Want to know more about God’s peace? How can we not be anxious? Watch this month’s devotional vlog from Erica to learn more about the peace of God.

When I was little and always wanted to go hang out at my friend Jessie’s house, my mom used to quote Proverbs 25:17 to me: “Let your foot be seldom in your neighbor's house, lest he have his fill of you and hate you.” That’s a pretty savage thing to tell a 10-year-old but, then again, my mom can be quite the Tiger Mom sometimes! I used to retort, “Jessie’s not my neighbor, she lives all the way in Woodbury!” I thought it was a pretty good counter point, but I never won that argument.

If the heart is deceitful, what place do emotions have in the lives of believers? I have been taught that my emotions are fickle and can not be trusted. I felt that if I just had a greater belief in God then my negative emotions would disappear — but actually, attempting to spiritualize my emotions away by simply praying or reading the Bible ends up stunting both emotional and spiritual growth.

It was Biscuit Saturday and I was very excited (and hungry). For almost a year, every Saturday I would try a new recipe in hopes of landing our favorite. On this particular Biscuit Saturday, the biscuits looked extremely promising. They had a good rise, an enticing golden-brown hue on top, and smelled delicious. My family had already started to eat by the time I sat down, and I was surprised to see my husband had only taken one bite of his biscuit.

I was in the checkout line. Hanging upside down over my arm was my screaming three-year-old son. He had just been denied a riding lawnmower. I might have worried his head would blow off except that I was struggling with my own internal body temperature of approximately 6000 degrees. It was a moment. The man in front of me helpfully commented that I made him glad he didn’t have kids.

When I was asked to write a four-part series on a book of the Bible for this woman’s blog, Nehemiah certainly wasn’t the most obvious choice. But I felt compelled to write about this particular book because after reading it recently, I was astounded by the many beautiful but seemingly small “nuggets” I hadn’t noticed previously, and how applicable they are for the women of Cities Church today.

She had what might be considered the most inconspicuous of beginnings. Born to a Dutch watchmaker in Haarlem, Holland, the first 45 years of her life might be called uneventful. She never married, and both she and her elder sister lived with her parents until the War came to their doorstep. Corrie Ten Boom did not set out to be a hero.

On the second night living in our new house, Nick and I noticed a small amount of water leaking from our toilet. Filled with the fresh vigor of newly purchasing our home, we were determined to fix the problem ourselves. Nick removed one of the water lines, but in the process a seal burst, and within a few seconds water was flooding the bathroom and out into the hallway.