Author: lswrites

This author has written 205 articles

7 Reasons You Should Pray For the Small Stuff

by Linda Evans Shepherd @LindaShepherd in Leading Hearts magazine

“STOP! YOU CAN’T PRAY THAT!” A YOUNG WOMAN ORDERED.

She had just expressed her extreme fear of snakes as we walked through a wooded area.

I had responded by bowing my head and praying, “Dear Lord, please protect us from snakes. May they not harm us, bite us or be seen by us. I pray this in the name of Jesus.”

After being shushed by Ellie’s command, I turned to her. “Stop my prayer? Why?”

“God is too busy for such an unimportant thing.”

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5 Ways to Find Work-Life Peace plus BONUS Summer Smoothie Recipes

by @SaundraDalton Smith in Leading Hearts magazine

THE MORE DOORS GOD OPENS IN MY LIFE for ministry and leadership, the greater my understanding of Paul’s comment in 1 Corinthians 16:9:

  “For a great door and effectual is opened unto me, and there are many adversaries” (KJV).

As leaders, our peace is constantly under attack. Busy schedules and family obligations daily vie for our attention. Rest becomes an afterthought, and our time with God is sacrificed for doing more work for God. It takes courage to set healthy personal boundaries. It takes strength to have a plan for ongoing self-care.

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Edie Melson Shares the Best Excuse for Saying “NO”

By Edie Melson @ediemelson in the Summer 2019 issue of Leading Hearts Magazine

No, not no to God. But in my years of ministry, I’ve discovered the need to safeguard my time and energy. I’ve also come to realize that can’t be done without learning how to say no.

We all only have so much time in a day. And if you’re like me, life is filled to overflowing. So that means constantly guarding our priorities.

There are a couple of areas where I’ve had to develop discipline in this regard.

NO to the Good Things to Leave Room for the God Things

I’m bad about seeing a need and equating that with a call to serve. The truth is, God doesn’t call me to fill every ministry hole. He has specific things He wants me to do at specific times in my life.

If I say yes to every opportunity I come across, then God can’t use me in the ways He has planned.

To help me evaluate what to become involved with, I’ve developed a few steps I go through before I say yes.

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Read more about the article Get Refreshed with the Summer 2019 Issue of Leading Hearts!
Text LEADINGHEARTS to 64600 to get this issue delivered free to your mobile device.

Get Refreshed with the Summer 2019 Issue of Leading Hearts!

Hit the refresh for our Summer 2019 issue of Leading Hearts and soak in all the goodness God has for your personally, relationally and in everything you do.

Cover Girl Pam Farrel is dishing up the Secrets to LOVING WELL from the heart of Philippians.

Alex Kendrick, co-writer, director and lead actor in Overcomer (overcomermovie.com) encourages us to find our identity in our Creator. And recording artist Tori Harper (toriharper.com) shares her heart for revival.

Leadership features will challenge you to be patient in the waiting, know when to say no, and make peace with the demands of work and life. You’ll find this plus much, much more in this edition of Leading Hearts Magazine. Text LEADINGHEARTS to 64600 to get this issue delivered free to your mobile device.

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Text LEADINGHEARTS to 64600 to get THIS ISSUE
delivered FREE to your mobile device.

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Summer Issue Sneak Peek: Pam Farrel Shares the Secret to Loving Well

by Pam Farrel @PamFarrel in Leading Hearts Magazine

Philippians is a book about joy — and it is also a book about practices that bring joy to relationships. In my book 7 Simple Skills for Every Woman, I share:

“If your vertical relationship with God is healthy, your horizontal relationships with people will be healthier too.”

To make sure this happens, I spend time with God’s Word in fresh ways so that it washes through me and into all my relationships. In our newest book, Discovering Joy in Philippians: A Creative Bible Study Experience, three authors (Jean E Jones, artist Karla Dornacher and I) offer numerous creative ways to explore and experience God’s Word.

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Live, Love, Laugh, Snort

by Rhonda Rhea @RhondaRhea in Leading Hearts Magazine

This year. It’s a great one to mature in the area of understanding more about happiness.

Wouldn’t “matur-er-happy” be a great word of the year? You know, if it were actually a word?

I convince myself I’m pretty mature. And then I see somebody run into a door while texting and it all suddenly becomes very clear. Because, let me tell you, I can laugh for a good 20 minutes.

Mercilessly. Not just a little, under-the-breath chortle either. No, I’m talking about laughing so hard that no real sound comes out—just those weird, wheezy throat-squeaks. Then tears. Then snorting. That kind of laughter. (more…)

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A Word that Fills My Online Presence with God

by Edie Melson@EdieMelson  in Leading Hearts Magazine

SOMETIMES, ONLINE INTERACTIONS CAN SEEM LIKE AN ENDEAVOR WITHOUT BOUNDARIES. And I’m a person who appreciates boundaries. With them, I’m not hampered by limitations; instead, I find they give my life definition. Choosing a word of the year helps me let God define my year before it even begins.

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Leadership is Not for Wimps

by Karen Porter in Leading Hearts Magazine

Leadership is not for wimps.

Nor for anyone who is trying to make a name for herself or make a fortune. Instead, being a leader involves serving and nudging others to do their best.

My husband and I own a group of small businesses.

We work hard, and we try to incorporate the qualities of a good leader as we work with our employees, associates and the freelancers we hire.

Recently, he and I began attending a mastermind group composed of other small business owners. The meetings are stunning and mind-opening. After each meeting, we are encouraged and challenged to integrate better leadership into our day-to-day work.

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When God Calls the Heart to Rest

by Michelle S. Cox in Leading Hearts Magazine

One of the things I love about visiting the set for the television series When Calls the Heart is that the setting is so peaceful and restful.

My co-author, Brian Bird (executive producer and co-creator of the show), our publicist and I usually go out to Hope Valley several times while we’re in Vancouver.

I love that I can wander around the town. It’s so serene looking out at the pond and the church. There’s a quiet stillness about it that refreshes me. I love to sit in the church and let the cares of the day drain away.

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Is God Waiting On You?

by Amber Weigand-Buckley @barefacedgirl, editor of Leading Hearts Magazine

The funny thing about leadership is that it takes far less faith to TALK about your CALL than it does to WALK OUT your CALL. Why?

Because you have to put feet to your faith before you can allow God to SHOW UP and perform the MIRACULOUS.

Joshua and the Israelite priests leading their people into the Promise Land knew that if they followed God’s direction, they were going to hit the Jordan River (Joshua 1:1-9). It didn’t take a genius to realize that when they hit the water, they didn’t have the necessary provisions — no boats or life jackets.

All they had was the faith that when they got there, God would show up — and He did.

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