The Nothing Blog

The God who made the world and everything in it  is the Lord of heaven and earth...from one man He made every nation of men,  that they should inhabit the whole earth; and He determined the times  set for them and the exact places they should live...". Acts 17:24-26 The worldwide COVID-19 pandemic that first broke out in mid-2019 has created absolute chaos as its inhabitants believe the world is now spinning out of control. It's not the world that's out of control. It's the people.  The world rapidly became a global warzone since the first case of the now-dreaded Corona Virus was diagnosed in the fall of 2019. However, it has stormed into 2020 as a relentless pandemic. Yep. Basically all hell has broken loose and the new invisible enemy has freakish side effects: fear, anxiety, worry, hoarding, anger, sickness, death, widespread unemployment, depression, brokenness, rage, businesses folding, political wars in America, and oh, so much more. It's a new kind of invis...

The thief comes to only to steal, kill, and destroy;  I have come that you may have life, and have it in abundance.  John 10:10 The COVID-19 tsunami appears to have covered the earth as the waters have covered the sea. Yes, the highly contagious Corona Virus --discovered in 2019 -- is ravaging continents and taking many lives in its wake.  But as Christ followers we are after the TRUTH in every situation. The truth is the virus is not ruling the earth. There is a much Higher Authority who is keeping close watch on all He has made. The virus is not in control of mankind, God is. He is the Truth. He is working out His plan and purposes for His creation. "Jesus said, 'All authority in heaven and earth has been given to Me" (Matthew 28:18). It's heart-breaking to see so much suffering all over the world from this flu. America isn't immune, COVID-19 reached our shores and deaths, job loss, fear, anxiety, financial loss, governmental shutdowns of schools and small busi...

     Author's Introduction     The stories and essays I will be sharing in MOM & OTHER MENTORS: Thriving in the Titus 2 Principle, will include stories of my birth mother Mary Gillette Brown ;(center photo) and spiritual mothers Evelyn Green (left) and Frances Farley (right). These three humble women have lovingly and powerfully impacted my life. The Titus 2 principle is God's design for women to encourage other women to follow Jesus and to live the abundant life He died and rose again to give us. For some reason God graciously provided me with two spiritual mothers over a span of four decades. He just brought them into my life and I assumed most Christian women have a spiritual mother. That is, until I learned during the Bible studies I was leading, that most women have never been blessed with one, and God sent me two! All I could think was, "Wow, I must really need a lot of help if God sends me two in addition to my own precious mother who love...

Mary Elizabeth Gillette Brown This is a press photo of Mom. Yes, that's a golf club she's holding. When she was a young girl my grandfather put a golf club in her hands and her instant delight to play the game never waned for more than seven decades. Mom absolutely loved to play golf and as a gifted athlete she quickly became a strong competitor. She played in countless tournaments and was a tournament champion many times.  She was such an strong player that she was approached by sponsors who wanted to financially support her to play on the LPGA Tour.  She turned down the tempting offers and planned to continue to play with her amateur player status: as a single mother she told them she didn't want to leave her children. Why would anyone turn down an opportunity to be paid for something she loved to do? There was something she loved more: her children. TABLE OF CONTENTS Author's Introduction Mom (stories coming soon) Evelyn Green (stories coming soon) Frances Farley (st...

While driving to church yesterday I realized my thoughts were about to be derailed into stinkin' thinkin'. Nope. I can't let that darkness grow in my head. Negative thoughts birthed from lies do not bring glory to my Savior. So I called on Jesus to join me in this mental wrestling match and to give me a thought to anchor my mind. By the time I got to church I felt peace and confidence because I prayed knowing He always hears our prayers! "The righteous cry out and the LORD hears; He delivers them from all their troubles" (Psalm 34:17). I walked into the church building prepared to engage in worship, the pastor's message, and communion. Once again, I was not disappointed by the Spirit-led gathering at The Vine Community Church. I showed up hungry for God to nourish my soul and I was graciously fed and filled. I was revived so I could pass on the spiritual refreshment I receive to others. Tim Barton, our Pastor of Family Ministries, prayed before he started his...

When we find ourselves driving down the dark road of anxiety it means we've taken a wrong turn--we've let our mind wander into a dark place.  It's all the old baggage we've stuffed in the back seat of our minds that is steering us in the wrong direction: regret, unforgiveness, reliving the emotions of the past, uncontrolled thoughts, temptation to revive addictive behavior,  and self-centered control issues. It's a dark drive on a dark road because there are no lights of hope on that street! The anxiety is in our heads and our senses are dulled. But GOD knows our struggles. He is the one who will show us how to turn on our head lights -- yes, head lights -- so we can take thoughts captive and wake ourselves out of a spiritually blind, self-centered stupor. It's not safe to drive in a stupor: you tend to stumble and run into things! The cure is to open our Bibles and ask God to make His truth and promises to shine the light on the darkness.  "Your word i...

So whether you eat or drink of whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. 1 Corinthians 10:31 After spending my quiet time in prayer and Bible study in my office, I walked downstairs to the kitchen to make smoothies for my precious Don and me. I glanced at the dishwasher that needed to be emptied of clean dishes. Whatever. But then, since I had sought God's word to help me have the right thoughts and mindset for the day, the verse 1 Corinthians 10:31 popped into my head, "So whatever you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." And I thought, "Wow, yes! That's the way to have a healthy thought life! Think about God and not about me! How refreshing! LOL! But seriously, Sisters, am I the only one who doesn't always see the value in loading the dishwasher or sweeping the kitchen floor, or folding those clean clothes just plucked out of the dryer? Ah-hah! It matters to God! Whatever we do matters to God! Duh. We matter to God. Every...