Personal Development on Nurture

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God of nurture and care, You seek to

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Scripture

Matthew 23:37, Psalm 91:4, Isaiah 40:11, John 14:16-17, Zephaniah 3:17, 1 Kings 19:1-18, Ruth 2:8-12

God of nurture and care, You seek to gather us together as a mother hen gathers her chicks. You seek to be our refuge in times of trouble. As we have gathered together today, draw us closer to You, de...

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Genes on a Razor's Edge

Author

David Dobbs

Keywords

Most of us have genes that make us as hardy as dandelions: able to take root and survive almost anywhere. A few of us, however, are more like the orchid: fragile and fickle, but capable of blooming sp...

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Heavenly Father, You give us the

Author

Austin D. Hill

Keywords

Heavenly Father, You give us the strength to grow in Your likeness. We praise You today for Your constant nurture and support. Please help us to become more like You as we experience Your almighty pre...

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Author

Richard Plass and James Cofield

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The primary factor that determines the pattern a child will land on is trust. Trust is born and nurtured in the infant through the consistent and reliable care of the primary caregivers. Trust is the ...

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Where Does Leadership Come From?

Author

Chad Veach

Keywords

It’s an argument that may never be fully resolved, but scientific research has shown what most of us probably already suspected: there is some truth to both perspectives. One study focused on factors ...

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Author

N. T. Wright

Keywords

As a newborn baby breathes and cries, so the signs of life in a newborn Christian are faith and repentance, inhaling the love of God and exhaling an initial cry of distress. And at that point what God...

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Recognizing Her Own

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 49:15, John 10:14, Luke 12:6-7, Psalm 139:1-3, 2 Timothy 2:19, Isaiah 43:1, Matthew 10:29-31, Psalm 91:4, Deuteronomy 32:11, Job 39:1-2, Luke 15:4-6

The guillemot, a small Arctic seabird, nests in dense colonies on the rocky cliffs of the North Atlantic and Arctic. Thousands of these birds gather in tight spaces, with hundreds of females laying th...

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Gracious God, for the goodness and

Author

Mark D. Roberts

Keywords

Gracious God, for the goodness and beauty of creation we thank you. For the way your creation nurtures and inspires us, we are grateful. Yet, the more we pay attention to the world, the more we see i...

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Personality Traits Come Right Out of the Box

Author

Anne Bogel

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Current research indicates that personality traits are hardwired; they’re largely hereditary and remain relatively constant throughout our lives.1 If we’re outgoing or reserved, energetic or subdued, ...

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Gracious God, forgive us today for the

Author

Austin D. Hill

Keywords

Gracious God, forgive us today for the times when we don’t trust You to help us grow. Even though You nurture us daily, we often choose to live in our own strength, ignoring the plans You have for us....

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The North and South of Temperament

Author

Anne Bogel

Keywords

Even though Carl Jung first introduced the terms introvert and extravert back in 1921 (in his now-classic volume Psychological Types), the concepts—especially introversion—crashed into the public’s co...

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"Look at Me!"

Author

Max Lucado

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 11:1-9, Proverbs 27:2, Isaiah 2:11-12, Matthew 6:1-4, Philippians 2:3-4, Psalm 115:1

Children have a tendency to say, “Look at me!” On the tricycle: “Look at me go!” On the trampoline: “Look at me bounce!” On the swing set: “Look at me swing!” Such behavior is acceptable for children....

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Healing Wounds Never Spoken Can Lead to Spiritual Breakthroughs

Author

James Bryan Smith

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 16:7-13, Isaiah 49:15-16 , Jeremiah 1:5, John 9:1-3 , Romans 8:15-16, Psalm 27:10

Dawn grew up in a family in which she felt she had a fairly happy childhood. But in her adult years she struggled greatly with emotional, psychological, and physical maladies. She never felt a sense o...

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Author

David Whyte

Keywords

Scripture

Deuteronomy 6:4-9, Joshua 19:, 1 Kings 19:4-8, Matthew 22:37, Psalm 127:1-2

The antidote to exhaustion is not rest but wholeheartedness.

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God’s Spiritual Growth Plan

Author

John Ortberg

Keywords

Imagine a doctor’s office where every patient is told, “Take two aspirin and call me in the morning.” If I have a headache, that is great advice, but if my appendix has just burst, I will be dead befo...

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Sabbath for Pastors: Why Is It So Hard to Rest?

Author

Dan Baumgartner

Keywords

If you are a pastor…this one’s for you. Sabbath. So many things have been written. Most of us have taught our people or preached about Sabbath, and underscored how busy people in our churches re...

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When Rest is Radical: Why the Sabbath Matters for Christian Leaders

Author

Jason Jensen

Keywords

What Eric Liddell Did Not Do Scottish athlete and missionary Eric Liddell, whose story is told in the movie Chariots of Fire , was a favorite to win the hundred-meter sprint in the 1924 Paris Olym...

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God, we come with hesitant steps and

Author

Christine Sine

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 139:23-24, Psalm 51:, Romans 8:9-17, 2 Corinthians 3:7-18, John 10:1-10, Job 15:31-32

God, we come with hesitant steps and uncertain motives to sweep out the corners where sin has accumulated, and uncover the ways we have strayed from Your truth. Expose the empty and barren places wher...

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Gracious God–who opens Your arms wide

Author

Richard Herman

Scripture

Matthew 6:10, Romans 12:10, Philippians 4:6-7, Isaiah 61:1, Matthew 11:28-30

Gracious God–who opens Your arms wide to welcome us just as we are but who’s too loving leave us that way: in response to Your invitation we come humbly and boldly with our broken hearts and weak hand...

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Lord—we’re so anxious we can’t

Author

Richard Herman

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 40:31, Psalm 27:14, Romans 12:2, Matthew 1:23, John 11:25-26, Hebrews 13:3

Lord—we’re so anxious we can’t wait! Some of us can’t wait for Christmas to come, while (honestly) some others of us can’t wait for it to be over. We’re not proud of it—but that’s just the way it is ...

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The Psalmist draws us into prayer

Author

Richard Herman

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 66:16-19, Matthew 6:6-8, 1 Peter 4:10, Matthew 5:14-16, 2 Corinthians 1:3-4, Isaiah 41:10, Psalm 103:1-5

The Psalmist draws us into prayer saying: Come and hear, all you who honor God and let me tell you what he has done for me. I cried out to him and God has surely listened and heard my prayer. Praise ...

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The Care and Cure of Souls

Author

David G. Benner

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 61:1, James 5:14-15, Psalm 147:3, 2 Corinthians 1:3-4, Matthew 11:28-30

Gary Moon and David Benner, visionary leaders in contemporary Christian soul care, provide a helpful background on the origin of this phrase: The English phrase “care of souls” has its origins in th...

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Author

Christian Smith

Keywords

The clergy profession is fundamentally self-defeating. Its stated purpose is to nurture spiritual maturity in the church - a valuable goal. In actuality, however; it accomplishes the opposite by nurtu...

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Call to Worship for Mother’s Day

Author

Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia

Keywords

Come children God is calling us Gathering us Covering us with hope-filled wings Come children Rest against our Beloved’s breast Nurtured and nourished On the milk of love and kindness

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God of calling, you called Abraham and

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Scripture

Genesis 12:1, Matthew 9:9

God of calling, you called Abraham and Matthew and gave them the strength they needed to follow you. You also called a people and cared for and nurtured that people so that they could live life in you...

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Author

Bryan Stevenson

Keywords

We are bodies of broken bones. I guess I’d always known but never fully considered that being broken is what makes us human. We all have our reasons. Sometimes we’re fractured by the choices we make; ...

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The Most Radical Discipline

Author

Dallas Willard

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 26:38-42

Solitude is the most radical of the disciplines for life in the spirit. In penal institutions, solitary confinement is used to break the strongest of wills. It is capable of this because it excludes i...

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How A Search for Meaning Can Lead to A Rushed Existence

Author

Jennifer Dukes Lee

Keywords

We all crave a meaningful life. This is good and holy. But in the quest for meaning, we get mixed up, turned around, and accidentally end up constantly in a hurry. We rush to grow successful businesse...

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The Ministry of Absence

Author

Ruth Haley Barton

Keywords

Control

Scripture

Isaiah 30:15, Psalm 46:10, 2 Corinthians 4:18, Romans 8:26, John 14:26, 1 John 16:7

The other thing that helps me deal with my compulsion to control things through my direct involvement and my fear of missing out is what Henri Nouwen has called “the ministry of absence.” Jesus modele...

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You are who you Surround Yourself with

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Scripture

1 Corinthians 15:33-34, Proverbs 27:17, 1 Corinthians 5:11, Proverbs 13:20, 1 Corinthians 15:33, Psalm 1:1-2, Hebrews 10:24-25

Context matters. According to the Terman Study, which followed one thousand study participants from childhood until their death, the people we surround ourselves with are who we become. We see those a...

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