Joy
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Weekend Worship – Puppy Love
Let me tell you a story about a dog named Riley. Except that wasn't his name when we first met him. This wayward pup followed my husband and I one day as we walked the park. When we attempted to get a closer look and see if he had a collar, he dashed away. My…
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A Sacrifice for Freedom
My friends, I have to tell you that God is doing more than I expected in this week so far. (Tamara, thank you again for suggesting we do a week like this.) In less than twenty-four hours God put the word JOY in front of me almost a dozen times. (Yes, I counted.) In two…
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A Feast of Joy
My friends, today begins our “Spiritual Spa Week.” Today, I want you to look at a line of Scripture that absolutely undid me last week. I was struggling to feel centered in God and feel His love and this is what broke that off of me: At that time Jesus, full of joy through the…
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Welcome… And Who Are You?
Lynn Donovan Who am I? I’m ordinary. I’m a mom, a wife, a weekend gardener and a follower of Jesus. I’m a believer who is sold out for my Papa, Daddy and I refuse to live lifeless Christianity any longer. I believe the Bible. Every Word. I love people and like flowers. I…
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Shore Up the Walls-Nehemiah, Part Three
SUMites, welcome to part three and the conclusion to this series. Again, I am so blown away by what God is speaking to us and by you, this amazing community! You have prayed for each other and given such precious words of encouragement to those in need. That is what the SUMite Nation is about…
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Shore Up the Walls-Nehemiah, Part Two
My friends, thank you for taking this journey with me through the book of Nehemiah and praying through these valuable Scriptures that God wants us to see and understand. I wish I could completely explain what I sense from God's heart for us, the SUMites. The way this community has grown and come together is…
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Testimony Time!
My dear friends, I have something absolutely astounding to share with you today. I have shared in the past about my financial situation being very difficult. We are still walking in this and it has required deeper trust for me to believe God will take care of us. Every purchase, even those extra not-so-necessary food…
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He Holds Our Tears
My friends, Dineen here. Lynn let me hyjack the blog today because we agreed the messages I received from the Holy Spirit are so needed right now and time sensitive. Get ready to read and grab a tissue. God rocked my world and now He's about to rock yours. But Mary was standing outside the…
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Weekend Worship – A Story of God’s Faithfulness
Mr. and Mrs. Keith Silva I call on you, my God, for you will answer me; turn your ear to me and hear my prayer. – Psalm 17:6 My friends, this is a special day for me and my family. It's my oldest daughter's wedding day. For me it's also a testimony to God's faithfulness.…
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Weekend Worship – A New Twist on Loneliness
My firends, we've talked a lot about loneliness in our mismatched marriages over the years, but I heard a new twist on it while listening to a podcast by Pastor Nathan Edwardson. It's amazing. Are you ready? This is what he said: "Loneliness is an invitation to know and pursue the One who will never…
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Weekend Worship – Lay Me Down!
My precious Sumites, I love this song by Chris Tomlin because it's about the surrendered life and the JOY of living like we belong to Jesus. Because we do! We are His and He is ours. This is also what Scripture means when it says, "the joy of the Lord is our strength" (Neh. 8:10.)…
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The Surrendered Life
My friends, Lynn and I are just days away from meeting some of you at the Intentional Life Conference. I am so excited to finally meet you in person and give you hugs! This community (SUMites as Ro called us!) is so precious to me. Those of you not coming, I feel like I’m carrying…
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Born to Create
I have a bone to pick. Something that has bugged me for years. It's not quite on topic with being spiritually mismatched but then again, this one change in your thinking could change every aspect of your life. Care to pick that bone with me? It's about creativity. For as long as I can remember…
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When Love Abounds: Four Choices to an Intentional Christmas
We’d said farewell to precious friends and the turkey and fixings now resided in our fridge, along with the deserts, thank goodness! Our Thanksgiving Day drew to a close with a sweet contentment that warmed our hearts. My husband even commented that he thought it was his favorite Thanksgiving so far. He and I worked…
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God’s Unexpected Healing, Part 2
My friends, last week I shared the first part of my unexpected healing at Bethel Church and God’s gift of truth from a dear woman named Helen. Now for the rest of the story. Or rather, the results of this dramatic healing in my life that keeps playing out on a daily basis. Wow! I…
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God’s Unexpected Healing
I stood among many who could tell you at least one thing they wanted to be healed of. For now, we’d stood as community worshipping God in the late morning at Bethel Church. I still hoped that before I left this amazing place that God would heal me of a physical condition that I had…
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Restoring the Holy Spirit
My precious friends, I am overwhelmed with joy in all that God is doing in our SUM community right now. The response to His call to “re-sign” has been astounding! ASTOUNDING!!! I. Am. In. Awe. I have inbox full of these wonderful requests so please be patient with me as I pray through each one.…
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More Than Just Waiting, Part 2
Yesterday I left you with the question, what is the key to this? In other words, what is the key to worshiping God even as we wait? Back up to verse Isaiah 40:26: “Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens:” What if that lift of our eyes is a constant state of awareness-constantly…
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A Step of Faith
In the last week I’ve come across two kinds of believers. The first is an older widow who has walked some challenging roads of life and loss and has become a very special influence and inspiration to me. We were discussing our loved ones who are still resisting God-my husband, her grandson. Our prebelievers. Her…
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Chronicles of the Donovan Clan – God Hit Me Upside The Head
So what has happened in our marriage, in my husband’s faith journey? Well do you remember that conversation that started this weird journey? I shared that with you last week, read it here. Well, my husband started to attend church with me…… every week…… He has been attending church every Sunday since February. Interestingly, my…
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Weekend Devo – Standing for Marriage
Even in Singapore, people are standing for their marriages. Enjoy!