Dear Friends,

First, let me say thank you for your support and interest in what God lays upon my heart to write each week. Without an audience, writing is merely an exercise in sorting out my own thoughts. But to know that God somehow blesses others through my wandering words makes the activity much more meaningful.

You see, for me, it isn’t about the method of communication. Some love to write so much they write anything at all. They serve others through their writing fully, writing for businesses, churches, local newspapers, etc. Praise the Lord for their gifts! But for me, I love any method of communication. (In case you hadn’t noticed!) It’s less about the method for me and more about the message. My desire is to help renew lives to radiance by teaching and encouraging others according to biblical truth.

If you know me personally, then you know my husband Jeff shares this same burden for the renewal of lives. I want to tell you today about a man named Lester, whom my husband has been mentoring for some time. Lester has not always walked a brighter walk with God. Like many in his family and neighborhood, he was seduced by the ways of the world into a lifestyle not reflective of God’s brilliance. Today however, he is pursuing God with all of his heart.

Lester has successfully completed gospel-based rehabilitation and training programs offered through Victory Life Ministries of Dallas and H.I.S. Bridgebuilders. He now holds a low-paying job and continues to be faithful in attending mentoring sessions and church services on a weekly basis. His work schedule will change on Tuesday, making public transportation no longer an option for him. In order to keep his job, he will have to purchase a vehicle in the next few days. He has saved some money toward the purchase of a car. But the money he has saved is less than $1000, and it will take time for him to rebuild his credit history.

We would like to invite you to join us in pouring into Lester’s life renewal. Acts 4 tells us that in the early church, followers of Christ considered one another family and “there was not a needy person among them.” Please consider joining us in prayer that God would provide reliable transportation for Lester within his financial means. Although we are not yet an official non-profit ministry that can provide tax-deductible receipts, we do want to provide you an opportunity to toss a few coins in the bucket to help increase Lester’s available funds. If you are willing and able to do this, you may make a secure online donation through Paypal by clicking here.

Thank you for embracing a “Brighter Walk” with God. As you choose to see life from a Christian worldview and act accordingly, you inspire those in your pathway for His name’s sake. 

It’s really not about my wants, but what God wants for me.

It’s really not about my vision, unless it’s a vision God gives to me.

It’s really not about my life, except as God lives through me.

Catchy phrases. We love them. We post them. We tweet them. We adopt them as mantras for life. But are they true?

At least one person quit following me on Twitter when I asked them if his tweet was biblically correct. Now I know that’s not the best way to gain friends and influence people. But this particular person presented themselves as someone who cared about truth and nothing but the truth. And they tweeted something that was in opposition to it. That bugged me.

Quotes can be motivational, and they mustn’t all have a chapter and verse behind them. But we should always analyze them in light of Scripture. As long as they don’t contradict, then I say tweet away!

But oftentimes it depends on the context. Consider this one. Millions associate Lance Armstrong with the yellow wristband “Live Strong”. What could possibly be wrong with that? Nothing, except the Christian must remember in whose strength we are to live.

When I pulled out of the driveway the other day, I noticed that my daughter had added a bumper sticker to the back of her car. When I read it, I caught my breath.  Everyone knows the saying is “Live Strong,” but she had posted just the opposite! What in the world was she thinking?

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