Receive

CLICK TO WATCH INTERVIEW In this interview with Lauren and Becca of Tulips & Honey, we share more about our salvation testimonies- Paul heard the gospel for the first time when he was around 6 or 7 years old and Emily first heard and believed the gospel when she was sixteen years old at a youth conference. We talk about how much our growth as believers was stunted for most of our lives because of lack of discipleship and false doctrine and how our theology changed over the years in our marriage and how we eventually found our way back to the pure gospel that we first believed when we were younger. We also share encouragement and advice as to how you can talk to your pastor if you are concerned about the teaching and the ultimate dangers of false teaching in a believer’s life....

When normal changes suddenly, we flounder. Like a girl learning to swim who is suddenly required to jump in the deep end, our heart rates race, and all we learned before evaporates in the panic. We flail, our arms and legs somehow moving enough to get us to the side of the pool, though we know not how. The lessons aren’t over though, and to our dismay, the next day, the next lesson comes, and we are told to jump in again.  Living through this pandemic can feel like learning to swim in the deep end. It is easy to focus on what we don’t know, on the breadth and depth of the communal and personal tragedy, and on the fear itself that rises in our pulses. But we do know things that will help us, and we can help each other remember them. We can learn, we can adjust, and, most importantly, w...

I walk empty streets a few blocks from my home to sit on a funny wooden bench tilted back and shaped like a barrel at my daughter’s school. The seat is angled so my feet dangle off the ground. It makes me feel small, younger than I feel most days. The bench is in a garden recently weeded of tall bushes of lavender and mint that were growing out of control. It is calm here. Quiet. I swing my feet. The sun is warm on my skin, the air a blanket of fragrance the breeze breathes this way and that. I let it cover me, drape over my shoulders and face and neck. I imagine the scents of heaven–of flowers and water and earth and rock. A biting sweetness. A fragrance of a million colors, a million voices composing one song. My heart knows this song. And in this extravagance of beauty–of light and colo...

wwww.courtnayerichard.com If you clicked onto this post, then I know you’re interested in knowing how you can learn more about walking in the beautiful characteristics of this type of woman described in the Bible. But before you take the test, let’s get a little backstory.  It’s important to know that Proverbs 31 starts off with the sayings of King Lemuel. He shares with us words of wisdom that his mother taught him about what type of woman he should allow in his life, as a king.  She says to him in Proverbs 31:2-3, “O my son, O son of my vows, do not waste your strength on women who ruin kings.” After that, she goes on to say what type of woman he should look for and the virtues and characteristics she should possess in Proverbs 31:10-31. Here is what she taught h...

“The book of Job is the theological elephant in the room of the Prosperity Gospel.”  Justin Peters Recently, we came across a post that was essentially drawing the conclusion that pain and suffering are not a part of God’s plan for your life, but ultimately, Satan’s alone.  Yet, we have to raise the question then… Isn’t God the one who allowed suffering to happen to Job?  Yes, God is the one who gave Satan the permission, so it was ultimately a part of God’s plan for Job. In fact, it was God who brought Job to Satan’s attention: “The Lord said to Satan, ‘Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil.’”  Job 1:8, NASB And yes, God was f...

“What do I know to be true about God?” This was the question that continually ran through my mind as I walked through my garden.  The spring sunshine was beating down on the damp earth and there were glimpses of green shoots reaching for the blue canopy above. Daffodils were blooming and birds were flitting around the feeder.  I bent over and picked a piece of lavender. Inhaling the calming scent, I let out a sigh.  This was hard.  Life had thrown a curveball.  In less than seventy-two hours I was being forced to take on a different role as a teacher, mother, and daughter. It was out of my control and the constraints and expectations seemed to be cinching tighter with each turn of the hour. I am a problem solver.  My head screamed with solutions, but my heart ...

The window is open, and cool air blows through the room. The street is silent except for birds chirping. I will miss this the most, maybe, when quarantine ends. The stillness outside, even when the inside of my home thunders many moments: heavy feet of teenagers as they work through their day. Days fold in, one after another. A stack of moments in this small home. I remember they are sacred. Few things of importance get cataloged on a calendar anymore So much happens within walls. Life outside walls–but inside walls too. The push and pull of loving people. The trusting that good is here, in the uncertainty, in the mess, in the hard. And with that trust comes love, which is seldom easy. And always a choice. What choice am I making this day? And the next?  I like to think about wha...

www.courtnayerichard.com I’m not sure where you on the topic of hope, but I pray that this blog post encourages you, greatly. Whatever you’ve been hoping for, I want you to keep trusting God through the process of waiting, sis. Know that He has not forgotten you. He has heard your plea, cry, and heart on the matter or desire. Now, it’s just time to remain hopeful. Remaining hopeful is all about staying full of hope, no matter what your circumstances look like. It means remaining expectant of good things to come and answered prayers. Just think about it for a second. What are you hoping for in your life, currently? Ponder that for a moment, and then write it down in your journal or create a plaque and put it on your desk or on your wall to encourage you from time to time. Keep it before you...

How do you write new words, find new meaning, when the landscape becomes familiar? How do you find freshness? How does your heart remain awake?  What happens when what was once strange is no longer strange? What do we do when strange becomes a new normal? Does strange lose its meaning? Does meaning become strange? What grounded us before? What grounds us now?  The answers to these questions become clear just when we feel the old patterns, once so familiar, slip away. By choice or not, the old patterns are removed and we develop new rhythms. What we once knew slipping into memory. How much can memory hold? The days feel stretched out, unhurried. Yet I am distracted. Busy and not busy. My heart is often open–but also, sometimes, numb.  But the days fly by. How do the days...