faith Archives | The Sparrow's Home

Do you ever feel like you’re too broken for God to use?

September 7, 2020 by Susan 4 Comments

Whether you feel like you’re too broken for God because of something beyond your control, or a mistake you made that you can’t get away from, the truth is that He’s looking for you. He wants you. He loves you.

Guest Post

This message was delivered recently by a friend of mine, Jeremy Kirkpatrick, who was kind enough to share the transcript with me..and with you. Jeremy is a gifted writer, speaker, woodworker, husband, and father of three.

From Jeremy…

I know there are some canners out there who could probably use some extra jars.

I have this Mason jar here, perfectly fine. Any takers?

I have another one…It was just like that one until about an hour ago. But it had an accident. Instead of being in one piece it’s in several.

Do you ever feel like you're too broken for God to use?

Anyone? Aside from that one mishap, I’ve taken good care of this jar. No takers?

It’s worthless now, isn’t it?

It’s funny how the value of something can change in an instant.

In the case of these two vessels there isn’t much difference. They’re the same size, same type, made of the same stuff.

But where one has value, one is now totally worthless because its value was in its ability to perform a function which it can no longer accomplish. When it comes to glass there is very little forgiveness.

Not Powerless: 14 Days of Praying Scriptures for your Country

July 2, 2020 by Susan 4 Comments

14 short prayers based in Scripture that you can pray for your country. With everything going on you might feel a bit powerless, but you are not! God’s word gives hope, strength, and purpose.

if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 2 Chronicles 7:14

Prayer can give the pray-er a lot of comfort and peace. But so much more than that…God flat out tells us that he responds to prayer and he acts.

Want some proof?

Moses sought God’s favor and he relented. He prayed God’s own words about his promises to Abraham. And the LORD withheld his punishment.

So he said he would destroy them– had not Moses, his chosen one, stood in the breach before him to keep his wrath from destroying them. Psalm 106:23

But in another case, God told Ezekiel he was looking for someone to stand in the gap and found no one, so judgement fell.

Both groups of people deserved God’s punishment, but in one instance God relented and in the other he did not. The difference seems to be the prayers of God’s people.

You may feel powerless in the face of events that are beyond your control, but God’s people are never powerless.

Before we ever speak or act, our first order of business is to pray. Whatever our differences may be, if you are a Bible-believing Christian, I invite you to pray God’s word for your country. It may make a real difference.

Join me, will you?

You don’t have to emerge from the quarantines as a beautiful butterfly, but what a waste to come out the other side the same old caterpillar you were before

April 2, 2020 by Susan 10 Comments

However it’s coming to us, we’re all being given cocoon time here. Don’t look back after this experience, and wish that you had done more with the time you’ve been given.

They say the five stages of Spring, 2020 are denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance.

That’s a little joke.

But it has been a wild ride, hasn’t it? While I wouldn’t go so far as to call the required self-isolation a gift, I do believe that we should try to learn something from difficult experiences.

I should pause here to tell you that this is not a guilt-trip to make you feel badly that you are staying in the bathroom extra long to get away from your kids or using chocolate as a coping mechanism. Both are valid responses to what we’re going through, in my opinion.

All I hope to do is be a little encouraging bird on your shoulder reminding you of what you already know:

You may look back after this experience, and wish that you had done more with the time you’ve been given.

17 role models of what living out an ordinary faith looks like

May 13, 2019 by Susan 3 Comments

There’s not one single answer to what it looks like to live a life of faith. These 17 people each lived out an extraordinary story in a uniquely different way, and a simple faith was at the heart of each one.

I received a complimentary book and was compensated for my time in writing this review. As always, all opinions are my own.

What makes someone a hero of the faith? Just the phrase is intimidating, if you ask me. But as with most things in life, a change of perspective can make all the difference. I’ve been reading about the lives of 17 individuals who did some amazing things and instead of feeling intimidated, I’m inspired.

The book is Eternity through the Rearview Mirror: How Simple Faith Changes Everything—Seventeen Extraordinary Lives, and I’m anxious to tell you about it.

Beautifully creative Bible verse note cards with encouraging Scriptures. Keep them to display for yourself or share with friends.

April 8, 2019 by Susan 6 Comments

Lovely Bible verses illustrated on cards that you can display to remind you of God’s truths or use to send a note to encourage friends.

I know I’m not the only one who likes to display scriptures around my house to remind me of what God is teaching me. Written on an index card taped to a mirror. Printed out and hung on a door. You too?

I’ve even got scripture lock screen images on my phone from the Christian weight loss course I’m taking to remind me of my memory verse for the week.

Seeing God’s word is such an encouragement and a wonderful way to put Scripture to memory.

I was delighted when I found these lovely cards that do all of that PLUS are pretty. (Adding pretty to something functional always makes me smile).

You can still serve God after being caught in sin. Restoration is possible.

March 11, 2019 by Susan 4 Comments

Being restored to ministry after sin (even big sin) is possible, but it may not look like you expect. Valuable advice for you whether you are trying to help someone caught in sin, or hoping to be restored yourself.

The opportunity to sin is everywhere. Sadly, even people who love the Lord, who are serving Him, can be caught in it. Whether that is you or someone you care about, the first thing I want to say to you is that there is hope.

The second thing I want to say to you is that while your future serving the Lord is not over, it should not be your primary concern. This post is the second in a series. The first post in the series digs in to how to work through coming to a place of true repentance and how to show that to those around you. Proving repentance is a long road, and being restored to ministry comes at the end of that road, not the beginning, especially if you were/are in a position of leadership.