• Devotionals

    The Spirit of Forgiveness Part II

    Today’s blog post is the second of five in a series on The Spirit of Forgiveness by Marc Fisher, my husband, for the week of Advent. “And you shall make a mercy seat (a covering) of pure gold, two cubits and a half long and a cubit and a half wide” (Exodus 25:17, AMP). Can you live with incompleteness knowing it precedes something whole that is yet to come? It is here but not yet here. It is like the kingdom of God is here yet not yet here. We have it in part but will have it in full. Man tends to not like things in part. But the…

  • Devotionals

    The Spirit of Forgiveness Part I

    Today’s blog post is the first of five in a series on The Spirit of Forgiveness by Marc Fisher, my husband, for the week of Advent. “Yet now has [Christ, the Messiah] reconciled [you to God] in the body of His flesh through death, in order to present you holy and faultless and irreproachable in His [the Father’s] presence“ (Colossians 1:22, AMP). In 1994, in the course of only 100 days, the world sat back as it witnessed one of the more cruel and inhumane episodes in human history, the slaughter of over 800,000 people in the African country of Rwanda. Almost 20% of the country’s population was wiped out…

  • Relationships

    10 Things Marc Learned From Marriage

    I asked Marc to write 10 Things He’s Learned From Marriage as a response to the 10 Things I’ve Learned From Marriage. Enjoy his first official blog post (hopefully there will be a lot more where that came from)!! 1. There is always a deeper beauty to be found in your wife, it does only get better, when God designs something like marriage He knows what He is doing. 2. Taking time to stare into the eyes of your wife everyday is meaningful and well worth it. 3. Dying to self takes on a whole new reality. 4. It is harder to care for the things of the world when…

  • Relationships

    10 Things I've Learned From Marriage

    So Marc and I have only been married a month as of this Tuesday (tomorrow), but in my short few weeks I have learned a LOT about marriage. In fact, here are the 10 things I’ve learned from marriage. 1. The Little Things. It doesn’t matter who’s right if you brush first, then floss or floss first, then brush. 2. Marc is an amazing cook. 3. In sickness and in health…really means in sickness and in health. (We both got the flu on our honeymoon. To the person who gave us the flu at our wedding, we forgive you. But…) 4. Owning a home is a lot of work. There’s…

  • Devotionals,  Faith,  On Writing

    The Power of Forgiveness

    “If another believer sins against you, go privately and point out the offense. If the other person listens and confesses it, you have won that person back” (Matthew 18:15, NLT). The power of forgiveness. The Bible is pretty clear on forgiving others. With Matthew 18:15-18 as our guidebook, we are shown how to go directly to the person and show them if they have wronged you. I love how proactive the Bible is on forgiveness. Maybe it’s because the root of bitterness grows so easily. I tell you–after Marc and I moved into our new house we quickly realized how challenging our front lawn would prove to be. Those devil…

  • Devotionals,  Faith

    Two or Three Witnesses

    “For where two or three witnesses gather in my name, there am I with them” (Matthew 18:20, NIV). In school, we’re taught from an early age that 1+1=2. When you’re a baby, you learn to count by using your fingers and toes. Body parts. When you grow up you learn to count your toys. For instance, one for me, none for my baby brother! I loved being the first born, but that’s not the point! Counting shouldn’t require thinking. It’s a habit. Something ingrained in us since childhood. Unfortunately, as “mature” adults we learn to count by comparing ourselves to others. For instance, when I was single all I could…

  • Devotionals,  Faith,  Relationships

    Change Your Name

    “Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days. Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us, for as many years as we have seen trouble” (Psalm 90:14-15, NIV). For many, many years I suffered. With ill health. With no possibility of boys to date (oh the horror, seriously). So many years I cried out to God, wondering “where is he?” and “Does he even exist?” Of course, I knew better. On September 20, 1998 God told me that I would NOT be lacking a mate. His Spirit would make all come true (Isaiah…

  • Relationships

    Do Not

    Don’t Kiss. Don’t Touch. Don’t lick. Do not what? While Marc and I got donuts this morning, we were talking about how Christians do not like to talk about sex until it’s time for pre-marital counseling. It’s like Christians are afraid of sex or something. It’s such a mind trip to go from memorizing Song of Solomon 2:7, 3:5, and 8:4 that says, “DO NOT arouse or awaken love until it so desires” to think about marriage because they’re the ONLY verses I remember from the erotic love poem found in the Bible. Even though Solomon is right, we’re the ones to blame for taking the verses partly out of…

  • Devotionals,  Faith,  Relationships

    My New Name

    In 8 days I will have a new name: Mrs. Renee Fisher. All those years ago, God knew. He prepared me. Changed me. And now, He wants to give me a new name. When Jesus asked his soon to be disciples to follow Him they were FISHER-men. They simply worked to make money and provide for their families. Nothing more. Nothing less. In this next year of marriage, I want to be a living example. No matter who you are or what job you have–I want you to know without a doubt that Jesus loves you and wants to have a relationship with you. I look forward to revamping my…

  • Devotionals,  Faith

    It's Not Who You Know

    This is the Devotional I wrote and shared at the San Diego Christian Writer’s Guild Fall Conference hosted at Maranatha Chapel in Rancho Bernardo, CA. Morning Devotional ~ Saturday, September 24, 2011 “This is what the Lord says: ‘Don’t let the wise boast in their wisdom, or the powerful boast in their power, or the rich boast in their riches. But those who wish to boast should boast in this alone: that they truly know me and understand that I am the Lord who demonstrates unfailing love and who brings justice and righteousness to the earth, and that I delight in these things. I, the Lord, have spoken!’(Jeremiah 9:23-24, NLT)…