Practicing Faith

Practical ideas for Christian living

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How to Increase Margin in Your Life

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It is impossible to welcome others into our lives when there is no margin. Hospitality cannot be added to already overburdened lives. Without margin, we are incapable of relational spontaneity in our neighborhood, unable to even think about planning time to spend with others. Margin is the space between our load and our limits, between […]

Taken from Next Door As It Is in Heaven copyright © 2016 by Lance Ford and Brad Brisco. Used by permission of NavPress. All rights reserved. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.

How to Establish a Daily Prayer Practice

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A daily time of connecting to God through prayer can be invaluable for spiritual growth.  But sometimes it’s hard to find the time each day or make daily prayer time a regular habit. Here are some ideas for cultivating a daily prayer practice that will help you establish it as an integral part of your […]

Taken from Finding God in the Verbs by Jennie Isbell and J. Brent Bill.  Copyright (c) 2015 by Jennie Isbell and J. Brent Bill. Used by permission of InterVarsity Press. To order a copy, go to resources.

How to Choose Your Life Verse

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When circumstances batter us about and we are most prone to go off-course, a single, well-chosen Bible verse can guide us back toward the things that matter most. A “life verse” is a powerful, clarifying tool. A life verse is a short passage of Scripture that serves as a rallying cry to guide and focus […]

Taken from Simplify by Bill Hybels. Copyright 2014. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc. All rights reserved. To order a copy of this book, go to Resources.

How to ‘Fear Not’ in a Scary World

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All it takes is a few minutes of listening to the news to realize we live in a scary world. Disease, disasters, wars, and terrorism dominate the headlines almost daily But the number one command in the Bible is “fear not.” Don’t be afraid. Jesus is fairly clear in his sermon on the mountainside that […]

photo credit: Edvard Munch

Carl Medearis is author of Adventures in Saying Yes. To order, go to resources.

How to Turn Your Dreams into Reality

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Does everyone have a God-given dream? Or are only “special” people given the task to steward one? I have a growing sense that many people live with creative, Spirit-inspired ideas stirring inside their hearts but have little clue what to make of them or how to develop them. These aren’t only gifted entrepreneurs or Type-A […]

photo credit: Dale Hanson Bourke
Beth Booram is a spiritual director and author of Start Something New, which can be ordered in resources.

Don’t Let the Devil Make You Do It

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The idea of an actual devil strikes many people as odd and outdated. The popular trend of our day is to blame problems on genetics, governments, and environments. Yet the Bible presents a real and present foe of our faith. His name is Satan. He is not the cute and harmless character of the cartoons. […]

photo credit: Hieronymus Bosch
Excerpted from Glory Days by Max Lucado. © 2015 by Max Lucado. Used by permission of Thomas Nelson. www.thomasnelson.com To order a copy go to resources.

Blueprint for a Better Prayer Life

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Prayer is an open line of communication to God to hear his heart and discover his will. In addition to making you more spiritually sensitive, prayer will give you guidance. You can talk to God all the time, every day in all kind of circumstances. Here are some tips for developing a strong prayer life […]

Excerpt from Your Blueprint for Life (Thomas Nelson, 2015). Used by permission of the publisher. To order a copy, go to resources.

When God Seems Far Away

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Sometimes, no matter how much or how hard we pray, we crash headlong into the silence of God and seemingly unanswered prayer. Silent cries, wordless waiting, or banging away on heaven’s door is all part of a relationship with the One who is good and beyond us and our control. If you’re struggling with unanswered […]

photo credit: Dale Hanson Bourke

Adapted from True You–Overcoming Self-Doubt and Using Your Voice by Adele Ahlberg Calhoun and Tracey D. Bianchi. To order a copy, go to resources.

How to Bring Hope to Your Workplace

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If you are not currently finding hope at your work, how can you bring hope into your work? No matter what the atmosphere and culture of your current workplace may be, there are five ways you can raise the hope level where you are now. Arrive with energy. Come to work on time, with a […]

photo credit: Carol M. Highsmith
This excerpt from The Hope Quotient by Ray Johnston was reprinted with permission from W Publishing Group, an imprint of Thomas Nelson. To order go to resources.

Are You Called to Be a Mentor?

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I sat one evening at our kitchen table and watched as my son sobbed, rubbed his temples and yanked a fistful of his hair. He shoved his math homework at me and hollered, “I’m stupid!” I gently slid the paper back. “Let’s walk through this again.” More tears. It was fourth grade. The answers were […]

Adapted and updated from True You: Moving Beyond Self-Doubt and Using Your Voice by Adele A. Calhoun and Tracey D. Bianchi (IVP, 2015. To order a copy click on the image (right).