Equipped Ministries

                I know from personal experience that once a family loses a loved one, Christmas is never the same.   We are unable, (nor do we really want) to find the same joy we found in years past in the many traditions of Christmas.   Presents, shopping, baking etc., no longer lighten the mood and get us in the spirit the way they used too.   The one or ones we used to share these traditions with are no longer with us, so doing them brings little joy.                 The above is truer this year than ever before.   An entire community has lost their joy for Christmas.   We have lost little bakers in the kitchen, little voices in the Christmas musical, and quite possibly an entire cast for a holiday play.   Christmas will never be the same in Newtown, Connecticut.      ...

                The other day in our bible study time, the kids and I came across a very familiar verse.   One that I have heard hundreds of times growing up, yet through discussion with my kids, gained a very new perspective. In chapter 7 of the book of Matthew, verses 7 & 8, Jesus is well into his famous Sermon on the Mount.   Some refer to it as God’s call to righteousness, but I like to tell my kids that it is God’s list of “Do’s and don’ts.”                           In this particular section we are told, “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for.   Keep on seeking and you will find.   Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.   For everyone who seeks, finds.   And everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.”   Ma...

(This article was taken from freedomyou.com, and written by Ron Lagerquist) "If you struggle with overeating, you will know that addiction is all about detachment and disconnection from your spiritual self and God." In an era of grocery stores and fast food, it's hard to make the connection between your eating and communion with God. But for most of human history, families would sow their seed while praying for rain and protection from pestilence. A household’s welfare was intimately married to seed and soil and wholly dependent on the God of sun and rain. Harvest was a time of celebration. The fruit of their labor would ensure a daily provision from hunger and starvation. To offer a meal to a hungry passerby was a gift of sacrifice. A loaf of bread was an investment of time from the planting of the seed to the harvesting, milling and baking in clay ovens. They understood very well when Jesus said, I am the Bread of Life. One of the great byproducts of changing f...

Craving God                 On the journey of weight loss, one cannot address their “issues” with weight without conquering cravings.   From insatiable cravings for chocolate to unending cravings for French fries, if you’ve tried to lose weight, you’ve had them.                 So how do we fight the battle of cravings to win the war on weight loss?   It all starts with understanding our temptations.   And there’s no better place to learn about temptation than in the bible.                   Take Eve, the first person to ever be tempted.   Surrounded by unimaginable beauty and tranquility, yet she was quickly enticed with the idea of having more.   As we read about Eve’s temptation, we realize that once tempted, her focus was...

“Where is God when an innocent, sweet 4 year old boy is diagnosed with cancer?” “Where is God when a mother loses her son to drug or alcohol addiction?” Where is God when the father of two beautiful girls and a loving wife would rather die than live on this earth and takes his own life?” “Where is God when a Friday night out to watch a new movie turns deadly for more than a dozen innocent people and drastically alters the lives of hundreds of others forever?” The above examples are all true scenarios in the lives of people I either know and love, or have come in contact with over the last few years. All fuel for the burning question of “Where is God in all this?” I used to struggle with this question wondering, why, a God who is supposed to love and protect would allow such tragedy in the lives of those who love him back. Recently I was provided the answer. “One day the members of the heavenly court came to present themselves before the Lord and the accuser Satan came with them.” ...

“It’s time for you to get your priorities straight.” I think I heard my mother say this directly to, or about each and every one of her six (no, make that seven, my parents adopted my niece when she was just 5yrs old) children, including yours truly. I recently came across that phrase again, in a book about finding and aligning my purpose in life with God’s plans for me. Thinking I knew most of what the book would say, I read on hoping to find some nuggets of information that might spur me onto truly understanding God’s plan for “who I’m supposed to be when I grow up.” Although the strategies themselves were not surprising, changing my perspective about them (something the book proposes) was. For instance, we expect for God to be our first priority, but how many of us truly treat him as such. In other words, do we really spend quality time with Him each and every day? If we’re not reading His word, the answer is a resounding NO! The best way to get to know someone is to spend t...

So I journaled my eating yesterday "live" on facebook and surprisingly the "aha" moment is coming this morning....Checking my messages while waiting for coffee to brew, a friend replied to my afternoon loss of control eating....(spoonfuls of cake batter while making cake for my husband...)  "You might be doing some emotional eating...."  My initial reaction was, "I'm the teacher, I would know if it was emotional eating, I just wanted cake batter!!"  But after a little soul searching, I realized she was right on the money...Although my day was not a disaster by any stretch of the imagination, it was slower and less hectic than most.  However, a few issues had crept up over the course of the morning and looking back I think I just let  them simmer a little too long and they erupted in cake batter.  Nothing major, just three growing and able children leaving groceries in the car because "mom can get them..." "grrrr"  Just thr...