Leading Hearts Magazine Archives - Page 13 of 15

Dare to Dream Into your Purpose

Post author:lswrites
Post published:May 5, 2019
Post category:Faithful Leadership Development obedience
Post comments:0 Comments

by Linda Evans Shepherd @lindashepherd in Leading Hearts Magazine

Got a purpose?

Ask God to show you something you could do if fear stepped out of your way.

Queen Esther found herself facing such a challenge. She’d risen above her difficult childhood and won a kingdom-wide beauty pageant to accept the role of a lifetime, a royal marriage to King Xerxes himself. The marriage had been a happy one until her husband fell under the spell of Haman, a nobleman with evil intent.

Haman convinced Xerxes to make a degree that on a certain day, the people of King Xerxes’ kingdom could exterminate and enslave the Jews, Esther’s people.

Esther was heartbroken, but what could she do to stop the slaughter? If Esther tried to speak up, she’d have to waltz uninvited into the king’s court. That was a crime for which she could be executed. But why bother? The King’s decree was irreversible. (more…)

Caring for Caregivers

Post author:lswrites
Post published:April 20, 2019
Post category:Caregivers Elderly
Post comments:3 Comments

by Kathy Howard in Leading Hearts Magazine

Voices penetrated the heavy shroud of sleep. I checked my phone. Two o’clock in the morning. I could hear the anxiety in Mom and Dad’s conversation, but I couldn’t make out the words.

I threw back the covers and stumbled across the hall to their room. Dad lay on the floor beside the bed. I managed to get him sitting, but no matter how much I tried, I could not get him off the floor and back in the bed.

My husband Wayne was stirring in the other room, so I called for help. Together we got Dad up and settled back in bed. Thankfully, Dad only suffered a few bumps and bruises. But his fall dramatically reminded me I can’t care for my parents without help.

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New Issue Sneak Peek: God Will Restore!

Post author:lswrites
Post published:April 17, 2019
Post category:blessings encouragement Faithful Life Coach Recovery
Post comments:0 Comments

by Dr. Saundra Dalton Smith @DrDaltonSmith in Leading Hearts magazine

Over the past month, I’ve witnessed devastation come into the lives of many around me. Tornados stormed through the south leaving a wake of pain and loss. Fire completely consumed the possession of a local family, leaving them clinging to the memories of the past and uncertain about the future. Flood waters swept through, carrying away hope in its path.

What these situations have in common is a feeling of having portions of your life consumed by circumstances beyond your control. They leave you looking back at all those years invested in building and planning with a longing to get back what has been taken from you. I empathize with those walking through this pain because I have experienced it. The circumstances may not be the same, but the feeling of emptiness, grief, and hopelessness are understood.

I have stared at areas of my life languishing from the attack of the “creeping locust, the stripping locust, and the gnawing locust” (Joel 2:25, NASB) and wondered how God could ever restore these years. How can He give back what appears to be forever lost?

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MEREDITH KENDALL: Through It All He is Faithful!

Post author:lswrites
Post published:March 27, 2019
Post category:forgiveness Inner city ministry Marriage PTSD Recovery single mother
Post comments:1 Comment

by Emily Walton in Leading Hearts Magazine

MEREDITH KENDALL HAS GONE THROUGH COUNTLESS STRUGGLES IN HER LIFE, from an alcoholic and abusive stepfather to having an affair. Today, Meredith uses her testimony to bring hope and healing to others.

Meredith never really knew God. Growing up in an abusive home, her family rarely went to church. In 1985, she became a teenage mother, married the baby’s father and moved to the Bible belt.

Her husband came from an extremely religious family, but neither of them had a relationship with God.

“We went to church, but it was really just something that you did on a Sunday,” says Meredith.

A few years into their marriage she had an affair. They were advised to talk about it and then never bring it up again.

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Congrats Edie Melson for Your 1st Place LH Article at Carolina Christian Writers Conference: Read “Top Leadership Resources For 2019”

Post author:lswrites
Post published:March 6, 2019
Post category:Faithful Leadership Development Life Coach
Post comments:0 Comments

By Edie Melson ediemelson.com in Leading Hearts magazine

*TOP LEADERSHIP RESOURCES FOR 2019 won First Place for Article if the Year at the Carolina Christian Writers Conference*

I WAS EXCITED TO BE ASKED TO WRITE THIS ARTICLE. In my life as an author and ministry leader, I come across hundreds of resources that I love to share. Fortunately, before I let my enthusiasm run away with me, I took time to pray and ask God to weigh in on the best ones to mention. I expected Him to give me some insight into how to narrow the list down to five, but His answer left me reeling:

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Kymberli Joye: The Voice of Influence Plus Bonus Recipe for Regal Victoria Sponge from The Pudding Kitchen-UK

Post author:lswrites
Post published:February 19, 2019
Post category:music Recipes
Post comments:0 Comments

By Jennifer Taylor in Leading Hearts Magazine

GOSPEL ARTIST AND WORSHIP LEADER KYMBERLI JOYE WOWED AMERICA when she belted “Break Every Chain” and other hits on the national stage during season 15 of NBC’s “The Voice.”

With her amazing powerhouse vocals and joyful spirit, her testimony of overcoming depression and anxiety surprised and inspired audiences. “The Voice” semi-finalist grew up in the church, a pastor’s kid in Windsor, Connecticut. She remembered that her mama says that she started singing when she started talking, but she didn’t share that blessing with the congregation until she was 12.

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Ultimate Self Control plus Bonus Recipe for For the Love of Britain Cottage Pie

Post author:Amber Weigand-Buckley
Post published:February 17, 2019
Post category:Fruits of the Spirit Recipes self control
Post comments:1 Comment

By Karen Porter @KarenPorter in Leading Hearts Magazine

I KNEW A MAN WHO SEEMED THE EPITOME OF SELF- CONTROL. Rising early each morning, he went to the gym, ate a healthy breakfast, and dressed with military precision. He consistently kept a record of every detail of his conversations and negotiations.

He was always on time and never procrastinated. He was the picture of a self-controlled person until he began unrestrained yelling, often firing people or making rash decisions. Or he talked way too much in meetings, telling the same stories over and over — but he was so potentially explosive that no one dared to stop him.

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God Gave Linda Winning Lottery Numbers —The Reason May Surprise You

Post author:lswrites
Post published:February 13, 2019
Post category:Fruits of the Spirit Prayer
Post comments:1 Comment

by Linda Evans Shepherd @lindashep in Leading Hearts magazine

ONE MORNING, I’D SPENT TIME PRAYING FOR SEVERAL HURTING PEOPLE AT CHURCH. As I prayed for my new friends, the Lord revealed their deeper wounds and secrets. I shared the insights God had given me as I prayed for them. I told them they could really trust God and his great love for them. Their tears turned to peace and their peace turned to joy. How wonderful it was to witness the Lord move so mightily in their lives.

So on this day, knowing I’d heard from the Lord, I headed home. As I clutched the steering wheel, I prayed a silly prayer,

“Lord, if you can speak to me, would you tell me the winning numbers for the upcoming lottery?”

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Mason Jar Blessings Plus Bonus 30-Minute Winter Warm-Up Recipe for Portobello Mushroom Soup

Post author:lswrites
Post published:January 30, 2019
Post category:blessings Mental Health
Post comments:2 Comments

By Robin Luftig in Leading Hearts magazine

Years ago, a seasoned writer and speaker mentored me on how to build the ministry God had given me.

We’d meet for coffee and discussed everything from adapting to different cultures to dealing with the zingers I’d get from posting God’s promises on social media. I took notes, asked questions and basked in her wisdom. One December day she paused from talking, reached across the table, took ahold of my hands and looked me into my eyes. Then waited.

“What?” I asked.

She smiled. “You’re doing wonderfully bracing for the unknown. But don’t forget to ponder what you already know.”

“Right,” I said, eager to please my mentor. “I make it a point to read Scripture and do my devotionals every day. And I read what other women are doing in their ministries to further God’s message. I’m seeking out ways to be a better servant.” I thought I had given the perfect answer.

She took a deep breath and sighed, still holding my hands and looking intently into my face.

“What are we doing now — right now?”

“You’re mentoring me. I’m learning from you how to be better at what I do.” How could this answer be wrong?

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Why Your Leadership Team Deserves a REFRESH plus BONUS RECIPE for 30-Minutes til Dinner White Chili

Post author:lswrites
Post published:January 16, 2019
Post category:Leadership Development Team
Post comments:1 Comment

by Karen Porter @BoldVisionBooks in Leading Hearts Magazine

IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, I TOOK ALL THE ART CLASSES OFFERED. I am not good at art or at drawing but I loved the feel of a new sheet of art paper or a blank canvas. I was in love with the idea of creating something on that bare space. In my mind and in my dreams, I could create a masterpiece with flow, movement and brilliant use of color. Unfortunately, my hands never got the messages from my brain and heart, and I usually produced a twisted mess. My shapes were malformed; my perspective was skewed; and my tints turned into a strange shade of mud.

That immediate failure was hard for me to accept and overcome until the teacher reached into her cabinet and handed me a new page of art paper — a new canvas.

Starting over offers optimism, hope, and joy — and beginning again promises another chance to get it right.

Perhaps you have experienced some failures during the past year. You wish you could erase the memory of some meetings or encounters. Participation in your organization has dwindled, and now you are feeling like my school-girl paintings — disorganized, overwhelmed, and bored.

I have good news! God has given you a new page, a fresh, blank canvas to begin again — 2019!

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