Pizza Ranch Serves

Here in Northwest Iowa our schools opened their doors this week, so in the days leading up to kids filling the hallways many of our schools held development days for their faculty and staff.

Yesterday I shared about catching ourselves in negative self-talk and talking to ourselves positively instead. One way to assess if our thoughts are positive or negative is to ask these 3 questions (from Jon Acuff in his book Soundtracks: The Surprising Solution to Overthinking)

"Kind words are like honey— sweet to the soul and healthy for the body."

David has always been one of my favorite Bible characters. That was especially true when I was young. I’ve always found his writing to be so easy to read and to be very relatable. When I look at passages throughout the Bible today, I still will look to see if David had anything to say on the matter. An example of this is the topic of praise.

What if, just for today, you decide to let go of something that you've been struggling with and let God take it on and lead you through it? Give it a try and see how God works things out. . .

Exciting news for our Wadena, MN location as they seek to advance their impact in their community with a new FunZone addition! Check out this article featuring Zack Kelderman!

Though tears may fall My song will rise, my song will rise to You Though my heart may fail My song will rise, my song will rise to You While there's breath in my lungs I will praise You, Lord

Where do you find your strength? In my life I have had to ponder this question many times and the answer continually comes back around to my walk with God. I find myself so much stronger and able to manage the load of my world when I am close to Him and allow Him to help with the heavy lifting.

Psalm 8 makes one think about their place in the world. How one fits into the expanse of the universe. I know that I wonder about this sometimes.

It can be so easy to notice the flaws in someone, but how often do we take time to vocalize and celebrate their gifts and talents? How often do we celebrate them for being the person God made them to be?

One of the disciples of the early church was a man named Joseph. Joseph was a very special man, and for that he earned himself a nickname – Barnabas. Barnabas means “Son of Encouragement”. Barnabas went on a missionary journey with Paul, helped start churches, and helped spread the truth of the Gospel.

Everyone experiences good seasons and difficult seasons in their life. It is a given when we are living in a fallen and sinful world that we will face times of hardship and struggle. I often find that when I am struggling and suffering, I am quick to turn all my attention inward. I am so preoccupied by myself and my struggles, I often forget to take time to engage with and encourage those around me.