Right Rumination

Audio:  https://youtu.be/K9qAWZ4Z3G4?si=AARXunqfSvrQkAVz I remember attending revival meetings, homeschool conferences, ladies’ retreats, marriage seminars, and Bible study groups. At home, I spent entire days listening to online preaching while doing housework. There were moments when the Lord stirred my heart, but that was all. Nothing changed because the truth never reached my heart. Cognitive overload. I had no time to stop and meditate. Please do not misunderstand me. These things are good. They are helpful. And surely, do not think this means you should skip church because it feels overwhelming. I believe with all my heart in being at church whenever the doors are open.   But I have learned something important. To guard my heart against pride, I have to do things differently. When I read, when I listen, when I attend a meeting,  I do not move on until I take hold of one truth. I study it. I meditate on it. I make it my focus. I ask the Lord to help me live it out. ...

Audio:   https://youtu.be/V66A0jSOj60?si=iJIXYH_U3qSgjUh0 After a year in Harlan, Iowa, my husband Leo and I moved to New Jersey. We quickly got involved in a Bible-believing church, completed a two-year discipleship program, and did everything that looked right on the outside. But at home, behind closed doors, it was a different story. I struggled with anger. I had trust issues. I wanted to be the leader of the home. I fought hard against submitting to my husband. I was full of worry and had a desperate need to control everything around me. The Bible says,  “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death”  (Proverbs 14:12). And another verse warns, “He did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, but not with a perfect heart”  (2 Chronicles 25:2). That was me, outwardly right, inwardly disconnected, mistaking busyness for true obedience. Then, in September 2010, tragedy struck. My husband Leo died suddenly in a motorcy...

https://youtu.be/gEwqST-yoGo?si=3YATjyiew7WmyPVZ .  I grew up in what you’d call a relatively “normal” home. My father was a judge, and my mom was a homemaker who also ran a small business. I am the youngest of four children, and like many parents, mine raised me the best way they knew how. But let’s just say, I didn’t exactly take the path they hoped for. In my late high school years and well into college, I chose a life of rebellion: drugs, smoking, drinking, fornication, abortion. It was a dark and reckless season. In the midst of all that chaos, I was still able to graduate with a degree in Occupational Therapy in the Philippines. I honestly cannot take the credit because it was clearly God’s grace. As the story unfolds, you’ll see why He made a way for me to finish college. There was a bigger purpose behind it all. At 24, without my parents’ consent, I married my high school sweetheart. That decision slowed down my wild living. I applied to work in the U.S. as an Occupational ...

Audio:  https://youtu.be/L8huRdy0fFA?si=eaQrhfFsk_vw3HU2 For months, I’ve been praying that the Lord would give me an opportunity to share what He’s been teaching me. That desire to encourage and exhort other women has  been growing quietly in my heart. I’ve experienced a joy in walking with God that I can’t keep to myself, and I long for others to taste it too.  “O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.” Psalm 34:8  I’ve also dreamed of writing. Not because I’m a natural writer (I’m really not), but because I’ve wanted to leave something behind for my children. Something that points them to Christ. Still, I often felt inadequate, unsure, and hesitant to begin. I also want others to see that the same God who led David through battles, gave Joshua boldness, sustained Job through suffering, and transformed Paul’s life is the very same God at work today. He’s not just the God of ancient stories. He’s the God of your...