Church
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Praying for ALL the Lord’s People!
It’s Election Day in America. I’m drafting this post with the last polls on the West Coast soon to close. By the time many of us read this post, a winner may have been declared. Or not. I wanted to keep this post brief. I was reading Ephesians 6 the other day for a prayer…
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We Need Each Other!
Photo courtesy of Pexels.com and Matheus Bertelli Hello! Ian from sunny Sydney here. In the last few days, I’ve been reflecting on my observations of the group of us who joined Ann and Lynn for a few days of fellowship and attending the Bethel conference last month. One point particularly struck me: we need each…
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Friendships — A Christian Perspective. Guest Post by Jim Edwards
After our recent pair of posts on friendships, a long-time friend of this ministry, Jim Edwards, was inspired to write a third piece to it. So without further ado, I hand over to Jim — ** Friendships — A Christian Perspective I’ve been much mused at Ian and Ann’s wonderful descriptions of our different friendships…
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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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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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Serving: What If the Church Looks at us Differently?
Hi SUM family, Ann here and we're currently in our series on Serving God while Spiritually Single. Part One is here: Serving God when Spiritually Single: Part One Today I want to talk about how we cope when the church looks at us differently. Does it affect our opportunity to serve? I decided to look…
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God, Where Do You Want Me To Serve?
My friends, Today I want us to roll up our sleeves and thing about whose feet we're to wash and how! Yes, we're launching into a series on serving God while spiritually single. I say 'washing feet' because when we serve the church, our family, or people outside the church that's exactly what we're doing:…
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A Work of God in My Home
By Ann Hutchison Hi SUM family! Today I'm continuing on from Monday's post, with a curious story about something God did in my home this year. It shows just how good he is, and I really do hope you enjoy this story. As I've shared before, last year none of my family was going anywhere…
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Stuck Between a Rock and a Hard Place
“This isn’t what I married.” Said Bryce. “And there may come a point where I say to you enough is enough.” He stood by the chest of drawers suddenly seeming distant. I sat on the bed. My heart was pounding with fear. “Don’t you ever say to me you can’t give it up if I…
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Paul and Silas Show Us What To Do in 2021 -SUMMER Bible Study
SUMite Summer Study 2021 Vignettes of Paul Paul and Silas —– SUMites, Lynn here. I’ve noticed that many of us are living smack in the middle of the fight. And the fires are burning molten. For me, I experience more enemy push back than in any other time in my life. EVER!! There was a…
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A Continued Testimony: My Family and Church
Hi SUM family, Ann here. A few weeks ago I shared about how my teenage son Miles is now attending church with me. Amazing, amazing, amazing! If you missed that story, you can catch up here. Today I want to give you an update because I know how encouraging testimonies can be. Specifically, I want…
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Reflections on Attending Church Alone
Dear friends, Ann here! Today I want to chat about one of our topics that is an old favorite: Attending church alone. I type this with a smile, but it's a wry smile. Whether or not we've got into a routine, I think most of us would say that Church-plus-SUM is super tricky! I shared…
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The Curious Move of Jesus in My Home
Ann here! When you're driving in the dark it's a great place to talk to a teen. With both sets of eyes fixed on the road nothing too intense is going on. That's probably how a teenage boy likes it, and it's where my son and I found ourselves last night as we drove home…
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God’s Move in My Family
Dear friends, Before I continue to share my story from Passover, I need to tell you about one of those less wondrous 'SUM moments' — Because it forms the backdrop to what I share next. It was one of those moments in church. All that happened was I turned around to see some kids having…
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Holy Week Here at SUM
Hi SUM family, Ann here. This time of year is ever so special. It’s a time when we lift our eyes collectively to the cross of Jesus. There’s such value in faith routines, and I know many of you have routines that you follow, year after year. For me, one treasured routine is to follow…
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Top Three Tips for Thriving in a Spiritually Mismatched Marriage
Ann here! Today I had an interesting faith conversation with a man with whom I cross paths occasionally. I know him in a professional rather than social capacity, but whenever I see him we have a good chat. So, I'll call him a 'friend-acquaintance'. Anyway, today I saw him for the first time in a…
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JESUS AND THE CHURCH ARE THE ULTIMATE MISMATCH
Lynn here. THIS IS FROM THE LORD! The entirety of our years on earth are rushing, headlong toward ONE SPECIFIC DAY! A Day that’s been destined in our future for eternity. A day the has been promised before time began. The greatest day of all eternity!!! The wedding supper of the Lamb! And SUMITE NATION,…
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A Royal Wedding and Our Earthly Marriages
Hi friends, Ann here. I remember, as a 5-year-old girl, being mesmerized by the wedding of Lady Diana and Prince Charles of England in 1981. Little girls are funny like that. They can be the ultimate dreamers. Knowing this, my mum bought me a little hard-backed book about the wedding and I would pore over…
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Jesus and the Church: The Ultimate Marriage Story
Hi friends, Ann here! I hope you've enjoyed our race through different Bible marriages this summer. We had much to look at and there were some marriages we didn’t even cover, such as Hosea's. Alas, summer is nearly over. In the middle of this summer study I received a message from one of our friends,…
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The Day My Church Friends Came to Dinner
“How would you and your husband like to come for dinner?” A dear church friend threw her arm around my shoulder one Sunday, extending her hospitality. My heart began to pound. Not this again. Inwardly, one word hit my brain. “Noooooooooo!” I smiled as best I could and said, “That’s really nice. Um. Can I…
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One Flesh: Stop Tugging Me!
By Ann Hutchison I have an analogy that I often use when I begin to feel challenged by spiritual difference in marriage. It’s this: My husband and I are like conjoined twins. We're one flesh. Does that resonate with you? I pull in one direction, spiritually; he might say ‘No!’ and before we know it…