The Quiet Place

Nehemiah 8:9-11 New International Version (NIV) 9  Then Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and teacher of the Law, and the Levites  who were instructing the people said to them all, “This day is holy to the  Lord  your God. Do not mourn or weep.” For all the people had been weeping as they listened to the words of the Law. 10  Nehemiah said, “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing  prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy  of the  Lord  is your strength.” 11  The Levites calmed all the people, saying, “Be still, for this is a holy day. Do not grieve.” Joy as strength? What an intriguing concept don't you think. Yet, how amazing is it to think about how the Joy of the Lord really is our strength. I have to be honest, a lot of times I find myself using my own strength. I utilize all of the tools in my bucket, sometimes it works pretty well, other times...

Founders Note: Today on the blog we have one of are monthly contributors, Vanessa, she is sharing her heart on this month's theme forgiveness.  In an interesting turn of events, my family and I are moving into my childhood home. This little house was a house I moved into when I was in high school.   Over the years that followed, many members of my family have moved in and out of that little house. My mom moved out, then my dad, then my mom and step-dad moved in with my teenage brother and sister, then my brother and sister moved out, then back in and then back out, then my family moved in while in transition, and now my mom and step-dad are moving out while my family moves back in! (breathe…) My family fell apart in the little house, it grew, it changed, I changed, and we are different. As we are moving back to this little house I sit in reflection. I’m reminded of how God dwells richly in our hearts. He looks at the cracks in the ceiling, and the dirt on the floor...

Something today made me realize how terrible our would be without forgiveness. Could you imagine a parent refusing to care for their precious child because they did something wrong, or a daughter not willing to accept the apology of her brokenhearted father. The truth is, this world wouldn't survive without forgiveness. Without forgiveness, families wouldn't stay together and friends wouldn't last long, because humans aren't perfect, we make mistakes. We need forgiveness so that we can have relationships, keep families together, and enjoy life-long friendships. God is well-aware of are need for forgiveness. In fact, forgiveness is SO important to God that he weaved his teachings about it throughout the entire Bible. One of these lessons is found in 2 Corinthians Chapter Two. Read it here...  2 Corinthians 2 This passage is a letter from Paul to the church in Corinth. In this section of the letter, Paul addresses the recent scandal which, concerned a man who had be...

Blogger's Note: Happy Friday Friends! Today I wanted to take some time and dive into Purity month with you here at The Quiet Place. The topic of purity is something that is close to my heart. I realize that the daily battles fighting to stay pure are difficult ones. It isn't always easy saying no to the things that we know we should, especially when all are friends are participating in the same things. But living pure IS possible, and SO SO Good! Dive into scripture with me this month as we take a journey to discover what purity is and what that means for us as Christian women. Today we'll begin with... Ephesians 4:17-32 Instructions for Christian Living 17  So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer  live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking.   18  They are darkened in their understanding  and separated from the life of God  because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hea...

Happy Valentines Day Friends!!!  I hope today that you take the time to show love to those around you and to rest in God's love for you.  Today I want to share with you all what is on my heart, and that is the unquenchable love that God has for you.  Let's start with a couple of verses... "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."  Romans 8:28 "Know this: my God will also fill every need you have according to His glorious riches in Jesus the Anointed, our Liberating King."  Philippians 4:19 There are SO many verses in the Bible that tell of God's love for us. If you have trouble finding them, I encourage you to check out Psalms. I've been reading in the Psalms lately and I came to a realization of how much God tells us that he loves us in that book. Even more, it warms my heart to read the honest words of worshippers who came before me, who ha...

23  Let us hold unswervingly to the hope  we profess,  for he who promised is faithful.   24  And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds,   25  not giving up meeting together,  as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another —and all the more as you see the Day approaching. - Hebrews 10:23-25 Recently my roommates and I have decided to start having a weekly prayer meeting. It has been really awesome to come together and share are hearts. It has allowed us to carry each other's burdens and pray for one another. I can't express to you how amazing it has been to share this special time with my roommates. Praying for one another is building us up from the inside out and uniting us.  Today I wanted to take the time to encourage you to pray for and encourage those around you. Here is the passage in Hebrews the Lord lead me to share the other night for are first prayer meeting.  Hebrews ...

Founders Note: Today on the blog we have one of our monthly contributors Kristy. She is sharing her heart on this months theme relationships. Find out more about her here. Peter gets a lot of flack in sermons all around the world for his unbelief the second he stopped walking on water (Matthew 14:22-33)… but my question is did any of the other disciples get out of the boat? No. What about when he denied Jesus three times after Jesus was arrested. (John 18:15-27) Where were the other disciples then? In hiding? Yet, Peter gets all the flack for his moments of weakness. If you haven’t guessed, the relationship I chose to analyze was that of Peter and Jesus, and how it relates to our own walk with Christ.                                                ...

  Founders Note: Today on the blog we have one of our monthly contributors Charity, she is sharing her heart on this months theme relationships. find out more about her here . Whether we want them, desire them, despise them, or reject them, we all have them - relationships. Due to our flawed human nature many times our relationships don't progress as we would like. This sometimes leads us to a place of defeat where we give up and severe the relationships. Some relationships are not forever but many are and just take much love, grace, and forgiveness to thrive. There are two types of relationships. The first is the Vertical Relationship . This is the relationship between us and our Heavenly Father.  The second is the Horizontal Relationship . This is the relationship between us and the people around us - family, friends, coworkers etc. Of all relationships our vertical relationships is most important . This relationship is the foundation of all our relation...

Forgiveness is an amazing thing, but honestly it is the toughest thing I have ever had to work on. This year God revealed to me unforgiveness in my hear that I had buried, that I didn't even know was there. I'm glad that he showed it to me because it's something I need to deal with, but honestly it has been really hard. It isn't easy for me to let go of the hurt in my past and to let go of the people who inflicted the hurt. Yet I know it is what God is calling me to do. In fact, it is what he calls all of his sons and daughters to do. We must forgive. After all Christ forgave us, how can we not bestow that gift on the other people in our lives. I am reminded of the passage where Peter asks Jesus how many times he is to forgive his brother? 7 times? he asks. Jesus responds to Peter by saying, not 7 times, but 77 times. In other words, we are always to forgive everything. NO MATTER WHAT. No if, ands, or buts about it, no exceptions. Matthew 18:21-35 tells us about what ...

Today God reminded me again about Job's life and his battle against the question "why" with God. Job cried out to God asking him the tough questions about why he had lost everything in his life. God answered Job with at least two chapters of questions. God's answer humbled Job. Job was asking "Where is God when it hurts?" but God was asking "Where is Job when it hurts?". Faith isn't only for the good times, it's for the bad times too. When bad times come we need to not lose sight of God. Rather we need to trust him, even when things don't make sense. "Faith is believing in advance, what only makes sense in reverse." Job 38   Job 39   Job 40 The  Lord  said to Job: “Will the one who contends with the Almighty  correct him? Let him who accuses God answer him!” Then Job answered the  Lord : “I am unworthy —how can I reply to you? I put my hand over my mouth. I spoke once, but I have no answer — twice, bu...

Founders Note: Today on the blog we have our awesome monthly contributor  Kiki . She is sharing her heart on this months theme: Relationships.   Relationships are a two-way street. We give and we take and then we give and we take once more. But how easy is it to be just the receiver in the relationship? The receiver of the compliments, the receiver of the coffee, the receiver of the ride to work. It's easy because it makes us feel good inside, it takes less energy, and it makes us feel loved. Now before I continue, I need to tell you that there's nothing wrong with being on the receiving end of a gift of any kind. In fact, I think that the act of giving and receiving is important--especially in our relationships with Christ. But, like I said, relationships are a two-way street and part of being a receiver means we also need to be a giver, too. When I was presented with this month's topic on relationships, I realized just how often I find myself on the receiving en...

One of the greatest friendships in the bible is Johnathan and David. This month as we talk about relationships, I am reminded of this great story of two friends who lived out what God had called them to do. Even though they knew the risk, they never their love for one another. Isn't that what we all want in a relationship? Someone that we know loves us no matter what. Yes people aren't perfect, but with God we have that. His love in unconditional, unchanging, he loves us no matter what, no matter how broken we are he still loves us. We are his, and he never let's us forget that. Every single day he is reminding us of his love. As i think of God's pure love for us and the relationship between Johnathan and David I am reminded of a  song that we sing at church sometimes: "A pure heart, that's what I long for, a heart that follows hard after thee."  sisters let us strive to be that kind of friend to others, no matter what. Let us strive to be the women Go...