Some people hold to the idea that Christians are meant to have prosperity, health, and happiness. It is also believed that Christians can expect to have things go their way in life; they just need to believe and receive. […]
My husband and I have been home for a little while now from our two week adventure for medical treatments, and I would like to share an update here to wrap this subject up for now. I did post some updates on my ministries’ Facebook page during our trip, but …
This post is a departure from my planned writing, slow as that writing may be, to share a deep need for prayers. It is a request for prayers about my heath situation. Some of you who have been visiting Chapter 3 Ministries for a while or who know me in real life know that I have been living with a chronic nerve pain condition for many years. […]
Suffering is universal. It is experienced by all who live and breathe upon our planet Earth. It cannot be avoided or paid off or scammed. It comes and for some it comes often and brutally. There are many ways to suffer be it emotionally, mentally, physically, or spiritually. I would not dare to choose which is the easiest to deal with, because suffering is very personal. Some of us can handle physical pain better than emotional or vice versa. In my mind, neither the type nor the amount of suffering can be truly weighed by anyone but the person experiencing it. When people apologize for telling me about their troubles in light of my own suffering, I always tell them there’s no need to apologize. Their troubles are troubles to them. They experience whatever sorrow or pain they do in their own being. If they think it’s bad, then I want to be there for them. I don’t minimize any suffering in light of another.
What I do try to do is share what has helped me through my trials with suffering due to chronic pain. […]
When I started this website I did not intend to write about my health situation. Though it does deeply impact my life every day, it was not what I wished to focus on. Recently my husband Butch suggested that it would be ok to write about it every now and then. I’ve thought about it, and I’ve become more comfortable with the idea. Sharing some of my experiences about this trial will allow me to testify to God’s mercy and grace. Through all my suffering, he has been my rock and my shield. He has provided for me in many ways. I am happy to share the details about that to his glory. […]
In my last blog post I wrote about meekness in marriage. I drew from 1 Peter 3: 3-4. In those verses we read that a gentle (meek) and quiet spirit is precious in the side of God. Before and after those verses Peter writes about submission. He directs his comments to Christian wives and instructs them to adorn themselves with godly submission and behavior just as Sarah and the holy women did in the past. Appearing within these verses is a very important phrase. I believe it has a lot to do with why Sarah and the women of old were able to live as they did. […]
This New Year’s Eve was the twenty-eighth that my husband and I have spent together. Starting with the first year we met, we’ve never missed a year; even the year I had the flu and he took care of me. I remember details from other New Year’s Eves as well. Remember Y2K? So much hype. So little consequences. We did try to have some fun at our house that night. At midnight we shut the main power off. The house went black! Well, none of our party guests fell for it; but we did all have a good laugh. […]
Part Five in a Five post Christmas series (Part One) Jesus was promised and sent. His coming, life, death, and resurrection had great purpose. But let me continue to remain quiet and let the scriptures proclaim his glory…
“‘For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!'”
(Luke 2:11-14 ESV) […]
The answer to this question can be very controversial. You will get a wide range of answers depending on who you ask. Even within the Christian community there is quite a spectrum of opinions. We could debate the wearing of shorts, long skirts, makeup, hair length. and a variety of other matters. Although this could lead to a very interesting discussion, I do not intend to head down that path right now. That’s a big discussion that can be entered into another time. Instead, I’d like to keep it simple and briefly discuss a different type of adornment. […]
The phrase Sanctify Christ as Lord comes from 1 Peter 3:15. This verse is one of the cornerstone verses of Chapter Three Ministries. I’m sure I will be revisiting it again and again in my writings. From the context we can see that the subject at hand is suffering for the sake of righteousness. Peter encouraged his Christian readers not to fear or be troubled in their suffering. He gave them a different path to take. That path began with sanctifying Christ as Lord. […]
