Christina Speaks

As things continue to be difficult this year, it is important to remember we were created to need each other. When we try to do life alone, it pretty much goes against the spiritual laws of nature, and things go wrong. It is now more important than ever to consider others before ourselves, as we work to get through the rest of this year, and into the next, together. It’s time to drop the pride and restrain our words. When we need help, we’ve got to ask. No one is a mind reade r. When comparing the people of this world to my kids, and how we raised them, I think about the fact that it was never an option for them to fight. Never an option not to get along. We raised them to be kind and love each other. They are not always happy with each other, but when it comes right down to it, they are family, and that takes precedence over anything else. In His word, God told us how to live together. You and I are family. We are all God’s children. Let’s act like it. “Love each other with genuine af...

This picture of our son walking right into the middle of our little photoshoot pretty much represents the way 2020 has gone for many of us. We all had such high hopes for this year, didn’t we? Then, uninvited, came the virus, killings, death, strife, divorce, loss of every kind… They were not expected, and certainly not welcome. They walked right into the perfect picture of a year we had planned. It made us mad. It made us sad. It made us question who was really in control. Though not much has gone as planned, I believe we could all find blessings in each day. The sun still rose and set. There were weddings, there were births. Our Creator remains on His throne. This year has been the perfect opportunity to teach our children, and even learn ourselves, that things don’t always go as we hope, so we have to adjust. There’s no point in focusing on what went wrong. Let’s seek what went right, and work to make things even better. Let’s smile more, love harder, and make the best out of what w...

I have shared this before, but it came up again, and I felt it was worth the reminder.  If you look at my face here, I was in total freak out mode. For a moment I thought I was plunging to my death. I had forgotten I was attached to my instructor by a harness secured in a few different places. Two at the shoulders, and two at the hips. When we initially jumped from the plane and were free falling at about 120 miles per hour through the sky, it was a little bit scary, but also quite exhilarating. Then it happened. My instructor pulled a “string” releasing the attachment at the hips, changing our position from horizontal to vertical. For a couple of seconds, I completely freaked out, and thought… “This is it. I’m going down, and it’s not gonna be pretty.” Then I felt his hand grab my arm as if to remind me he was still there, right behind me, making sure I was safe. He didn’t need to grab my arm. The harness was secure. He did it because he knew I was scared. Let that sink in for a s...

Oh how I have been deceived by my heart. Haven’t you? Depending on where we are in life, what is happening to us or people we love, what our hormone level is, how our past experiences color our views... what we feel conviction about is not always based on truth.  There are times when I FEEL I know what’s right. I feel it deep in my soul… but is that always based on God’s truth, or just what I’ve always known or been taught to believe? How about you? Many of us invest time and emotions into issues that are not based on God’s word (Though we often believe they are). We often get so caught up in our emotions that it feels like surely HE said it. That’s why it is so important to be still (quiet), taking time to talk to the Creator, and study what He has to say about the things we are passionate about.  We can trust Him. He will never fail us. 

Have you ever been so overwhelmed with whatever you are dealing with in your life, that you have no idea how to pray?  There are times when I feel my words are not adequate or eloquent enough to be worthy of answering. I sometimes feel that if I come up with the proper length or sequence of words, then maybe God will hear me more clearly. Well, that is not the case. Though we need to keep an open line of communication, God knows we will not always be able to express what is in our hearts. So, it’s a good thing He already knows what’s in there. Maybe you are like I am and all you can come up with is, “Lord, help me.” That’s okay. Romans 8:26 says, “And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words.” Don’t worry. The Creator knows your heart. You may not always know what to say, but take time to spend time in His presence.  He adores you, and wa...

It’s hard to remember this.  A handful of things go wrong in one day, and we think we’ve had a bad day. There are no bad days, only bad moments. Acknowledge them, then move on. Choose joy regardless of your circumstances. We may not be happy with our circumstances, but we can still find joy in the midst of them.  “I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow!" John 15:11-12

Everybody’s got a title, but do you know your name? That question was posed in a Kirk Franklin song I heard yesterday, and it brought tears to my eyes. Who am I? So many of us carry titles. Parent, spouse, divorcee, widow, sibling, teacher, doctor, fixer, helper, a minister… the list goes on and on. There are too many to name. We tend to get lost in those titles, forgetting, or not even really knowing who we are. Our insecurities, our failures, and especially the accusing enemy, make us doubt who we are. He tells us we are less than, rejected, lost, worthless, failures… Some titles come and go as our circumstances shift, though when we live in Christ, the names God calls us never change. What other people call us is irrelevant. Who does God say we are? We are CHOSEN 1 Peter 2:9 JUSTIFIED and REDEEMED (Romans 3:24) We are LOVED. (John 3:16) He calls us FRIEND (John 15:15) TRIUMPHANT (2 Corinthians 2:14)  RIGHTEOUS (2 Corinthians 5:21)   An HEIR of God Galatians 4:7  A...