Before God created us, He gave each one of us a specific purpose. In a surprising way, God used my son’s track career to bring this biblical truth home. Learning to run the race of faith.

Biblical fasting is a spiritual discipline with amazing blessings. As we study Jesus’ 40-day fast we see how to handle temptations, what we can expect during and after a fast, and when to draw the line.

If your current devotional time frequently gets shoved aside, you might need a devotional time makeover. How to create a perfect-for-you devotional time that will refresh your soul. Making over your daily devotions takes effort and sometimes a bit of creativity.

Learning to pray Scripture takes our prayers to a new level because it allows us to pray God’s will. Praying Scripture gives us strength and increases our faith.

Traditional biblical fasts are important. But sometimes fasting alternatives are needed and we shouldn’t feel guilty about them. It doesn't matter to God what we fast, only that we are willing to set aside something we desire in the flesh for something only He can give us.

There is a big difference between answered prayer and a coincidence. Even after praying, we doubt and wonder if what we just experienced was a coincidence or answered prayer. So how do you tell the difference?

Every biblical fasting experience is different but we can all learn from each other’s walk. In this post, I share a few of my biblical fasting adventures and the lessons God taught me through each fast.

Biblical fasting is a spiritual discipline that amps up our prayers and focuses our attention on our Savior. Practical tips that will bless you as you prepare, during, and wrapping up a biblical fast.

Biblical fasts of various types, lengths, and purposes are found throughout the Bible. When we are unsure which kind of biblical fast to do, God provides many examples for us to read up on.

Biblical fasting must be rooted in Scripture and saturated with prayer or it is simply a diet. Establishing a firm foundation for biblical fasting so that you can have a successful time of fasting.

As a child of God, we are given the amazing gift of powerful prayers! It doesn’t matter how long we have been spiritually born again or what we have (or have not) accomplished for God’s Kingdom. What matters is our heart and our willingness to take everything to our Heavenly Father.

Godly living isn’t walking around fluffing up our angelic wings or spending a certain amount of each day in our Bibles and prayer. Godly living is a lifestyle of doing our best to live Christ-like. Godly living is a mindset and a heart attitude.

Feeling the shift of midlife? Learn to embrace your new season with faith and purpose. This Christ-centered guide for women over 40 explores how to navigate the many changes (empty nest, aging parents, new routines, etc.) with hope, spiritual growth, and confidence in God’s plan.

Fear of what I would discover in the book of Revelation held me captive for years until the Holy Spirit led me on a journey through the pages. As He helped me through Revelation, I encountered something I never thought I would find; His perfect peace about God’s plans for the end of times.

Biblical repentance is critical to the life of the believer, which is why we must gain a biblical understanding of what it is. Unfortunately, for years I didn’t have a clue what true biblical repentance was, and my spiritual life had become stagnant. It might be hard for us to understand but biblical repentance is a blessing!

When going through a battle, one thing we can count on is someone telling us to “count it all joy”. Are they wrong? What is biblical joy and how can we take an account of it when our situation is less than ideal?

How to have hope instead of panic and fear. As Christians, God gives us hope that we are to share with the world. Discover three things you can do during these turbulent times to have hope instead of panic and fear.

God desires to do a new thing in your life but He can’t until you turn back to him. God has never turned someone away who sought him, even if that someone willingly turned their back on Him in the past.

Marriage is plain hard when you have two injured souls trying to merge their lives as Christians while maintaining a worldly mindset. Renewing your mindset is critical to your marriage because your thoughts dictate your actions. Renew your thoughts to renew your marriage.

What does it actually mean to obey God? is partial obedience enough? Is lack of obedience but a willing heart enough? God does not force us to obey his commands; we obey because we love him. 1 Kings 13 reveals how God views complete and partial obedience, as well as outright disobedience.

Our stepping stones of faith (Scripture) allow us to grow in our walk because one thing always leads to another, even when we can’t clearly see what lies before us. Stepping stones of faith that encourage us to keep moving, taking us from a stagnant faith to a refreshing, energizing faith!

At one time or another, we all attempt to please others more than we worry about pleasing God. An occasional thing isn’t an issue but we can fall into the trap of wanting to be accepted so badly that our priorities get confused. A list of rules I set for myself to be the perfect Christian lady so others would be pleased with me (and why it didn’t work out the way I thought it would).

Baby steps of faith can surely cause anxiety. But God is so please when we are willing to step out and trust Him, even one baby step at a time. Jesus is gently calling us to let go and reach for Him; to be brave and believe that he can and will catch us.

When we reach a crossroads in our faith, it is time for us to make some serious decisions. Will we settle for a mediocre Christian life or will we reach for more and discover a confident, robust faith? Having a confident faith when you reach a turning point in your Christian walk.

God can use everything in our lives to grow us but some things will slow us. We need to evaluate how we spend our time, our choice of reading material, and our heart to discover if there is room in our lives for both the Bible and Christian fiction.

Our beliefs come from those we allow to speak into our lives. We must come to a point that we are no longer satisfied with what others tell us to believe. Instead, we need to begin to search Scripture for ourselves.

Everyone gets tempted (James 1:13-14) so we need to learn to deal with temptation biblically before it becomes sin. When we are tempted, the decisions we make decide our future; we either draw closer to God or further from him. The good news is that if we will turn to God, he will provide a way out of the temptation.

Biblical judging is carefully weighing (comparing) the evidence of someone's fruit (their words and actions) to what God says in Scripture (meaning their words or actions do not contradict the Word of God). Ungodly judging ignores Scripture in favor of feelings and cultural opinions. Biblically judging the fruits of another Christian is no different than any of God's other principles.

It is a lie of the devil that we shouldn't judge. To reach people for Jesus and be the church God created it to be, we need to operate in righteous, biblical judging by carefully weighing the evidence of someone's actions against God's Word. The key is being careful who, how, and why we are judging someone. When we judge biblically with pure motives and biblical wisdom, it is an act of love.

Using the Bible as our plumb line to test everything is called biblical discernment. Biblical discernment is for all Christians in all situations. Practicing biblical discernment doesn’t make us unkind or critical. If what we test aligns with what the Bible says, we hold fast to it. If it doesn't align, we are to reject it.

What we believe affects our relationships with everyone, even God. There are popular lies Christians believe that continues generation after generation. The problem with allowing these lies to remain unchecked is that what we think we believe. What we believe, we speak. What we speak, others believe...and the lies continue.

Just because we are Christians, we are not immune to trouble. Learning to trust God when our world goes crazy isn’t easy because we have spent years training ourselves to freak out and panic. Turning to Jesus in times of trouble brings unexplainable peace.

Does God play favorites? Does He love some of his children more than others? If so, why? How do you get to be one of the chosen ones? What to do when you feel God plays favorites and you worry you will never be one of them.

God created us with strong emotions. So what are you supposed to do when you are mad at God? Anger isn’t bad. We get into trouble when we handle our anger in the wrong way. A look at God's views on anger as well as what He wants us to do about the burning emotions churning inside of us.

When you are seeking God for direction, it is imperative to take anything and everything you believe you receive and test it for Biblical truth.

Discover 8 amazing ways God speaks to us. God has spoken to his people since the beginning of time. Learning to recognize the ways God speaks to His children.

When you stop and think about it, everything in front of you was created by God. Nothing was left to chance, not even you. And the only thing God asks in return is your love and devotion. Our God is an amazing, amazing God!

Feeling the shift of midlife? Learn to embrace your new season with faith and purpose. This Christ-centered guide for women over 40 explores how to navigate the many changes (empty nest, aging parents, new routines, etc.) with hope, spiritual growth, and confidence in God’s plan.

Being a woman of God isn’t a secret that only a few uncover. Discover what God had to say to me about being a biblical woman in an ungodly world.

Have you gotten out of balance with your spiritual gifts and fruit? Because it is easy to get off track and lose our balance, let’s look at what the Bible says about spiritual gifts and spiritual fruit and how both are manifested in our lives.

When going through a battle, one thing we can count on is someone telling us to “count it all joy”. Are they wrong? What is biblical joy and how can we take an account of it when our situation is less than ideal?

A mature Christian woman doesn't consistently incorporate these habits into her life religiously or legalistically but as an act of love and a desire to draw closer to Jesus. Christian maturity is a process that happens one decision at a time.

We all have a Christian testimony to share but we aren’t all great storytellers. How to prepare to share your Christian testimony. Learn to prepare your story using three easy to follow steps.

God has blessed every Christian with spiritual gifts for the purpose of blessing the church body and bringing Him glory. We have been handed the gift, it is our responsibility to seek God on how, when, where, and in what way to use our gifts to bless our brothers and sisters.

There is a right way and a wrong way to begin sharing spiritual gifts. Five things to do before sharing your spiritual gifts.

God has hand-picked at least one spiritual gift He desires you to operate in while serving your brothers and sisters. In this post, I share three biblical and one unbiblical (but not wrong) ways you can discover your spiritual gifts.

God-given spiritual gifts are not just for the 5-fold ministry but for every child of God. In this comprehensive guide to Spiritual gifts, we look at where they are found in the Bible, who has them, where they come from, and what spiritual gifts are for.

God has a unique purpose for everyone on earth. As we get to know him and learn to recognize his voice, we will grow in our understanding of what God has called us to be and do. Without a doubt, God has a purpose for your life.

Creating a blog involves many moving parts, one of which is the name of the blog. Why I chose the name Cups to Crowns and the amazing revelations God gave me during this process.