Upgrade Your Ministry: Continue Learning

Morgan Farr is a wise and practical teacher, distilling the truth of God's Word and applying it to everyday living. In this Ministry UPGRADE, she encourages us to keep on learning, for our benefit but also for the sake of better ministry.

"Learning shouldn’t end in a classroom," Morgan says. "It should be a forever part of the Christian woman’s life."

I (Dawn) agree with Morgan. We should always be lifelong learners, and nowhere is this more important than in our walk with God and ministry for Him.

Morgan continues . . .

In today's fast-paced world, it's easy to let the pursuit of knowledge take a back seat. However, for Christian women, the call to learning should be a continual and integral part of our lives.

Our commitment to growing in wisdom, knowledge, and faith should stay in the forefront of our minds.

Let’s explore why every Christian woman should continue learning and what she should do with that knowledge. 

1. Get Wisdom

Even though history has not always been kind to women’s education, we see in scripture that learning and growing is a crucial part of life.

Proverbs 4:7 states,

"The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding."

This verse reminds us that wisdom and understanding are precious treasures worth pursuing at any cost. This means that wisdom and understanding are not one-time acquisitions but ongoing pursuits.

Learning isn't just about acquiring academic knowledge; it's also about deepening our spiritual understanding.

Ephesians 4:23-24 urges us to:

"be made new in the attitude of your minds"

and to "put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness."

Spiritual growth is a lifelong journey, and learning plays a pivotal role in our development as followers of Christ.

Consider joining a Bible study group, attending seminars, or dedicating time to daily reading and reflection. 

2. Give to Others

Learning isn't just for personal enrichment; it's also a means to serve others effectively.

Proverbs 31:26 (NIV) describes a woman who

"speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue."

When we continually upgrade our knowledge and wisdom, we become valuable sources of guidance and support for our families, friends, and communities.

God has given us unique talents and gifts, and we can use these gifts to bless others.

By investing in our growth, we can better equip ourselves to serve those around us.

This might look like using your skills as a bookkeeper to help a college student build a budget, or using your wisdom as a grandmother to minister in a children’s church. God gave you unique skills and experiences. Use them to give knowledge to others.

Let me share a real-life example.   

A YouTube star, Rob Kenney, created the channel “Dad, How Do I?” where he took his real-life experience and started making videos to help people walk through things they may not have learned from their parents.

I accidentally stumbled across his videos two years ago when I was trying to figure out how to replace a toilet seat. I was struggling and super frustrated, so I googled, “How do I replace a toilet seat?”

His video gave me the help I needed.

Now, that may not seem like a big deal, but when you realize that I had four kids ages six and under and my soldier husband was away—let me just say that there were a lot of tears when I finally fixed this silly thing that was creating so much frustration in my home.

Kenney's skills and willingness to share them helped me and my family, even though we have never met! 

3. Grapple with Relevance 

It is easy to feel irrelevant after hitting age twenty-nine. But that doesn’t have to be the case.

Just because you don’t know the latest TikTok dance doesn’t mean that you don’t have knowledge to share.

Find what you are good at and let your church or community leadership know you want to give in this area.

I guarantee you there is a place where you are needed!

For example, being able to sew my husband’s name tape and patches on his Army uniform has saved us a fair amount of money during his military career.

• I could ask my chapel about putting up a flyer letting other military wives know I have this skill.
• I can either offer it to them as a free/low-cost service, or I can teach them how to do it themselves.

We are told in Titus chapter two how older people should mentor younger people, yet this doesn’t happen often in church.

I see a divide between the older generations and the ones coming behind them because we don’t know how to communicate our willingness to learn and teach.

As Christian women, our commitment to learning should be an ongoing journey guided by the Word of God. Through this, we enrich our lives and fulfill God's purpose for us, becoming the women He designed us to be.

So, upgrade your commitment to learning today and let it be a continual part of your life for God's glory

What skill can you share with your community? 

Morgan Farr is a succulent-cultivating, book nerd, aspiring author. She spends her days homeschooling her four young children and training her working dogs. As an Army wife, Morgan has learned to lean heavily on Jesus as she walks out military life. She is the Director fo Publishing at Planting Roots, a minitry for military women and wives. You can connect with Morgan on all major social media channels using her handle: morgandfarr.

Graphic adapted, courtesy of Pexels at Pixabay.

'Jesus, Help Me Love You More!'

In this Spiritual Growth UPGRADE, Dawn reflects on our love for God—why do we lack in love, what does our Savior think about our love, and what can we do to grow our love?

Have you ever read a story in the Bible, and the Holy Spirit took you down a different path than you ever would have expected—a "rabbit trail" that led to a deeply personal lesson?

That happened to me.

It was while reading the story of Jesus healing a boy who was possessed by an impure spirit (Mark 9:14-29). The boy's desperate father brought the boy to Jesus, saying, "if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us."

Jesus noted the "if," and then said, "Everything is possible for one who believes."

The father immediately exclaimed, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!"

That was quite an admission. The father recognized that he DID have some faith—otherwise he never would have brought his son to Jesus.

But he also had doubts. He needed help from Jesus to go further into faith.

As I read this conversation, I felt a twinge of conviction. But it wasn't about faith. The Holy Spirit zeroed in on the depth of my love for Jesus—or rather, how weak it was.

I cried out to Jesus,  

"Dear Jesus, I do love you. But help my lack of love . . . help me love you more!"

I believed that He would help me with my weak love, just like he helped that desperate father with his weak belief.

Over time, I considered some of the things that hindered that love, and things I could do or change to refresh and grow my love for Jesus.

Four Ways to Grow Your Love for Jesus

1. Remember the Love Jesus Expressed on the Cross.

Jesus said,

"Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends" (John 15:13 NIV).

Jesus loved us so much that He went to the cross to die for our sins and—when we trust in that sacrifice—secure eternity for us in Heaven.  

The Lord's love for us is mysterious and extraordinary, and our love for Him should reflect that.

The Savior chose to love us while we were wretched sinners (Romans 5:8), so unlike Himself, so that He could make us more like Him (2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 John 3:5; Romans 8:29).

When we begin to take that for granted, we become ungrateful for His grace and mercy, and our love for Him cools.

When we remember the cross, it should motivate our love for our Savior.

2. Believe that When Jesus Died, It Was for You, Personally.

It's one thing to believe that Jesus died for the world, but we may forget that, by application, He died for us as individuals—as if we were the only one needing salvation.

The childhood song says it well: "Jesus loves ME, this I know. . . . " The message of the gospel is a love letter to us. We love Him because He first loved us (1 John 4:19).

3. Pray for a Deeper Manifestation of His Love.

Jesus cannot love us any more—He demonstrated His love in dying for us (Romans 5:8; 1 John 4:9-10).

But that does not mean that His love cannot be more deeply manifest to us—made more evident or certain, or displayed to make clear or more easily recognized.

We keep the Lord's commands because we love Him; and Jesus said when we keep His commands, He will love us and "show" Himself to us (John 14:21).

Also, His love is made "complete in us" when we love one another (1 John 4:12).

4. Allow Christ's Love to Stir Up Your Own Love.

Just as we warm ourselves by a fire, we can kindle love for Jesus as we sit by the "fire" of His love.

Once that love is kindled, we can encourage it to burn hot through a number of actions.

We can:

• Read and meditate on Jesus and the "law of the Lord" (Psalm 1:2; Hebrews 12:2a).
• Speak about the Lord and help others see Him more clearly—"bring them" to Jesus.
• Be careful not to displease of offend Him—how can we say we love Him when we cherish the sins for which He died, when we place people and things ahead of Him?
• Stand against the Lord's enemies—Matt. 5:43-44 tells us to love our enemies; but realize that we must never compromise with the stated enemies of Christ (cp. Psalm 139:19-21).
• Hate sin (Proverbs 8:13)—and love, respect, and obey God's commands.
• Abide in, live in, Jesus—remembering that Jesus abides with us as we abide in Him (1 John 2:28 ESV; 1 John 3:24; 4:13).
• Pray continually—keep the connection with Jesus "live" and active (1 Thessalonians 5:17).
• Praise and worship Him, remembering that God "inhabits" the praises of His people—He loves to dwell there (Psalm 22:3 KJV).
• Be ready to forsake or lose any lesser things, if need be . . . for Him (Matthew 10:37; Luke 16:13; John 15:19).

So, yes, we trust that Jesus will help us in response to our prayer for deeper love for Him, but there are also many things we can do to improve it ourselves.

Every one of God's children should be growing in love for Him and for His Son, Jesus. If we're not, we need to seriously consider what is standing in the way.

Do you need to pray what I did—"Lord, I love You . . . help me love You more"? Do you see any hindrances to God not answering that prayer?

Dawn Wilson, founder and President of Heart Choices Today, is a speaker and author, and the creator the blog, Upgrade with Dawn. She is a contracted researcher/reviewer for women's teacher and revivalist, Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth at Revive Our Hearts, and is a regular columnist at Crosswalk.com. She and her husband Bob live in sunny Southern California, and Dawn has traveled with Him in Pacesetter Global Outreach. They have two grown, married sons, three granddaughters and a rascally maltipoo, Roscoe.

Graphic adapted, courtesy of Radu Florin at Unsplash.

When Back Leads to New

Kolleen Lucariello always surprises me with her out of the box thinking and spiritual insights. In this Spiritual Growth UPGRADE, she asks us to consider what might happen if God sends us "back to" in order to bring us to an "experience of new.""When I consider going back to something I have viewed it as regression," Kolleen said. "It’s an odd phenomenon for me when going back leads to new."

I (Dawn) pondered this post. I asked God, where do I need to go back, Lord? Then I realized God had already taken me back several times. He took me back to a place of abuse to give me new freedom in forgiveness. He took me back to a place of shame to give me a greater sense of His strength, mercy, and grace. This is a powerful message. Ponder it.

Kolleen continues . . .

• We send our children back to school to experience a new year.
• I personally, had to go back to traumatic spaces in therapy to experience a new perspective of my identity.
• The life of Moses is a great example of how going back to can lead to an experience of new.

After years of oppression in Egypt, Moses’ birth announcement comes at a time when the law of the land is death to any Hebrew baby boy at birth. He’s saved because his mother placed him in a basket and sent him floating down the Nile. He is discovered by the daughter of the man who made the awful law.

She sent him back to his birth mother to experience life as an Israelite. When he was old enough, his birth mother sent him back to Pharoah’s daughter to experience a new life as her son—an Egyptian.

Eventually, those two identities would become incompatible, and Moses would commit an act of murder against an Egyptian to protect the life of a Hebrew.

This feels a bit treasonous. After all, Moses spent more years living as an Egyptian than as a Hebrew. But, when the news became public, he was a man on the run.

Eventually, Moses would be minding his own business as a shepherd tending to the flock of his father-in-law.

Until the day when Moses came to Horeb, the mountain of God, and God introduced himself.

“You’re the man I’m looking for, Moses! I’m going to send you back to Egypt so my people can experience a new unoppressed life.”

Of course, this is the Kolleen paraphrase and there is much more to be read of the story; however, this example shows us that God is not opposed to sending someone back to what we’ve been running from if it will assist another to experience the new.

Yet, after God’s explanation, Moses expressed some self-doubt—fear, perhaps?

“Who am I?” Moses asked.

Who was he? Was he a Hebrew? Was he an Egyptian? Was he a shepherd?

Did he have any memory from his earliest beginnings? Or had he blocked those days of his birth family?

Regardless, God knew who he was, and Moses needed to know who God was.

“I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob” (Exodus 3:6, NIV, emphasis mine).

God was taking Moses back to his roots, but first Moses would go back to Egypt for a new experience within Egypt. While in Egypt, God would give Moses a new experience with the people of his ethnicity and, together, they would go back to the mountain of God.

I’ve been shaken to the core by a loss of identity. And like Moses, I needed to go back to the place I had been running from and allow God to do a bit of cleanup so I could come out and experience something new.  

My years within my own "personal Egypt" had diminished my identity and God needed to send me back to the foundation of my faith to reestablish and reaffirm the truth of my identity.

My parents laid a foundation of faith, but I spent a few years running from it. The Lord led me back to the church where my own faith was established. God used this time to challenge my mischaracterization of His identity and I began a new experience with Him. 

Never discount what God can do by taking you back to your foundation of faith.

God isn’t afraid to dismantle what is cracked or was poorly laid and reveal His true nature.

When God identified Himself, “Moses hid his face because he was afraid to look at God” (Exodus 3:6b).

When fear and shame from my time in Egypt turned my face away from God, He led me back to the Cross, and I began a new experience with forgiveness and Truth.

What's YOUR Back to the New?

Does God want to do some cleanup in your life? When He instructs us to go back to the root or our "personal Egypt," remember, He’s not asking us to settle there again.

Too often we believe we are the sum of every mistake. That’s not how God sees us.

What’s really cool to me about Moses’ story is that God would add one more title to his identity.

When Moses wondered, "Who am I?"—A Hebrew? An Egyptian? A Shepherd?—I can almost hear God whisper, “You have been every single one, Moses. But now you are “My servant, Moses” (Numbers 12:7).

Where might God ask you to go back to so He can lead you into the new?

Kolleen Lucariello, the  #TheABCGirl, is the author of #beYou: Change Your Identity One Letter at a Time, and is the Co-Director of Activ8Her, Inc. She is passionate to help every woman realize her identity in Christ and live accordingly. Kolleen and her hubby, Pat, make their home in Central New York. She's the mom of three grown children and Mimi to six incredible grands. For more informaiton about Kolleen, visit speakkolleen.com.

Graphic adapted, courtesy of Openicons at Pixabay.

Mashing My Remote Control Didn't Help

In this Spiritual Growth UPGRADE, I want to share four lessons I learned about "control."

I mashed the buttons on the TV’s remote control, but nothing happened. Already stressed from bad news, I frantically mashed the buttons harder.

I knew I was upset and disappointed by my circumstances, but I didn’t realize how angry I was too. In my anger, I fiercely tried to “will” the remote to do my bidding.

“I will conquer you, you stupid thing!”

But nothing I did worked.

My husband asked me a simple question, and as it turned out, the remote needed new batteries (Duh!). The remote required change at its core.

Later, I took time for some heart examination. I thought about how I'd felt so out of control, and the foolish, fierce anger that erupted over a relatively small inconvenience.

In that process, I learned—or at least, was reminded of—four lessons about God.

Four Lessons When Life Feels Out of Control

1. God Is in Control.

I felt out of control, but God is never "out of control." He reigns as the sovereign God. He is in complete, absolute control.

On that day when I felt so overwhelmed, I needed more than “remote control”—a general nod that God is somehow remotely involved in the affairs of the world. I needed to embrace God’s intimate control in my life: His personal knowledge and interaction.

God is the potter and I am the clay (Romans 9:19-24). I may feel God is making mistakes or being harsh as He shapes my life, but that’s just the clay speaking.

In my Spirit-indwelled heart I know:

• The Potter knows what He is doing;
• He knows why He chose me, a lump of clay; and
• He knows what tools He will use to shape me.

God is God. I am not. God works “all things according to the counsel of His will” (Ephesians 1:11). He rules over all His creation, and that includes me.

2. God Has a Plan.

When I feel out of control, I often scramble to make plans to alleviate my anxiety. In that stress, I’ve sometimes choose a wrong direction and only get into more trouble.

God, who created us, wants to guide us. His plan includes direction for our lives.

As a young woman, I memorized Proverbs 3:5-6. I knew that I could trust God to direct my life, to show me which path to take. When we choose our plans rather than His, there’s no guarantee for the results.

God’s plan may not look like ours, no matter how hard we "mash the buttons" of our plans. His ways are not our ways (Isaiah 55:8-9).

That’s why James urges us to ask for wisdom (James 1:5). We need to ask, and then we need to expect God to give us wisdom. We need to be alert and sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s direction.

We are to move forward one step at a time as our Father God gives more light. Then we can be a good steward of our time and resources.

[Let me clarify one thing. We can make plans, but we need to be prepared and willing for God to hijack our plans, which may look nothing like our own. We need to plan wisely, but hold those plans loosely. God gets the last word (Proverbs 16:9).]

3. God Is with Us.

God promised His presence to His people. When we feel overwhelmed, we need to remember that our Father has not left us.

In His presence, we will stop being dismayed or overwhelmed, because His ever-present wisdom and power come to our aid.

Father God sees us, knows all about us, and cares about our struggles.

All three members of the trinity are present in our lives! The Father says, “Fear not, for I am with you” (Isaiah 41:10a). The Son, Jesus, says, “Lo, I am with you” (Matthew 28:20). The Holy Spirit is our ever-present Helper (John 14:17).

4. God Designed Our Suffering.

This is a hard point but a crucial one.

When we are overwhelmed by circumstances, especially in times of deep struggle or suffering, we need to consider God’s hand in our pain.

Our God has lessons for us in our laments. He does not design our circumstances willy-nilly without specific purpose. Our God is a God of order, not haphazard thoughts, words, or actions.

So what is He doing in our overwhelming circumstances?

First, God wants to give us a greater vision.

God wants us to see and understand who He is and what He can do. He wants to teach us how to be more like Jesus, and the Holy Spirit has a big role in conforming us to the image of the Son.

God is not put off by our anger or frustration; and He also does not ignore our tears. He understands our weakness—that we are “dust” (Psalm 103:13-14). But He wants to lift us higher and give us a vision of His work in us.

As we embrace what He is teaching us, we will have more potential to give Him glory!

Second, God wants to change us.

We want to fix our brokenness. We may try many “fixes” in the process, but God wants to smash our self-effort so we will lean into and submit to His process of transformation.

We can resist His design in our struggles and suffering: becoming bitter, angry, and perhaps paralyzed in coping with our pain.  

Or we can respond to God’s design with trust and contentment, believing our Father—while sovereign in all things—is wise, loving, good, and kind.

In light of eternity, our temporal problems bear a different weight. Our present troubles won’t last very long in terms of eternity. In the moment, His hand may feel heavy, but it is working toward eternal purposes we may not currently see or understand.

“For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all” (2 Corinthians 4:17).

What do we make of the tough circumstances that challenge us, maybe threaten to undo us?

Tim Challies wrote about God's providencial actions in our lives in his post, "If God Would Outsource His Sovereignty." Challies wrote about a hypothetical scene in which an angel appeared to a group of Christians in church. The angel said the Lord had told him to distribute some "gifts of His providence." Everyone wanted the gifts of vast sums of money, rare talents, and high position. No one wanted the gifts of quadriplegia, grievous loss, infertility, widowhood, persecution, etc.

If we could choose our circumstances, we would likely never pick painful, hurtful, hard things! But God . . .

Challies concluded that as we receive gifts of providence from God's hand,

"we can rest assured that in the life of the Christian there are not two classes of providence, one good and one bad. No, though some may be easy and some hard, all are good because all in some way flow from His good, Fatherly hand, and all in some way can be consecrated to His service."

We might never choose painful, hurtful, hard things, but God does choose these circumstances for us because of their potential to transform us.

I encourage you to think about the four lessons above in light of your current struggle.

Personalize them:

• God is in control of my circumstance;
• God has a plan for me in my circumstance;
• God is with me throughout this circumstance; and
• God designed my suffering in this circumstance—even when it gets hard—for my good and His glory.

As I meditated on these lessons, I found my feelings changed, even though my circumstance did not.

It felt like putting a new battery into my remote control.

Are you overwhelmed today? Is there a struggle—financial stress, a physical issue, a relationship struggle, mental confusion, great loss, etc.—that consumes your thoughts and feelings?

Dawn Wilson, founder and President of Heart Choices Today, is a speaker and author, and the creator the blog, Upgrade with Dawn. She is a contracted researcher/reviewer for women's teacher and revivalist, Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth at Revive Our Hearts, and is a regular columnist at Crosswalk.com. She and her husband Bob live in sunny Southern California, and Dawn has traveled with Him in Pacesetter Global Outreach. They have two grown, married sons, three granddaughters and a rascally maltipoo, Roscoe.

Graphic adapted, courtesy of Mohamed Nuzrath at Pixabay.

The Infusion We Desperately Need

In this Biblical Thinking UPGRADE, Dawn reminds us of the power of the Word of God when it is "infused" into our lives.

I'm a tea-drinker, not a coffee-drinker. I love the smell of coffee, but the taste makes me gag every time. (I don't even like coffee-flavored desserts or ice cream.)

I love hot teas—I get a strange calming satisfaction out of watching tea from a tea bag infuse into hot water. When we place a tea bag in hot water, the water has more energy. The molecules in this steeping process move around faster and this helps start the diffusion of the tea leaves in the tea bag, making a strong brew.

There's another kind of infusion that I'm grateful for, but I don't especially like it. Chemo infusions help me stay alive by killing off rogue cancer cells—cells that might destroy me.

I thought a lot about these two kinds of infusions as I went through the process of CAR T-cell therapy. There were many days of infusions before that process, and more afterward. Besides the physical side effects, the enemy tried to discourage me emotionally.

But during those infusions, I wanted to have powerful "infusions" from the Word of God to help me cope with tough days—infusions I desperately needed.

   Be Blessed by Truth Infusions

I find at least three blessings come from "truth infusions" of scriptures. These blessings are for anyone who turns to the Word of God for help.

1. The Word of God infuses our hearts with truth and gives us life.

In a world of chaos and confusion, God's Word infuses us with truth—not mere head-knowledge, but rather, life-transforming truth. The Word is "God-breathed." Although men of God wrote down the words, the Bible itself claims that the words of scripture are from God (2 Peter 1:21; 1 Corinthians 2:12-13).

The Holy Spirit teaches us the Word to help us and change us.

I've noticed that it's when I am in "hot water"—when I am facing deep trials or frustrating struggles—the infusion process is strong and deep. God knows the brewing process that will create the best infusion of truth into my life.

Isaiah 41:13 reminds us that in our struggles, God will give us chazaq—a "continual infusion of His strength and power." (The word "hold" in this verse is chazaq in Hebrew, and it means to have our strength renewed by the addition of God's strength.)

Oh, how we need God's strengthening, life-giving power!

I've always loved the story of Ezekiel and the "dry bones." Ezekiel said, "This is what the Sovereign LORD says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life" (Ezekiel 37:5). God breathed life—infused life—into God's people in the Old Testament. And He will do that for Christ-followers too.

2. The Word of God exposes our sins and the toxic things we believe.

As I read the Bible during my chemo infusions, or meditated on scriptures I'd memorized, God pointed out some areas where I still struggle trusting God consistently. The scripture confrontations were uncomfortable; but I need healing from sin, not just cancer, so I was grateful.

As we read, study, and memorize scriptures—hide it in our hearts—we learn how to resist sin. God uses the Word to reveal our hidden sins. He turns the light on in the dark corners of our hearts.

The authoritative Word is useful to teach, rebuke, and correct us, and to train us in rightousness. In doing so, the Word of God teaches people how to be rightly related to God.

In a bit of a rabbit trail . . . I read some powerful words written by Bobbie Wolgemuth to Joni Eareckson Tada. Bobbie was the first wife of Robert Wolgemuth (Robert is now married to Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth). Bobbie wrote about the infusion of God through sufferings—words that deeply resonated in my heart.

Bobbie said:

". . . just as chemo medicine is designed to kill the bad cancer cells, so God designs a toxic, painful trial to destroy and starve and kill anything in my soul that is selfish, unholy, or offensive to Him. I willingly surrender to HIS INFUSION (emphasis mine), knowing that He has chosen what will ultimately bring me more abundant life—more abundant life than I can ever imagine.

"So I choose to open my hands and my heart and offer my veins to be infused with His choice of trial so that I might receive His beauty and His perfect health." *

The Word of God exposes our sins to us, but sufferings allowed by our loving Father also can reveal how sinful we are—and both the Word and sufferings from His hand are tools in our becoming more like Christ.

3. The Word of God, used by the Spirit of God, infuses our lives with all we need to serve the Lord.

The Bible has supernatural ability to transform us and make us complete—"thoroughly equipped" to do good works and serve God.

Lord willing, I'll have more years to serve the Lord. I've been a Christian for more than 50 years, but I still need the Word of God to infuse my life and prepare me for daily service to my King.

I've noticed over the years that sometimes my spiritual life feels "dry."

It's during times of spiritual dryness that I most need an infusion of God's Word.

When I am most thirsty for living water, I find that I'm actually longing for Jesus and the empowering of the Holy Spirit in my life. My thirst is often quenched and my heart prepared to worship and serve God when I am infused by the precious truths of scripture about the Trinity and how God works in my life.

Infusions of the Word of God are the infusions we desperately need:

• when life falls apart,
• when challenges get tough,
• when our hearts hurt, and
• when we don't feel close to God.

But we shouldn't only "receive those infusions" in hard times. Daily infusions of the Bible prepare us to surrender to God's will and serve Him with all our hearts—no matter our circumstances.

Have you had an infusion today? Do you need to make an appointment with God in His Word?

Dawn Wilson, founder and President of Heart Choices Today, is a speaker and author, and the creator the blog, Upgrade with Dawn. She is a contracted researcher/reviewer for women's teacher and revivalist, Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth at Revive Our Hearts, and is a regular columnist at Crosswalk.com. She and her husband Bob live in sunny Southern California, and Dawn has traveled with Him in Pacesetter Global Outreach. They have two grown, married sons, three granddaughters and a rascally maltipoo, Roscoe.

Graphic 1 adapted, courtesy of Conger Design at Pixabay.

Graphic 2, courtesy of Klbz at Pixabay.

* Quote by Bobbie Wolgemuth in the interview, "How Much Pain Is Enough?"