Cross My Heart Ministry

“How great is the love the Father has
lavished 
on us that we should be called children of God.”
I John 3:1

Could there be a love any greater than God’s love for us? No. Impossible. Nothing and no one can come close.  

God’s love is so great that He adopted us into His family and made us His own children.  

I have many friends (and most likely you do, as well) who have adopted children. Adoption is a blessing. It honors God when a child without a family becomes part of one.

It’s also costly. Adoption comes at a high price.  

Financial costs may include multiple trips to foreign countries, legal expenses, adoptions fees. 

Emotional costs can be delayed schedules, changed decisions, and days and months of waiting for a phone call. 

Then there are the lifestyle costs; there are always lifestyle changes when a little one is welcomed into the family, but those adjustments are even more pronounced when the child comes via adoption. Previous experiences or abuses, unaddressed health challenges, neglect, adoption out of birth order, attachment disorder, and a myriad of other issues may multiply the adjustment for everyone in the family. The dynamics of all the relationships are shifted.  

Whether by birth or by adoption — but perhaps especially by adoption — there is a considerable price to be paid for expanding a family.   

When God adopted us into His family, it required the highest price of all: the death of His own son. Our adoption was purchased with the blood of Jesus Christ. You may have been born to your earthly parents or adopted by them, but every one of us becomes God’s child by adoption … and His motivation for adding you to His family is love. He lavished His love upon us by making the ultimate sacrifice, paying the highest of all prices.

He considers you that valuable.

He believes you are worth it.  

The word lavish is fun to say. I like the way I can click my tongue forward when I say it. And I like even more how it feels, knowing I have received it! Who wouldn’t want to be lavished with love? 

“Lavished love” may prompt thoughts of roses and candy from a spouse, a new car for a 16-year-old, or a Disney World vacation for a 5-year-old. But the ultimate lavishing of love requires the highest sacrifice of all. That’s the price Jesus paid.  

Several years ago, our family fulfilled one of my husband’s life-long dreams: we visited Normandy, France, the site of the D-Day invasion that liberated France from Nazi Germany. It was overwhelming to stand at the American Cemetery there — gazing across a sea of more than 9400 white crosses, each one representing a soldier whose life was snuffed out early because he was committed to something bigger than himself. Those men gave their own lives so others could go on living theirs. The Americans who sailed from England to France on June 6, 1944, changed the course of history. They were heroes because they showed up. They didn’t know if they would die that day, but they knew it was a very real possibility.

Their resolve to do whatever was required to defeat the monster created by Adolf Hitler — their incredible bravery and sacrifice — is the reason we enjoy freedom today.  

This was an emotional experience for me. I didn’t expect it to be. But as I looked at those crosses (and learned more of the lives each marker represented), I was overwhelmed with both sadness for them and gratitude on the part of myself, my family, my country, the people of France, and our world.

The lost lives of men I never knew have lavished freedom on me and my family. On all of us.

But even their supreme sacrifice that brought me physical freedom cannot compare to the eternal, spiritual freedom provided to me by Jesus on Calvary’s Cross. His incomparable valor in action against our greatest enemy brought ultimate freedom: nothing less than freedom from death and eternal consequences for my sin.

This is lavished love — for which I am profoundly grateful, but also wholly undeserving.

Those 9400 crosses brought tears to my eyes and an ache to my heart. I thought of lives cut short … devastated sweethearts, wives, and mothers … children that would never be born … all because lives were taken. Lives were given.  

But my aching and tears for them, though great, should pale in comparison to my aching tears for the pain — and gratitude for the sacrifice — of my Lord Jesus. His lavished love needs to be pondered, treasured, and appreciated.

The realization of what He did should overwhelm us with gratitude, loosening the ties of addiction to self and tethering us with cords of thankfulness to Him. Becoming His child is the undoing of “me-ness,” as I choose to daily declare, “Thy will be done.” 

Thank you, Jesus. You gave your life for me. I gratefully give my life to You.   

Are you feeling lavished by His love today, dear friend? Are you His? Do you know you are His child? Have you thanked Him today for paying the high price of adoption to make you part of His family?  

When we know these things, what else can we do but declare the words from I John 3:1 to all who can hear:

“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us
that we should be called children of God.”

Introducing our Write the WORD for September: 30 Prayers & Verses for Our Children!

We repeat this bookmark every September, strategically planned to coincide with the beginning of the new school year. We pray these prayers and verses will equip you to pray intentionally and specifically for the children in your life — those who live under your roof, the children of your children, your niece or nephew, the kids in your neighborhood, those in your church, and the Compassion International Child your sponsor. You can download your copy here.

In early August, we handed out copies of this bookmark to members of our community who attended our annual Prayer Walk here in Northwest Arkansas. We invite you to view a recap of our event here:

If you would like to launch a walk in your community, we are available to help! 

For we are God’s workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus to do good works,
which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Ephesians 2:10

We are God’s workmanship.  

We are His handiwork, the result of His design and labor.  

If you and I were to visit the Sistine Chapel, tilt our heads back, and gaze at the ceiling, we would know there was a gifted artist. We would praise the workmanship of Michelangelo. 

If we would travel to the Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. and behold the Apollo 11 space capsule, we would marvel at the work of NASA engineers that managed to send men to the moon. We would praise their workmanship. 

And we should do the same when we look upon each and every human life: created by God, His workmanship. The beauty, intricacy, and incredible design of His finished product all point back to the brilliance of the artist/designer/engineer. 

We were created by God and in God’s image. And we were created for a purpose.  

When God set about creating the world, Genesis tells us He spread His work out over six days. At the conclusion of each day, He looked upon His workmanship for that day and declared it “good.” But on the sixth day, after creating man, He added an adverb. As He looked upon His workmanship, he declared it, “very good.” 

Humans are the crown of His creation — everything else was created for us to steward well and exercise dominion over.  

The verse above also notes that we were “created in Christ Jesus.” Jesus, as a member of the Godhead, was present and active in creation. He participated in the physical creation of man.  

But He is also responsible for our spiritual birth, as well. Offering Himself as the perfect sacrifice, His obedience to death makes our rebirth possible when we call on Him as our Savior. He provided our physical life at creation. His death makes our spiritual life possible.  

Ephesians 2:10 also makes it clear that we were created for a purpose: “to do good works.” Those good works are not ones we come up with, but those placed on our spiritual chore chart long before we were born. The Ruler of heaven and earth has an assignment for each of us.  

In Genesis 12:3, we glean insight into God’s heart for the world: to bless all people. That prophecy to Abraham was ultimately fulfilled through his lineage with the physical birth of Jesus. Carrying the message of Jesus forward to a world that desperately needs the blessings He provides is part of our “good work” assignment. As those He redeemed, we each have an assignment from Him.  

And here’s the amazing thing: not only did He prepare a unique assignment for each of us, but He also built each of us with everything we need to complete that assignment. Every gift and talent you have came from God, and is to be used to complete the “good work” He laid out for you. Our gifts are not just for our own pleasure or advancement; their purpose is to make much of Him.  

Embracing the reality of this passage should leave us grateful and humbled, awed and amazed. The God of the universe has an assignment for you! If the Governor or even the Mayor called and said, “I have a job for you,” you might feel honored, chosen, and special.  The realization that the genius who not only thought up the world, but had the power to speak it into existence, has an assignment for you? That should get us excited and engaged.  

Oh, Lord, thank you for blessing us! We commit today to be fully used by you to complete our individual assignments. Make us a blessing! 

In this week’s Friday devotional video, Laura is joined by her friend, Katelyn Coon, to discuss 1 John 3:1. In this passage, John writes about the concept of love and how God not only calls us His children but also makes it so. We are strangers in this world — and this is a good thing! — and children of God! 

Don’t forget to visit our Downloads page for your copy of our August bookmark, as well as other free resources to help you balance your heart for God with the demands of a busy life and family.

Be kind and compassionate to one another,
forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
Ephesians 4:32 

Years ago, while visiting our granddaughter, Julia Grace, she and I worked together on memorizing the verse above. She struggled with pronouncing the word compassionate, so we drilled down on it — both how to say it, and what it means.  

I explained compassionate to her as being loving and kind to others. She immediately responded, “Grammy, I’m always ‘passionate with my friends and my family.” (It was apparent that we needed to revisit the definition of always, as well.) 

Your Bible translation may add the word tenderhearted to Ephesians 4:32. That fits well with loving and kind.

So far, compassionate conjures up lots of warm fuzzies. Visions of releasing love to others and, of course, expecting the love to flow back in a harmonious give-and-take with family, friends, and fellow believers. 

But the latter part of this verse brings up a reality that couldn’t be farther from those thoughts of holding hands and singing Kumbaya: being compassionate means we must choose to forgive, and if we are called to forgive, it means we’ve been wronged.  

Suddenly, the warm fuzzies begin to float away. The euphoria evaporates. No longer is our focus on those who are kind and loving to us; Paul is challenging us to release forgiveness in the form of compassion to someone who has hurt or betrayed us. Perhaps someone who has broken a confidence, lied about us, or gossiped about us.  

Well, now. This sheds a whole new light on my comfortable version of compassion. It also means that my obedience may be more a choice than a feeling — a decision made in my mind, exercised by my will, and perhaps, eventually, felt in my heart.  

Paul (inspired by the Holy Spirit, of course) goes on to be sure the truth is absolutely crystal clear with this last phrase added to the end of the verse: Just as in Christ God forgave you.  

It’s a not-so-subtle reminder that puts the command in context. Because we have been forgiven, we must choose to forgive. Our mess-ups and messes and missing the mark, all that junk we put under the big umbrella called sin, are not simply crimes against humans or even humanity. They are crimes against God. And if God in His mercy and kindness can choose to forgive me, then how can I not — how dare I not — forgive those who have wronged me?  

Ephesians 4:32 sets a high standard for both the true meaning of compassion and for how far we’re expected to stretch our compassion muscle: as far as Jesus stretched for us. As we focus on Jesus, we are humbled and convicted ,,, and perhaps a bit defeated, as well. We know we cannot stretch that far. But the focus on Jesus serves as a reminder that He not only sets the impossibly high standard, He also equips us through His Spirit to make the impossible possible.

God always equips us for what He calls us to do.  

Has your definition of compassion been shifted, altered, or remade by Ephesians 4:32? I hope so, because mine sure has. Compassion means more than we may first think it means. Tremendously so.

Compassion may have been hard for Julia Grace to say, but it’s even harder for all of us to DO. We begin by seeing forgiveness as the ultimate fruit of compassion. And the only possible way to see it grow in our lives is to stay connected to the vine. Only through Jesus is real compassion possible.

As you allow the truth of Ephesians 4:32 to settle over you, who in your life comes to mind that may need a little (or a lot) of compassion from you?  

In this week’s devotional video, Laura is joined by her friend Cathi Coleman. We invite you to watch as they to discuss Hebrews 3:13. In this passage, we learn about the importance of encouraging others. Time is short, and we may get caught up in the cares of this world, causing us to have a negative attitude — which, in turn, can lead us into sin. Paul warns us to put off our old selves and encourage others to be faithful to God. We need to trust that God’s ways are perfect, and to walk where He leads. 

There’s still time to join us during August as we read, write, and study God’s Word. You can find your own copy of our free bookmark on our Downloads page!

“A friend loves at all times,
and a brother is born for a time of adversity.”
Proverbs 17:17

•  Do I love at all times? 
• Am I a faithful friend? 
• Do time, schedules, and commitments handicap my ability and availability to love well? 
• Do I leave margin, so I am available? 

All good questions for self-evaluation as we ponder the truth found in Proverbs 17:17.  

As recipients of love, we certainly want to be loved at all times. And when life is full, stressful, and challenging, we are especially grateful when caring friends see our plight and lean in to offer love in practical ways. Often, our load is lightened immeasurably when a friend loves on us with a roast for dinner, a kind note of encouragement, cleaning our bathrooms, childcare, offering a listening ear, or the power of prayer (to name just a few).  

We want to be – we love to be and long to be – loved on at all times by others.  

But the question is: do we release love at all times?  

The writer of Proverbs goes on to make clear the specific kinds of “all times” he is referring to: “adversity.”  

Adversity means challenging circumstances, difficult situations, and uncomfortable conditions. I think he’s talking pain here. It might be emotional, physical, mental, relational, or financial. It may be chronic or temporary. But if adversity is anything, it is usually painful.  

Regardless of the type or timing of pain, this passage makes it clear that being born into the family (and let’s count “sister” as well as “brother” here) means we show up at all times, and especially times of adversity. Family might be physical family, but as followers of Christ we are born again into the family of God. The body of believers becomes our own extended family.  

Putting our love on means showing up. It can be uncomfortable, awkward, depressing, and certainly it will be inconvenient. It might be messy (physically or emotionally). It might not smell good, sound good, or look good. But when love leads out, we are propelled forward to walk – even run –in the path of love.  

Paul challenges us in Romans 12:1-2, to “offer [our] bodies as living sacrifices” and then in the very next chapter he exhorts, “let no debt remain outstanding except the continuing debt to love one another.” You may have a Ph.D from Financial Peace University and have cut up every credit card you own, but you will never be out of debt when it comes to the obligation to love others! Releasing love yesterday satisfied yesterday’s debt, but today is a new day.  

As the summer draws to a close and families prepare for yet another school year, many of us are mapping out schedules, waiting for EFA funds to arrive, picking out books, and evaluating extracurricular activities for our kids. But are we also preparing them to be good friends and faithful family members? Are we training them in what it means to love well at all times, and also modeling that behavior for them?  

We know, of course, that most (if not all) things are better caught than taught. That means I’m called to intentionally, deliberately, strategically do some out-loud loving on others in my life … and to pull my children or grandchildren alongside as I do it.  

Love is best served up as an action. It’s good to say, “I love you” and everyone delights in getting a note of encouragement. But let’s consider how we can truly release love by showing up, expending some time and muscle, making the sacrifice, in order to be a blessing. How can we walk in love?  

As we lean into loving, we may also – amazingly, and perhaps surprisingly – discover the truth of another Biblical passage: “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” (Acts 20:35) 

Are you ready to start behaving like a member of the family? Are you ready to put your love on and live it out loud? 

For this week’s devotional video, Laura was joined by her friend, Ingrid DeYoung, to discuss Philippians 4:4. In this passage, Paul gives a command to believers and reinforces it by repeating it.

May we always take God’s commands to heart, because we serve a loving and generous God who knows what is best for us!

Visit our Downloads page today for your copy of this month’s Write the WORD bookmark!

It was July 1961.  Almost exactly 65 years ago.

Legendary coach Vince Lombardi walked onto the field for day one of training camp. His Green Bay Packers team was comprised of professional athletes who almost won the NFL Championship in the previous season.

Was he armed with a new playbook? Had he prepared a new regiment of strength-training exercises? What new ideas would he share to get them over the top next time?

Coach Lombardi held up the pigskin and said, “Gentlemen, this is a football.”

He chose to begin at the beginning – to cover the basics and take nothing for granted. These were seasoned athletes, but he chose to focus on fundamentals.

As the end of summer creeps up on us and we approach the busy days of fall, let’s take a leaf from Coach Lombardi’s playbook. Let’s get back to the basics with the Word of God.

This month’s Write the Word is titled, “ABCs of Scripture.” We encourage you to:

• Read it
• Write it
• Speak it
• Share it
• Think it
• Hide it
• Display it
• Live it

When the king of Israel took the throne, God had some wise counsel for the new king:

When he takes the throne of his kingdom,
he is to write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law,
taken from that of the Levitical priests.
Deuteronomy 17:18

Having every available scribe at this disposal, the king could have requested a scroll be prepared for every day of the week or every room in the palace. This is a task that could have been done for him. But God, in His wisdom, knew the value to the king in writing it out for himself. When we write the Word (rather than only reading the Word), it slows us down. We savor phrases and words that might otherwise be overlooked.

You and I may not be queens (or kings), but we are certainly serving the King of all kings. What better way to prepare our hearts for that high and holy privilege than by writing the Word of God?

The ABC verses chosen this month not only follow the letters of the alphabet, but they offer key truth for life and learning.

As you hold up your Bible — leather-bound or not — perhaps you can borrow a phrase from Coach Lombardi:

Ladies and gentlemen, young and old …
this is the Word of God.

In honor of the end of summer and beginning of the school year, we’ve launched a new topic for our August Write the Word bookmark: the ABC’s of Scripture. We invite you to listen as Laura introduces it … and shares a challenge idea for your kids or grand kids!

 “A man’s wisdom gives him patience,
it is to his glory to overlook an offense.”
Proverbs 19:11

While the TSA may admonish air travelers, “If you see something, say something,” perhaps God’s advice would more often be, “If you see something, pray something.”

The most Christ-like, holy action we take today might be to close our mouths: to choose prayer over retaliation, petition instead of offense. To lean into intercession, not criticism.

Perhaps the best way to hone this spiritual life skill is to practice the habit of “prayer walking”— allowing what you see to prompt you to pray. Resist the urge to condemn as you walk, drive, and shop, and instead transform the criticism into prayer and bounce it up to God.

It is easy to walk through life with a critical spirit. But it requires the power of the Holy Spirit to overlook what we find offensive or distasteful, and choose the way of prayer.

As is often the case, our obedience rolls blessing back upon us. When God releases me from my addiction to self-righteousness and my preoccupation with my rights or my offense, I am ready for transformation. This is when the Holy Spirit permits me to see people and situations as God sees them.

Consider these scenarios where condemnation (or inward or outward eye-rolling) might be our first response, and how we might instead offer up intentional intercession:

The reckless driver (who might not remain wreck-less for long!)
As a mom with children in the car, a driver endangering the lives of my darlings prompted righteous indignation from this mama bear. Rather than yelling “Idiot!” inside my car or even using my horn to communicate my offense, what if instead my children heard me pray aloud:

Lord, I pray the young man driving that car would see not only his own life, but the lives of others, as a gift from You. He is created in your image. Please prompt Him to treasure and value life as You do, and to steward his life and his days well so that he might live to bring You glory.

The immodest teen
I can remember sitting in church many years ago, behind a young lady dressed in a way that I considered quite inappropriate for the occasion. With my young boys sitting next to me, I was distracted by her attire and couldn’t help wondering if my sons were, too. I found myself wondering why she’d deliberately draw this type of attention to herself … and my criticism was not limited to her, as my next thought came: “Why on earth would her mother allow her to leave home dressed that way?!?” Bouncing my focus might lead me to intercede:

Lord, I pray blessing over this young woman. May her identity be found in You alone. I pray she would come to understand that she is a precious daughter of the King, whose value transcends her outward appearance (and let me acknowledge that, also, Father). And Lord, I pray that both my daughters AND my sons will learn to speak, dress, and behave in ways that honor and draw attention to You above everything else, always and in all ways.

The screaming mother
You have probably been behind her in the checkout line. She’s the one yelling at her kids, “If you don’t…I’m gonna…!” But they know she’s not gonna. I know she’s not gonna. The cashier, everyone in our lane, and the people in the three lanes on either side of ours all know she’s not gonna. Instead of silently sighing, mentally rolling my eyes, and tapping my foot in irritation, I am convicted to pray:

Lord, bless this frazzled young mom. Give her peace and patience in the midst of a very challenging season in life. Bring alongside a mentor to encourage, support, and equip her for this difficult task of child raising. I pray she would look to You for everything she needs.

While Matthew 18 does call us to “go and show” when a brother or sister sins against us, my guess is that we are more often offended (or simply irritated) than actually sinned against. Before jumping quickly to “go and show” (Matthew 18:15-17), perhaps we should try to “let it go” (Proverbs 19:11) first.

How is God calling you to close your mouth — and perhaps fall to your knees in prayer — today?

This week Laura is joined by her friend, Casey Van Asche to discuss James 1:5. In this passage, James talks about the hard times or the trials we will face, and encourages believers to ask God for wisdom because we serve a loving and generous God who will provide it.

It’s not too late to join us in writing WISDOM verses this month. Find your own copy of our July bookmark on our Download page, along with other free Cross My Heart resources designed to help you balance your heart for God with the demands of a busy home and family.

“The wisdom of the prudent is to give thought to their ways,
but the folly of fools is deception.”
Proverbs 14:8

Deception can be a quick, easy way to get out of an awkward situation or a tight jam. Just a little white lie to a four-year-old (“we don’t have any ice cream”), to the sales clerk (“it was a gift”), or to your husband (“it was on sale”) may seem harmless at the time, but that shortcut comes at a high price.

Easy, quick solutions to immediate dilemmas often bring significant long-term consequences. Consider how much sin is like that. We do not want to wait, we do not want to be thought less of, and we do want to avoid conflict … and so we resort to deception.

We lie. And if we lie, that makes us a liar—and according to Proverbs 14:8, that also makes us a fool.

Those who are wise, however, refuse the “deception solution.” They think before speaking. They are not seduced by the quick, easy way out.

When tempted to lie, the wise woman remembers:

• This lie could bring significant consequences.
• This lie brings the challenge of remembering not just the truth, but keeping up with the lie so as not to give myself away later.
• This lie will damage my character.
• Even if no one else finds out (unlikely), I will know and God will know.
• I belong to Christ. By calling myself a Christian, I have identified myself with Him … and this lie will malign His great name.

For those who are teachers, parents, or leaders, the stakes are even higher. Because we are in a position to influence others, our deceptive ways can prompt others to take the easy way out, too.

If I lie—even one time—it makes me a liar. That is an ugly-but-true reality. When we cultivate the habit of refusing to lie in small things, we will be well prepared to resist the temptation to lie in bigger things. For the woman who follows Christ, this is non-negotiable.

Lord, help me to choose Your way, the way of truth. When tempted to lie, show me the wisdom of speaking honest words instead. Convict me when I have lied … give me strength and courage to confess, make amends, and seek forgiveness. May I never be found maligning Your name.

In our Friday devotional video this week, Laura is joined by her friend, Amelia Nizynski to discuss Colossians 3:16. God’s Word in you forms wisdom and reshapes our thinking. The Word between you expresses wisdom — believers speak truth helpfully to each other to teach & instruct. Worship deepens wisdom. Worship aligns your heart with His. We invite you to watch as Laura and Amelia share their thoughts on this passage:

You can find your copy of our July bookmark on our Downloads page, and start writing all of these WISDOM verses along with us.

If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God,
who gives generously to all without finding fault,
and it will be given to him.
James 1:5

One short verse, but so much truth here! Let’s unpack it together:

Humility
The verse begins, If any of you lacks wisdom. In order to receive, we must first acknowledge we lack it! A prideful heart resists asking for help. Self-sufficiency is a chief stumbling block to attaining wisdom.

Ask God
God is the source of wisdom. When we go looking elsewhere, true wisdom will elude us. At best, we will get a band-aid rather than a cure … at worse, we’ll be led astray to something that is not wisdom at all. If you need to know how often to change your oil, the best source of information is the manufacturer. We were created by God – He knows us best and loves us most.

God Gives Generously
I love finding “-ly” words in Scripture. Adverbs are powerful communicators; they provide deeper shades of meaning for us to glean understanding. Our great God does not just give, He gives generously. He is not stingy. He does not hoard. He never runs out. He delights when we come to Him.

God Gives to All
As a mom of four kids, I know the challenges of simultaneously meeting everyone’s needs.  When my children were young, we instituted “Kid of the Week” to give everyone an opportunity to have special privileges like sitting in the front seat of the car or going out to breakfast with Daddy.  In God’s Kingdom, we are all the “Kid of the Week” — every single day. Our God is powerful enough to hear the mother in China who calls out to Him to heal her sick child, but also listen to my prayer for wise words when my now-adult child is struggling.

God Does Not Find Fault
There is no condemnation from God for asking. Have you (like me) ever shuddered as you heard words like these come out of your mouth:

• “How many times do I have to repeat myself?”
• “Why did you wait until the last minute to tell me about your project?”
• “We’ve talked about this!”

Probably good examples of condemnation. And we get none of that from our perfect heavenly Father.

God Delivers
We ask. He answers. Then comes the hard part: doing what He says!

In what decision, relationship, or challenge do you and I need to ask God for wisdom today … and then follow through by heeding the guidance He provides?

For this week’s teaching video, Laura is joined by her friend, Jeanette Hudgeons. We invite you to listen as they discuss I Corinthians 2:12-13, and their observation that it is crucial to seek spiritual wisdom, which comes from the Holy Spirit, daily and consistently. Our human wisdom is so often based on feelings and selfish desires … but God’s thoughts and ways are so much higher than ours. We can trust that God is for us and that we can trust Him! 

Don’t forget to download your copy of our July bookmark here, and join us this month in writing all these WISDOM verses!

So teach us to number our days that we may get
a heart of wisdom.
Psalm 90:12

What if each new day brought a new nugget of wisdom? In just the past year, 365 treasures would be ours. And counting the accumulation over 5, 10, 20 years … we would be wealthy in wisdom!

As women of God, wisdom is available to us if we are looking for it and asking for it, but we must be looking and asking at the right source. Scripture makes it clear: God is the source of wisdom!

If we could grab hold – and hold on – to the wisdom God reveals to us in His Word, how rich we would be!

Several years ago, my husband and I attended the wedding of a dear friend’s daughter. We were seated at a large round table with three other couples. My friend, the mother of the bride, referred to our group as the “fun table,” while the bride called ours the “table of wisdom.” One of the men quipped, “It just means it’s the table with the old people!”

And indeed, that statement carried some truth! If we have a teachable spirit – a willingness to listen and learn – God can use all events and circumstances of our lives to allow us to see and apply the wisdom He offers.

Are you ready to connect the dots from God’s Word to YOUR life?

Our Write the Word bookmark this month features verses containing the word wisdom. Come join us, as we read and write – and also pray, memorize, and live out – the truth we uncover in each verse. Find your free scripture bookmark and S.O.A.P. study pages on our Downloads page.

Praying we are all 31 nuggets wealthier when August comes around!

In this week’s Friday video, Laura’s friend Lesa Rissler was welcomed onto our channel to share insight from Proverbs 31:26. After listening to Lesa, you will see that having wisdom on our tongues must begin by having it in our hearts! We think you will particularly love a couple of sweet stories she shares about conversations with her daughter, Aubrey. Listen and be blessed! 

You can download your copy of our July bookmark and start writing all these WISDOM verses here.