Author: Crystal Stine

Training Time

“But be on your guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day close down upon you suddenly like a trap. For it will overtake all who live on the face of the whole earth. But stay

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Remember

“Above all, understand this: In the last days blatant scoffers will come, being propelled by their own evil urges and saying, “Where is his promised return? For ever since our ancestors died, all things have continued as they were from the beginning of creation.” – 2 Peter 3:3–4 I have

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God is Not Done

“Please, Lord, listen attentively to the prayer of your servant and to the prayer of your servants who take pleasure in showing respect to your name. Grant your servant success today and show compassion to me in the presence of this man.” – Nehemiah 1:11 In sports, professional teams often

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The Goal of Faith

When my now-husband proposed to me, we were on the front porch of my parent’s home and I was not making it easy. I was in sweatpants, ready for a comfortable evening with family. Instead we were outside on the swing, in the cold. He couldn’t seem to get the

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Strength and Brokenness

  “Simon, Simon, pay attention! Satan has demanded to have you all, to sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. When you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” – Luke 22:31–32   A few years ago, my daughter was playing

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A Heaven-Sent Helper

  “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, because he has come to help and has redeemed his people. For he has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David, as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from long ago,that we

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Whiter Than Snow

At bedtime each night, my husband and I take turns reading a short devotional to our daughter from one of the various age-appropriate Bible storybooks on her bookshelf. Over the years the stories have gotten more complex, the topics more relevant to her current 9-year-old stage of life, and I’ve

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Abide in Christ

We sat in a room in the basement of the church that was typically used by a middle school youth group. Although I had attended several women’s studies at the church, this was the first one that my husband and I chose to do together. I couldn’t tell you the

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God Restores

“O Lᴏʀᴅ, restore our well-being, just as the streams in the arid south are replenished. Those who shed tears as they plant will shout for joy when they reap the harvest. The one who weeps as he walks along, carrying his bag of seed, will certainly come in with a

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Beautiful Restoration

I was mindlessly scrolling through Facebook the other day when I stopped on a video a friend had posted. She was telling a story about a time when she made the mistake of trying to clean her solid wood dining room table with a steam cleaner. To be honest, I

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