Living Our October Days

Have you HAD IT with bare-minimum obedience? (Here's a free PDF to draw you away from the fringes.)

I love teaching the Bible to women, and one of my favorite groups meets in a small classroom right next door to the nursery. We can hear the Sunday morning meltdowns and the small plastic vehicles racing across the wooden floors. Overhead, we can hear the thunderous feet of the elementary-age kids. One winter Sunday, there was even a mouse under my chair…

It's amazing how learning can take place against all odds! A couple of weeks ago, my Sunday school class finished working our way through the seven I AM statements of Jesus, and the timing was perfect. Just as the gardeners in the group were cleaning out our tangled squash vines and picking the last of the tomatoes before frost, we were being reminded of Jesus’s statement that he is the True Vine. We are the branches, and we bear fruit only when we are attached to our source of life. John 15 calls this abiding in the vine.

There’s nothing like the sight of a withered and fruitless branch to renew my commitment to make my home in Christ. How about you? Do you need help moving your life away from the fringes of bare-minimum obedience? A while ago, I developed a guided meditation on John 15:1-13, A Seven-Day Challenge of Scripture and Prayer to Pull You Away from the Fringes. Each day’s brief reading from John 15 is an invitation to abide with Christ, to pull away from the fringes and toward his heart. I’m making it available again HERE as a free PDF. You can print it or download it to your device, and if you find it helpful and challenging, I hope you’ll share this post with your friends so they can have their own copy of the Challenge!

October Book Briefs

Update on the Christmas Mittens

Almost done with mittens for grandchild #5. One more pair to go!
(Remember, the goal is six pairs of mittens in time for Thanksgiving dinner!)

Here On the Hill

I was thankful to have been invited to share some wisdom for young moms over on the Desiring God site. It’s always a blessing to partner with them. Click HERE to read the post or pass it along to others

My speaking calendar is filling up for the fall. I’m really looking forward to spending November 2 at Blueberry Mountain Bible Camp in Weld, Maine for their Fall Ladies Retreat.

Then, on November 9 I’ll be joining the women of South Waterboro Bible Chapel for Bible teaching and lunch. I’m looking forward to gathering with them again—a group of welcoming women who have come to feel like friends!

If you’re planning an event for Christmas or looking ahead to 2025 and know that you’ll be needing a speaker, let’s talk about it.

Be sure to let me know if you participate in the seven-day challenge!

May God draw each of us into an immersive and abiding relationship as we bear fruit for his glory.

Holding you in the Light,

I love hearing from you! Click the comments button to share what steps you’ll be taking to continue abiding in Christ—or just to say hello! By the way, I’ve always said that some of the best words here and on the blog happen in the Comments section, so click on over, even if you don’t necessarily want to participate. (You can let me know you were there with a quiet click on the heart.)

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