Darla > Recent Status Updates

Chapter 3: Adam and Eve (The Original Love Story)

Adam and Eve fell short of their potential, but their impact did not end with the Fall. We should view it not only as the story of original sin, but also as the birthplace of original love. One thing's for sure: The story of Adam and Eve is not done teaching us yet.

Chapter 2: Samson and Delilah

The chains of Samson's sin were never stronger than the mercy and love of God, and even in Samson's darkness--even when he thought his own bad decisions and relationships may have alienated God from him forever--even then, God was there.

Chapter 1: Song of Solomon

This bride and groom remind us just how powerful and precious love and the hope for a lifetime bond can be. We should cherish the gift of romance and marriage, nurture and feed it. As our relationships mature, we shouldn't put them on autopilot.

The Way of Belovedness

Belovedness, as God's creation, means that we are uniquely known and cared for, precious and valued even if we feel small or hidden. Just like the wildflowers yet to be discovered, named, and cataloged, we who live in the way of belovedness can trust that we are seen, known, loved and have purpose right where we are--because our Creator, God, knows each one of us by name as his beloved.

The Way of the Unhurried

The Master Gardener who melts the snow, lengthens the days, and causes the sun to warm the earth is the same God who orchestrates your days and your seasons.

The Way of Resilience

Love is like wildflowers; it's often found in the most unlikely of places. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

The way of resilience if one of perseverance, but it's also a call to deepen our roots in the soil of God's Word. We can endure hard seasons and flourish all the more on the other side of trials when we are anchored to that which sustains us.

Wildflowers don't care where they grow. ~ Dolly Parton

What freedom is ours when we consider this way of the wildflower; smiling at the sun, unburdened by what isn't our to fret about or carry.

Happy Publication Day🥳

The Way of Dependency

Oh, to be like a wildflower--dependent and surrendered, not demanding a specific storyline, a certain season, or a more ideal circumstance, but to bloom where we've been planted.

To the ones who imagine that
unburdened
is possible only when you're surrounded
by wildflowers and mountain air;
Jesus is better, and you are more loved
than the flowers of any field. ~ Ruth Chou Simons

The Plymouth Express (Poirot) 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Problem at Pollensa Bay 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Sanctuary (Miss Marple) 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

A Christmas Tragedy (Miss Marple) 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

The Coming of Mr. Quin (Harley Quin) 🌟🌟🌟🌟

The Clergyman's Daughter/The Red House (Tommy & Tuppence) 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Three Blind Mice - 🌟🌟🌟🌟

The Chocolate Box (Poirot) - 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

The Armor of God ~ Ephesians 6:10-24

We have a tendency not to believe that any power of Satan is being unleashed against the Christian in this world, and so Paul is emphatically saying here that . . . we need supernatural protection to withstand that evil. Each Christian is a target of Satan and his angels, and this struggle goes on throughout one's lifetime.

Final Greetings ~ Romans 16

Paul's prayer--that people would be established in that gospel forever--has borne witness by the history of the church. Despite all heresies, persecutions, and distortions, the gospel that was revealedhere continues to be manifested by the wisdom, power, and establishment of God, who alone receives the glory.

Children and Servants ~ Ephesians 6:1-9

God calls us to honor the authorities that are over us as an expression of submission to Him because the fundamental problem with humanity is a refusal to give submission to whom submission is due--namely, the God Himself.

He[Jesus]is the perfect Master who treats all those under His authority with love, tenderness, gentleness, justice, and righteousness.

A Minister of God ~ Romans 15:14-33

The pulpit is where the Word of God is to be proclaimed, and the burden of everyone who stands in it is to make sure that the whole counsel of God is to be given to the people of God.

Marriage and Submission ~ Ephesians 5:21-33

When Adam was created, with dominion over the earth, Eve ruled over the earth with him as his helpmate, not as his servant. In a sense, God made Adam king over the creation and gave Eve to him as his queen, not as his slave-girl. There is all the difference in the world between a queen and a slave-girl.

Children of Light ~ Ephesians 5:1-20

As people of light, we have participated in a spiritual resurrection. Therefore, our lives cannot be lived as men and women who look for the darkness to do those things that we would be ashamed to do in public. Rather, we are to reflect Jesus' injunction: "Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven."

The Pursuit of Peace ~ Romans 14:19 - 15:13

The Holy Spirit works in our hearts to shed loave abroad and to produce the fruit of joy, peace, hope, forbearance, patience, kindness, goodness, and humility. That is what the God of all hope does when he fills us with his love in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Life in the Spirit ~ Ephesians 4:17-32

As Christians, we are to mortify the flesh by putting the old nature to death. We are to feed the new man with all the means of grace that God has appinted and at the same time starve the olf man by dnying him the occasions for sin. The indwelling power of the Holy Spirit works this renewal from within as we struggle in this spiritual warfare.

Life In the Church ~ Ephesians 4:1-16

Every person in the body of Christ has a significant task to perform. No one is insignificant; no one is unimportant. There is no such thing as a misfit in the body of Christ because Christ himself, the Head of the body, is the One who makes sure that we fit together and are knitted together into the unity of His body.

Life In the Kingdom ~ Romans 13:14-23

The disputes concerning trivial matters that tear churches apart would not happen if we would just grasp the principle that the kingdom of God is not about eating, drinking, lipstick, or an external thing. It is about righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit(v. 17b). We have here a triad of virtues that descripbes what the kingdom of God is about.

The Weaker Brother ~ Romans 13:1-13

The stronger brother has to be willing to forego his strength for the sake of the weaker brother, yet the church must never allow the weaker one ot establish his weakness as law for the Christian community.

He is both the rest and the storm, both the victim and the wielder of the flaming sword, and you must accept him or reject him on the basis of both. Either you'll have to kill him or you'll have to crown him. The one thing you can't do is just say, "What an interesting guy."

Fulfillment of the Law ~ Romans 9:9-14

We are not to make provisions for human sin and weakness. Martin Luther put it this way: "I cannot keep sparrows from flying about my head, but I can keep them from making a nest in my hair." We are not to make provision to accomodate our base desires. Instead, we are to provide for our soul by putting on Christ and walking in daylight.

For Conscience's Sake ~ Romans 13:5-8

All the practical applications of righteousness and justice Paul gives us here are rooted and grounded in that overarching responsibility we have to love our neighbor as ourselves. The things Paul sets forth are nothing more or less than practical applications of the Golden Rule.

Paul's Prayer ~ Ephesians 3:14-20

In Ephesians, Paul is calling the church to glorify God in the church. Worship itself is the sacrifice of praise; it is the offering of God's people of doxology to Him and a celebration of His perfection.

Paul's Calling ~ Ephesians 3:1-13

The Apostle Paul was proving himself faithful through trials, as Jesus had done. God was well pleased with Paul, too, because he was showing forth the sufferings of Christ (Col 1:24).

Breaking Down the Dividing Wall ~ Ephesians 2:13-22

Every day new stones are added to the church of Christ. This new temple will not be finished until the consummation of the kingdom in heaven. Christ is still building His church, not be adding cement, but by adding people, who are the pieces that come together in Him.