MyLeslieNotebook

Sometimes I come across passages that are so perfect for my life that I feel as though I could have written them myself. Today that passage was Philippians 3. In my devo this morning, a few verses from that chapter were listed, and I decided on a whim to read the whole thing, so I read it in the NIV. I was completely captivated. So then I read it in the Amplified Bible. Then in Holman. Then in New King James. Every translation was so rich and full and powerful I just couldn't get enough.  And what first caught my attention was the opening sentence: "Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord! It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard for you." (Philippians 3:1, NIV). You can read more translations here , but my favorite was this: "And that's about it, friends. Be glad in God! I don't mind repeating what I have written in earlier letters, and I hope you don't mind hearing it again. Better safe than sorry--so ...

While in Colorado this summer, I hiked up Mount of the Holy Cross. This picture is great because it really lets you see what I saw on the trail. The gigantic peak on the left is the summit: 14,005 feet. It's six miles up and six miles back. It's no joke. I was one of a group of four girls hiking together; it took us five hours to get up to the summit and four to get down. We were devoured by mosquitoes, got our feet soaked when we crossed a creek, lost the trail and ended up wandering around in the wilderness for about ten minutes. But that was all fun and games until we realized we were about to break the cardinal rule of climbing the highest peaks in the Rockies: be off the summit by noon.  You see, storms tend to roll in in the afternoon. And for all the beauty and grandeur of these peaks, they are very dangerous in a storm, which often brings lightning, hail, or snow. Or all 3. With no shelter above treeline, you're a sitting duck if you find yourself in the storm...

I love fruit. All of it. Berries and apples and oranges. Tropical and local. I could honestly make my diet 90% fruit if it weren't so expensive. I love fruit in pies, love it fresh, love it covered in chocolate, love it dried. (In fact, one of my favorite things in the whole world is some sort of trail mix with dried fruit in it. YUMMY.) My daughter, on the other hand, does not like fruit. Any of it. Not the best (I mean, come on! Who doesn't like a fresh-from-the-ground strawberry?!?!?!) and not even the bland. (She gagged last night eating a piece of apple about 1/5 the size of a dime.) In Galatians 5:22-23, there's a verse about the fruit of the spirit: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law." Some people incorrectly call this the fruits  of the Spirit, but that's not it; it's fruit . And if you're living according to the Spi...

This is my heart, right here. If there was one thing I could say that I could be sure you would hear, it would be that God's Word is everything. Everything you need to know God, know Jesus, confess Him for salvation, understand the Holy Spirit, know God's standards for living, see promises fulfilled and yet-to-be fulfilled. "The word of God is living and active," (Hebrews 4:22).  God's Word is perfect (Psalm 19:7), it is as valuable to you as food (Matthew 4:4), it lights up the path before you (Psalm 119:105), you can store it in your heart so you won't sin (Psalm 119:11), it is meant to be in our mouth and our brains (Joshua 1:9-10), it brings us faith (Romans 10:17), it is for our instruction so that we can have hope (Romans 15:4), it is eternal (Mark 13:31), it enables us to live purely (Psalm 119:9), it allows us to present ourselves to God as one approved (2 Timothy 2:15), and it sanctifies us because  it is truth (John 17:17). And that's not...

There are people who walk around looking like they're half-expecting to be attacked at any moment. You've seen them: they're hunched over a little, looking fearfully at everyone nearby, seeming to hope that no one touches them or talks to them. Then there's the completely opposite type: confident. Making eye contact with every passer-by, just daring  them to look back. Back straight, head held high, assured in where she's going, what she's doing, and in her preparation. Hand tight on that strap because, buddy, you ARE NOT taking this purse. (Yes, I've been to New York City, Chicago, San Francisco, London, Paris, and Amsterdam. I know how to walk like I will beat up any mugger.) It's one thing to walk alone down the streets of a big city exuding confidence. It's another to walk through life  with spiritual confidence . Are you spiritually aware? Can you walk into a worship service or a Bible study with your head held high, knowing you are grou...

(This is the third of five posts from Second Timothy. Please read the introduction as well as the commands to live and grow up  if you haven't already.) Without a strong foundation, you can't build anything. Consider math: if you don't learn to add, subtract, multiply, and divide, you are in deep trouble when the time comes to factor or find derivatives. If you don't learn the foundations of grammar, your paper-writing grades will suffer throughout high school and college. And if you don't learn to manage money well when you have little, you're sunk when it comes to managing household expenses and taxes and retirement. But there is one foundation that is more important than anything else: "God's solid foundation stands firm, having this inscription: 'The Lord knows those who are His, and everyone who names the name of the Lord must turn away from unrighteousness.'" (2 Timothy 2:19).  You have just read the secret to the solid fou...

Paul loved Timothy. You can tell it in the affectionate tone throughout his letters and the personal requests he made in the last few verses of Second Timothy 4. He even calls Timothy "my dearly loved son" in the opening verses of the letter. But loving someone doesn't mean everything you say to them is lovey-dovey. Sometimes the most loving thing you can say to someone is exactly what they don't want to hear.  I've done it to most of you: "Do not be her friend." "Get out of this relationship." "Do not believe the lie she's telling you." "You are not ready." (Seriously. Each of those phrases came out of my mouth for you. Sometimes more than once.) And Paul takes the same tone with Timothy. He's loving and affectionate when it is appropriate, but in chapter two, he takes a little bit harsher tone: "Flee from youthful passions," he says, "and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along ...

(This is the follow-up to my last post, which you can read here .)  [Also, I've decided that the best way to really know what Paul is saying  in his second letter  to Timothy  is to read it every day. It's four chapters; takes about ten minutes. TOTALLY worth it. If you'd like to join me, I welcome your comments and questions below!] So Paul spent the majority of the first chapter of Second Timothy strongly encouraging the young preacher. Paul and Timothy have a history together, they've known each other for a significant time, and Paul is definitely a mentor to Timothy.  In verse four, Paul says, "I long to see you so that I may be filled with joy, clearly recalling your sincere faith that first lived in your grandmother Lois, then in your mother Eunice, and that I am convinced is in you also" (2 Timothy 1:4-5, HCSB). Timothy's faith didn't start with Paul; it started at home, under the example of a grandmother and mother who had "sincere f...