13:1-17:26 No more crowds; it's just him and them. Round an intimate table he washes their feet and tenderly gives them bread and wine. He says this is something he has longed to do: He just adores them so much, and this…
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Tuesday, Three Days Before The Crucifixion …
My friends, we've reached Tuesday of Holy Week. Matthew 21:20-26:16, Mark 11:19-14:11, Luke 20:1-22:6, John 12:20-50. Honestly, so much happened on this day that it makes my head spin. It's not just the amount of things that happened; it was also the things that Jesus spoke that were particularly intense. You'll see what I mean…
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Sunday, Five Days Before the Crucifixion …
Hi friends, It's Ann here and I'm looking forward to diving into our journey through Holy Week. Let's start here: Following in Jesus’ footsteps, we find ourselves in Jerusalem five days before the crucifixion. It's Sunday. This day is described in Matthew 21:1-9, Mark 11:1-11, Luke 19:28-44, and John 12:12-19. And based on those four…
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‘Water off The Otter’, by Barb Twigg
Friends, today we have a treat: Barb Twigg, one of our long-standing community members is sharing a word with us. So without further ado, I will hand over to her: *** I’m in school….with the Holy Spirit! I’ve not graduated, He keeps teaching me. I’m almost embarrassed to say why has it taken me so…
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The Faith It Took, by Lisa MacFarland
When you think about the disciples, I wonder how hard their decision to follow the Messiah really was; the Faith it took to drop everything and go. Most of them came from nothing, or even had shady backgrounds – they were living in situations where they needed a diversion or change. They left everyone they…
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Creative Giving
Today we have a guest post from Lisa McFarland — Our friend and a long-standing member of our community. Many thanks to Lisa for writing for us, and now I will hand over to her: ** A few weeks ago, my pastor (who is also my boss) spoke on Irrational Generosity. He shared, as a …
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Oh, to be God’s friend
Welcome to day one of our annual corporate fast! As I write, I am sitting here in a shed/cabin in my back garden. I asked Bryce if I could commandeer the 'cabin' this week, as he normally uses it for work. He said yes, smirking a little at my weirdness LOL. So this is my…
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I Declare the Surgeon Won’t Find the Cancer!
By Ann Hutchison A few years ago, I was witness to a miracle that will stay with me forever. I tell quite a few people about this miracle as it's truly remarkable. I have a good friend called Jess. She lives close to me in Auckland, we met at the church I used to attend,…
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Get Back to Basics — Guest Post by Lisa MacFarland
Today we have the blessing of a guest writer. Many of you will recognize Lisa MacFarland from the comments over the years, she has been such a solid encouragement to many, and we're so happy to have her hop on and write for us today. Over to Lisa — ** Hello, my name is Lisa…
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And Onwards We Go!
Dear friends Well, we’ve reached the end of our How I read my Bible series. I hope you enjoyed it. I always say 'God made us each as unique as a snowflake'! Some of us have a special place where we curl up to read each day … Some of us have a favorite book…
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An Escape Clause?
Hi family, Ann here. I found this article in our archives this week, and it was so good that I decided to make it today's post. It addresses the issue of 'what if you want to escape?' The article is written by Lynn, and here it is. Hope it helps you along, and I'd love to…
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Child of an Unequally Yoked Marriage: Part Two
Betty Higginbotham is continuing her story today. You can find part one here. On Monday Betty described how she married and had four children, but her husband wasn't a believer. So, we'll let her continue — "Oh I tried. I would start going to church and tell myself "I got this", "I got it this…
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A Child of an Unequally Yoked Marriage: Part One
We're privileged today to have a guest post from fellow SUMite, Betty Higginbotham. Betty is going to share her testimony of growing up in an unequally yoked home – And, wow, what a testimony. The testimony will be in two parts — Part one today, and part two on Wednesday. Now, over to Betty —…
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Trials — Count it all Joy?!
Dear friends, Ann here. Sigh, my heart is full! Yesterday morning I got up, made a pot of coffee, opened Zoom and there was Lynn along with a screen full of other SUM faces. Most were from America, one from England, and another from New Zealand. When I see the SUM community in person like…
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Don’t Let Anyone Steal Your Crown
Hi SUM family, it's Ann here. I'm on holiday at the moment in England, where I've been visiting my parents in my home town (Reading), and attending my brother's wedding. I have one more week here before flying back to New Zealand. It's been special to be with my family. I am finishing off this…
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Yvonne Swarbrick Salvation Testimony
We were sent this amazing story of how one husband turned to Jesus after many years of his wife waiting. We are so grateful to Yvonne Swarbrick for sharing it — it is her story. Read, meet Yvonne, and be encouraged: "I became a Christian in 1985 , the Lord had been calling me a…
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Jehovah Perazim: Breakthrough Power Within You
Hello, dear friends, it's Ann here. Last week we talked about life with the Holy Spirit. I so enjoyed those conversations. Well, this week I want to share a couple of simple stories — one today and one on Friday — to describe something the Holy Spirit did on an otherwise ordinary day. In each…