stress Archives - Treasure Valley Prays

Invitations to Holy Conversation

Post author:Brooke Freiheit
Post published:October 10, 2022
Post category:Brooke Freiheit
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I’ve been trying to write this devotion for weeks. I thought maybe I’d write about this or that, but nothing seemed quite fitting. My brain feels like cotton balls, all mushy and soft, not able to form complete thoughts. The thoughts are fleeting, like two dragonflies chasing each other on air waves.I thought, “I’ll go for a long walk,” which usually helps align the puzzle pieces. Sunday was a beautiful “fallish” day. My dog, Landy, and I walked our normal long path. I…

“What you pay attention to grows.”

Post author:Casey Cross
Post published:August 17, 2022
Post category:Casey Cross
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“What you pay attention to grows.” - Adrienne Maree Brown Tweet Psalm 100 - A Psalm of thanksgiving.Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come into his presence with singing.Know that the Lord is God. It is he that made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise. Give thanks to him, bless his name.For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures for ever, and his faithfulness to all generations.I have been beginning…

Burnishing Christmas

Post author:Susan Bruns Rowe
Post published:December 23, 2020
Post category:Susan Bruns Rowe
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I have cherished memories of Christmas from my childhood. I remember the anticipation I felt when the Advent wreath was added to the church chancel, how I watched intently each week as another candle was lit. I especially looked forward to the lighting of the pink candle, the joy candle, which meant Christmas was almost upon us. My parents were of German heritage, so it was our custom to open presents on Christmas Eve, following a candlelight worship service at our country church…

Continue in My Word

Post author:Brooke Freiheit
Post published:October 8, 2020
Post category:Brooke Freiheit
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October is finally here, and I boldly declare fall to be my favorite season. It feels like a refresh and a reminder to slow down, both of which I need right now. I have been enjoying the cooler mornings, wrapping up in a blanket while it is still dark out and lingering over my pumpkin-spiced coffee. It’s in these minutes I reach for my Bible, being intentional about my time with God rather than reaching for my phone for distraction. The burdens of…

A Meditation on Joy

Post author:Di Seba
Post published:September 5, 2020
Post category:Di Seba
Post comments:3 Comments

"Sing praises to the LORD, O you his faithful ones, and give thanks to his holy name. For his anger is but for a moment; his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may linger for the night, but joy comes with the morning" (Psalm 30:4-5). I heard this story about a college student practicing the piano. They were trying to learn the song "Joy Cometh in the Morning." There was a complicated chord change right after "Weeping may endure for the night, but.…

Stop and Sit a Spell

Post author:Tammy Heimgartner
Post published:June 12, 2020
Post category:Tammy Heimgartner
Post comments:3 Comments

I have noticed lately that I am very tired. Life is stressful these days. There are an awful lot of important things happening. I find myself wondering what I am missing. What am I not doing enough of? What should I be doing to help those who need help? Do I really understand? I want to understand. I want to help. I want to do enough.

By Our Love

Post author:Meggan Manlove
Post published:April 28, 2020
Post category:Meggan Manlove
Post comments:7 Comments

"For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known. And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love." (1 Cor. 13:12-13). One could make a pretty good argument right now that hope is the greatest, but I know that love has been the strongest guidepost and will remain so for me…

The Brief Case Drill Team

Your Own Doo Dah Parade?

Post author:Kent Schaufelberger
Post published:April 27, 2020
Post category:Kent Schaufelberger
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Teach us delight in simple things, And mirth that has not bitter springs. Rudyard Kipling, The Children’s Song Every year on or around May 1, an unruly group of citizens in Pasadena, California march in a mini extravaganza they call the Doo Dah Parade. Perennial favorites of the occasion are the Marching Precision Brief Case Drill Team (bankers from the area who swing their brief cases in unison), the Newport Beach Dull Men’s Club (businessmen who march in time to the cacophony of…

The Rules of Perspective

Post author:Casey Cross
Post published:March 23, 2020
Post category:Casey Cross
Post comments:2 Comments

Breathe... Close your eyes. Inhale for three seconds, pause, and exhale for three seconds. Take as many breathes like this as you like. Read... John 14:15-31 ‘If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you for ever. This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he…