spiritually mismatched marriage
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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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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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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…
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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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Prayer Strategies from the Parable of the Sower
By Ann Hutchison I often think it's great to use scripture in our prayers sometimes. That way we know that the words we speak in prayer are spot-on. Of course, there are many other ways to pray too, like having a big heart-to-heart chat with God. But using scripture is one creative little thing we…
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“It is Finished.”
Dear friends It's Ann here, and we've reached Friday, the very last day of Holy Week and the day where Jesus was eventually taken to his death. This particular year I have been thinking a lot about the visual signs of power in that last moment on the cross: "From noon until three in the…
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While in the Wilderness – Fasting Day Two
How did day one of the Fast go for you? If you didn't manage it yesterday don't beat yourself up — It's perfectly normal to have a few hiccups in this big exercise called fasting. Just dust yourself off, get back on the horse, and start afresh. Over here, so far so good. I've not…
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Day One of our Community Fast
Hello friends Ann here and it’s Monday, day one of our fast. I am so looking forward to seeing what God will do among us this week. There is always something exciting that happens. Now, I woke this morning raring to go. However, I was nervous too. I’m going without food all week, and that's…
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A Personal Word for Next Year
Dear SUM family, Ann here. We have certain routines in this community, and one of these routines is that around this time of year many of us will ask God for a word for the year. For ourselves, that is, as individuals. Asking God questions about our own life is such a good way of…
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The Puzzle of the Gospels
By Ann Hutchison Jesus. There is so much swirling disagreement about him that my eyes sometimes widen at that. But this is all part of the package. Long ago, at Jesus's birth it was prophesied by a man called Simeon (Luke 2:34-35) that Jesus would be a "sign that would be spoken against." And so…
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When Someone Seems Impenetrable to the Gospel
Hello friends, Ann here! After our recent series on the Gospel, this week I'd like to share two specific words that God gave me a while ago about our activity in carrying the Gospel. I'll share one of these words today, the other on Friday, and I hope they help you along as they have…
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‘Preaching’ the Gospel — To a Spouse?
Hi everyone, it's Ann here and I hope you've had a good weekend! Today we'll start with these words of Jesus to his then-disciples: “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone.” (Mark 16:15, NLT) "Yes, Lord", we say to that, as modern-day disciples. "In whatever way you want us to…
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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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Financial Giving and Your Unbelieving Spouse
By Ann Hutchison "How can I give to the church when my spouse disagrees?" This one seems to pop up for most SUMites. For me it was an area of challenge in my heart for a good few years. There were so many areas of disagreement already, in relation to faith, that giving ‘our’ money…