Growing up in the Catholic church one thing I always remembered and appreciated was the beautiful churches we attended. They looked imperial, with amazing stories woven in the walls and vaulted ceilings. But the one thing that always caught my eye was the classic stained-glass windows. When the sunlight shined through the panes of the glass a beautiful picture appeared and let out a mosaic symphony of colorful praise portraying parables and some of our great heroes from the Bible—most often Jesus. It was just glorious.

But have you ever looked through those same stained-glass windows at night? You don't see much. You might be able to catch a glimpse of each outline, but that is all.

The process to creating stained glass windows is quite painstaking, and involves soldering together individual panels of stained glass, sometimes in the hundreds. The pieces of stained glass are cut into various shapes and arranged, and the Artisan must have a good idea for how the window will look and feel when it is complete. The pieces are slowly attached to one another and then confined into a larger frame which will hold the window rigidly in place once it has been installed.

Did you know that our lives are like those stained-glass windows? Before we walked with Jesus, our windows [lives] were dark. But when we came to know our Saviour [the artisan], His light pierced through within each of His children and a beautiful picture appears with such brightness. He took the many broken pieces of our heart and soldered it together to create His version of beautiful. As we continue to grow in Christ, His light brightens, and our life's testimonies shine forth a rising beauty that intensifies through every test to testimony.

Can the people around you attest to the light shining through your life, especially when the storms hit?

When they look at your life do they see evidence that the Holy Spirit dwells inside, or has your sin and self-righteous heart created a soiled fabric that hangs, blocking His light from your witness?

Can they catch a glimpse of God's footprint's in your day-to-day conversations with your children, spouse, mother, or sister, friends. . . maybe even a stranger?

As we allow Jesus Christ to direct our marriages, our families, our relationships, and our lives, the result is a light that shines with such increasing power that every window around enlivens displaying a foretaste of what Heaven will look like.

Today, determine that you will live in God's brightness and reflect the Light in your life—that those around you will clearly see the testimony of your faith every moment they are in your presence.

The path of the [uncompromisingly] just and righteous is like the light of dawn, that shines more and more (brighter and clearer) until [it reaches its full strength and glory in] the perfect day [to be prepared] (Proverbs 4:18).

Can I be honest with you? As a young girl I had no problems making friends. I could get around a crowd of girls and just fit right in. But as I got older and experienced hurt and betrayal from other women, I became less quick to fit in. I will admit that at times I still tend to pull away with the fear that a friend may hurt me.

What I looked for in my worldly friends was completely different from what I want and desire from a godly friendship. I believe that the gift of friendship was one of God's greatest ideas. I also believe that just how God picks our our husbands to compliment us, He does the same with our friends. It has been said about marriage that where one lacks the other makes up for it. I know Jesus made friendship to work the same way.

I spent a good part of my life searching for genuine friendships. I always would get sad when I would hear women say, "We have been best friends for over 15 years." I thought, wow. That would be nice to have. I had close friends, but those were all worldly friends. Things happened that caused us to go our separate ways, and with others we just grew apart. Temporal friendships don't stand a chance when they are built on a temporal foundation. The slightest disagreement can wash away even 20 years of what you thought was an unbreakable friendship if it was not built on solid foundation. God, The Rock.

[Read the rest of this article at Whole Magazine.]

We are so excited to introduce to you our new friends over at Faithfully There. I discovered their hip and edgy clothes line while perusing on Instagram recently.

The name Faithfully There came from the never ending love, grace and mercy that the Lord continues to pour out on our lives. Faithfully Their purpose is to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ through fashion and outreach. 

The aim is to create fashion that encourages conversations that lead to the Gospel, thus opening up a door for sharing the Gospel to others. We pray that Faithfully There will be a vessel to inspire others to live and share the Gospel.

[Read the rest of this article at Whole Magazine.]

As Thanksgiving Day nears the rush that accompanies this season begins. But even through all of the craziness this season brings, we must never lose sight of the special meaning behind it.

Thanksgiving is more than just a holiday. It is a day of reflection. Reflecting on the goodness of the Lord and His blessings, and more importantly expressing gratitude towards Him for all that He has done and continues to do in our lives.

There are so many ways to celebrate God's goodness and His many blessings, and I wanted to share a few tips I gathered while perusing the internet.

Tree of Thanks – Take advantage of the fall leaves to build a Tree of Thanks. Send the kids to the back yard for a tree branch and some fallen leaves. Plant the branch in a pot filled with craft sand. As family members arrive for Thanksgiving dinner, let the kids give each person either a real leaf or a cut out leaf from paper and ask the guests to write something on the leaf for which they are thankful. Use either paperclips or Christmas tree ornament hangers to hand the leaves on the branch.

A Servant's Heart: Spend the Day Volunteering – Nothing will remind us more of how much we have to be thankful for than spending your day at your local homeless shelter or food kitchen serving Thanksgiving dinner.

[Read the rest of this article at Whole Magazine.]

Finding the right place, the right time, and the right way to enjoy uninterrupted time with God. 

I get it. Life gets crazy. If you're parent then you know that it can be like fighting tooth and nail to get to the feet of Jesus every day. If you're single and live with your parents or with roommates, you may also find it challenging to just spend time with God.

As Christians, our Spiritual health can be traced to how much time we are spending with God praying, worshiping and studying His word.

I don't know about you, but when I haven't spent time before God I am not the most gracious person. When we start off our day with Jesus, we become more like Him. We love more like Him. We look more like Him.

Getting in your Word, in prayer, and worship, are essential and crucial to knowing God's will and growing in your faith. But it can be hard to know exactly where to start. Make that time with God a priority even if you have to develop a balanced and realistic plan, and schedule out what you will do the night before if you have to.

[Read the rest of this article at Whole Magazine.]