by jot and tittle

The women in my life are amazing and I thank the Lord for them(almost) daily . There's the woman who thinks hard and deep, then asks me things like "do you think we'll know each other in heaven?" The woman who is going through deep waters and yet her heart is calm because she's taking the Lord at His Word, and believes He has only the best planned for His people. The woman who is a good secret-keeper. The woman how has an opinion about everything. The woman who hurts for others and the woman who takes charge. The woman who never wants to offend anyone. The woman who's life cry is "speak Lord, for your servant hears" and then opens her Bible expectantly. The woman struggling mentally, the woman who is hurt deeply, and the woman with bags under her eyes as her children run. There are women who look like they've got it all together and women who openly ask for prayer. Some are raw and open, others struggle to share their hearts. All thes...

It was warm summer night when two dear ladies entered my home. We sat in the living room; them with drinks to sip and a baby to bounce between them and me with some towels to finish folding. We talked about our lives, about God, about hard things and funny things.  It was here that we learned how to pray for one another.  Recently, I sat in other woman's home, this time with me drinking tea and she folding the laundry. But again, we talked. And again, we learned how to pray for each other.  I am so thankful for my own couch and table but also for the couches and tables of my friends. It is here, sisters-in-Christ, that we see life through another's eyes. It is here that we learn the struggles and joys of others and it is here that we learn what to take to the throne of grace when we pray for our church families.  It is because of these times that I can now pray that Sheila would have grace to love and enjoy her children, that Marcy would have stre...

"Becca, you know your tire is flat, right?" Right... No, I did not know that. In order to know my tire was flat I would need to be an observant human being about such things. But there it was. Quite flat. Stink. The next day was Sunday so my friend offered to pick me up for church. Our church starts at 10:00am. She showed up at 10:04. Stinky stink. I am never late. (When I say I am never late you may be rolling your eyes but the real truth is that in order for me to be late something must go drastically wrong.) So we walk into church and you can tell the faith family is relived that we're alive. After the service people want to know what happened and by the end of this Sabbath everyone knows I have a flat tire. (When I say everyone it's not an exaggeration, I'm a member of a pretty small church.) Four men offered to change my tire. That means four wives were willing to come over, some with tired children, to wait while their man changed my tire. And...

I recently bought a fish. He's a red betta. Red, because it's pretty. A betta because the lady at the pet store said they're the hardest to kill. We're pals. I also have an assortment of houseplants. (I do best with the kind that you don't have to water all the time.)  It's fun. I like living things (it really is best if they're hard to kill).  While the diversity and beauty of living things is a HUGE blessing, that isn't the biggest gift my fish and plants give to me. Their greatest benefit for my soul is the fact that they do what God created them to do without complaint. God created fish to swim. My fish is quite content with his lot in life; he does not rebel against the Maker by trying to escape the bowl. He must understand that God has put him there for his own good, not his detriment.   The plants sit in their respective window sills and shelves, some enjoying the sun, some enjoying less of the sun. They produce oxygen and filter the air...

Community.  Dictionary.com defines community as; a   social   group   of   any   size   whose   members   reside   in   a   specific   locality,  share   government,   and   often   have   a   common   cultural   and   historical  heritage. It's people who live in the same area, with a common government and share a common culture or history. But at it's core community means  people.  It's people   living together in the midst of the mess and chaos and beautiful of our days. Human beings are interesting creatures. We come in all shapes and sizes with varying quirks, gifts, and flaws. We don't all struggle with the same thing but we do all struggle. We aren't all good at the same thing but we are all good at something.  Specifically, I am very blessed to live in church community. More than anything else, church community i...

It is 9:49 P.M. I.am.tired. This week has been pretty intense, what with a strange kind of eye infection for the almost-three-year-old, school ending for my emotional-miss-my-teacher-already-and-I-saw-her-thirty-minutes-ago nine and seven year-olds, and to put a cherry on top of this week of crazy; the four-year-old has a black eye. A.black.eye. And it's only Thursday. With tomorrow being our first official day of summer holidays who knows what will happen? I am tired. My body is tired from getting up early. My brain is tired from listening to small children say the same thing over and over and over again (and when I hide in the bathroom they find me and say the same things over and over and over again only this time it's through the door). And my heart is tired from caring about four little souls who need Jesus and my friend who just found out she has cancer and what about that friend stuck in a bad relationship? And you know what? I tell God I'm tired. And t...

It was a wonderful Sunday. Today I was gifted with private worship, two church services, and lunch with several members of my immediate church family. Today is also Mother's Day and while my church doesn't pay much attention to holidays on Sunday (Sunday being the Lord's Day) my social media feed blew up with posts to and about and for mothers. Which is just fine. I am very thankful for mothers and my mother in particular has had a great influence on my life. I believe motherhood is one of the single hardest occupations. To godly mothers everywhere,  thank you .  Next weekend my pastor is speaking at a youth retreat. A few different people asked if I was going to the youth conference and when I replied "no" I was kindly reminded that youth conferences are great places to meet men. Youth conferences are great. I have been to loads and loads of youth conferences back when I had less responsibilities and I was generally encouraged in my faith. I also sincerely ...

"So I exhort the elders among you,   as a fellow elder and   a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed:     shepherd the flock of God that is among you , exercising oversight,   not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you;   not for shameful gain, but eagerly;     not   domineering over those in your charge, but   being examples to the flock.     And when   the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the   unfading   crown of glory." 1 Peter 5:1-4 ESV For those of you who don't know, I do not live very close to my family and I only make it home about once every four weeks. Naturally, this means I am friends with people who are not acquainted with my family and vise versa. Recently it was brought to my attention that perhaps I was not being wise in one of my relationships and I didn't know what to do. My father and mother have not obse...

"The weather today will be..." states a baritone voice, but that's as far as he gets because I've already switched the alarm clock off. Not snooze. Off. Rolling over, I mutter   "please Lord, help me love mornings like You love mornings"   then I sit up in the dark, rub my eyes, and stumble to the kitchen to turn on the kettle for a cup of tea.  It's 6:00 A.M. And it's the same every weekday morning. Mornings are becoming one of my favorite parts of the day...but I'm not going to lie, from 6:00-6:10 I wonder repeatedly why I bothered to get up at all because the bed was so warm and I don't have to leave for work for another two hours.  But then I sit on the couch with my Bible and prayer journal and I spend time with God. And all of a sudden the darkness outside and the chill inside pale in comparison to being with my Redeemer and King. No, it is not always fun (in fact it rarely is) but there is an incredible blessing besto...

There are Christian disciplines that we probably do out of a mix of routine, love for God, and because they are frequently mentioned in sermons; prayer, Bible reading, cooperate worship, participating in the sacraments, and fellowship. But there's one, at least in my life, that was seldom talked about and I only saw it modeled only once; fasting . Recently my pastor mentioned fasting in a sermon which started me thinking. If Jesus expected His followers to fast (Matthew 6:16) and Paul expected married couples to fast (1 Corinthians 7:5KJV) then shouldn't Christians do it? And since I'm a follower of Jesus, shouldn't I? I didn't have a clue how to go about it...so I did some research. People typically fast in order to confess sin (either for themselves, the church, or the nation), because they are in mourning, or to give God undivided devotion/attention while they seek His will on a certain issue. Basically, the concept of fasting is to deprive yourself of food f...

The wisdom is so small the need so very great A heart full of pain and sorrow and much to contemplate A mind swirling with questions but no answers are in sight "What I am to do, oh God?" but all is dark this night Elijah heard a whisper To Abram God did speak Nathan came to David Here all is quiet though I seek Sin's victories ring loud and long and clear Bragging of their triumphs At my soul they sneer To see another now in sin Glad to be stuck in it's bog Makes me heart mourn And keep asking "why God?" "Why have You not touched them And given them Your grace? Why do you seem so far away? Why don't they seek Your face?" But heaven is quiet my face bowed to the ground I'm waiting for the answer All is still above and around God's timing is not my timing, He is love, wisdom, and truth In patience He deemed to condescend An answer to this youth "The secret things are mine, dear child, let the...

I sat at the booth and checked my phone to make sure my friend knew where to find me. She had just parked and was walking over. Perfect. I ordered a cup of tea and was contentedly sipping on it when she entered. Seeing me immediately, she made a beeline for our table, took her seat, and looked up.  Her face was filled with joy as she asked how I was.  "I'm good," I said, slightly amused. "Why are you so happy?" "Oh," she shrugged. "I just am."  "I have set the LORD always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices." ~Psalm 16:8-9a "As in water face reflects face, so the heart of a man reflects the man." ~Proverbs 27:19 Amidst all the sorrow and anger and fighting of our broken world this woman's face stood out. The joy in her eyes reflected the joy of her heart; a heart that had spent time with Jesus.  Throug...